Apple Retail

Following the launch of Apple’s “Start Something New” campaign on its website featuring artwork created on Mac and iOS devices, Apple is now transforming its retail stores into temporary art galleries showcasing art from the campaign.
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Update: Users in the thread are now reporting that the problem has been resolved.

Multiple iPhone 6 owners are reporting in an Apple Support Communities thread that they are unable to add cards back into Apple Pay after their phone has been restored – whether as a new phone or from a backup. According to reports there, Apple has been able to resolve the issue only by replacing the phone.

I just left the Apple Store. They couldn’t diagnose the issue and we did a restore there in store and the problem persisted. The solution was to swap the hardware […]

I ended up going to the Apple Store and going to the genius bar. They proceeded to do all the thing I already tried. After they did a restore and set up as a new phone and saw they it didn’t work they went in the back and brought out a new phone. I fired up the phone and went thru steps to add my cards to Apple pay and everything worked. So getting a new phone fixed the issue.

The symptoms seem to suggest that the secure enclave is not being completely cleared, despite notifications from banks that cards have been removed at the point when the phone was restored … 
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After a week of being inactive, the Russian Apple Online Store is now back online with customers freely able to purchase products from the site once again. Apple abruptly stopped trading in the region last week due to significant currency exchange rate fluctuations that meant the company had to readjust prices.

Apple has indeed raised prices significantly. The iPhone 6 now costs 53,990 Rubles for a 16 GB base model. This is a 35% increase in the Russian sales price; the model cost 39 990 Rubles last week. 53,990 Rubles is approximately worth $980 dollars. The 16 GB iPhone 6 lists for $649, excluding taxes.

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Burberry CEO-turned-Apple Retail SVP Angela Ahrendts returned to posting on her LinkedIn blog after nearly five months over the weekend with a holiday message to her followers: “Let peace begin with me.”
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Near the end of each year Apple thanks its employees for their hard work with a nice souvenir. This year some employees are being given a black Incase backpack featuring a bright white Apple logo.

At least one employee has already put the gift up on eBay with a starting bid of $49.99 and a Buy It Now of $99.99. From the images we’ve received, it appears that the bag is a customized version of the Incase Staple Backpack. In past years, Apple employees have received blankets, sweatshirts, and water bottles.

The bags were accompanied by this letter:

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As they’ve done in years’ past, some Apple retail stores this holiday season will repurpose the Genius Bar for additional product space, pick-ups, or other uses as Apple attempts to make the shopping experience for customers as smooth as possible, 9to5Mac has learned.

The repurposing for the holidays will only arrive in some stores depending on needs and traffic, with some stores scheduled to use the Genius Bar area to complete express sales and hold products scheduled for pick-up. Other changes, however, will go beyond the holidays as the stores under new retail chief Angela Ahrendts evolve to better deal with increased foot traffic.
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<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/08/01/angela-ahrendts-continues-debut-tour-with-employee-qa-new-york-city-apple-store-visits/" target="_blank">Apple SVP Retail Angela Ahrendts</a>

With the introduction of new iPhone financing options from wireless carriers, Apple has steadily been adding support in its stores for the latest payment options allowing customers to get an iPhone without paying the full price or even the $199 and up contract price.

Apple already supports financing plans from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile either online, in its retail stores, or both, and 9to5Mac has learned that Apple is preparing to soon offer Sprint’s iPhone financing and leasing plans as well with support rolling out at some stores as soon as today.
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It looks like Apple will indeed be cashing in on Bose speakers and headphones sales in time for the remainder of the holiday shopping season. Yesterday rumors surfaced that Apple was readying its retail stores to carry Bose products once again, and today 9to5Mac has confirmed that Bose products, including the very popular SoundLink III/ Mini Bluetooth speakers, will once again be sold by Apple alongside its Beats-branded speakers and headphones that it acquired for $3 billion earlier this year…
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After many years of speculation, the NY Post reports that Brooklyn is finally getting its first Apple Store, expected to open in April of next year. The above render shows what the building is expected to look like once renovations are complete.

The tech-products powerhouse has signed a long-term lease for a 20,000-square-foot store at 247 Bedford Ave. at the corner of North 3rd Street, brokerage community sources definitively revealed.

This will make the opening around five years since then Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz made a video plea direct to Steve Jobs … 
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Apple Watch at Colette

We’ve already seen how Apple is presenting the upcoming Apple Watch, which it calls its most personal device yet, as not just another technology device but also a piece of jewelry that the fashion world will be proud to embrace.

9to5Mac has now learned from internal hiring documents that Apple is recruiting retail candidates this month with “a fashion or luxury background” suggesting Apple is preparing to deliver some changes to its retail stores in time for the Apple Watch’s early 2015 debut. With former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts leading Apple’s retail efforts and the Apple Watch set to transform the Apple Store into a jewelry store, what could a potential Apple Store makeover include?
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Shopping this year through iPhone and iPad apps is significantly more convenient thanks to Apple Pay and Touch ID. The latest iPhones and iPads allow you to avoid the arduous process of re-entering your credit card information each time at checkout and instead pay for your purchase with the touch of your finger.

Hopefully our holiday gift guides are steering you in the right direction for what to buy this year, especially with guides focused on using your iPhone and iPad in the car, making music with Apple devices, outfitting your home with connected smart devices, and more, and these shopping apps should continue to help you along the way.
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(RED) Apple Store logo

As it continues to expand its global reach through its retail stores, Apple has begun recruiting for Apple Store-specific positions in Brussels through job listings posted online. As MacGeneration points out, the upcoming Apple Store opening in the capital city will mark Apple’s first retail location in Belgium.
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Apple is once again using its retail stores to promote Computer Science Education Week and Code.org by hosting Hour of Code computer programming workshops for kids on Thursday, December 11th. Apple describes the workshops as fun, hour-long introductions to coding:

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Covent Garden, London – one of the largest Apple Stores in the world

New corporate tax measures aimed at preventing multinational companies making profits in the UK and then shifting them overseas where they incur lower taxes could potentially impact a number of tech companies, including Apple, Google and Amazon.

The British government announced a new 25% tax on profits generated in the UK and then “artificially shifted” overseas, reports the BBC … 
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Apple has confirmed that its new retail store in Franklin Park Mall, Toledo, is opening at 9am on Saturday. The Starwood-owned mall is located at 5001 Monroe Street, and the store occupies the former Charlotte Russe space, next to Williams Sonoma.

As usual with new Apple Store openings, the first 1000 people to enter the store will receive a free commemorative t-shirt … 
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Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted a couple of photos of a visit yesterday to the Apple Store in Georgetown, Washington DC, to help promote World AIDS Day. He was accompanied by (RED) CEO Deborah Dugan, who tweeted a couple of additional photos from the visit (show below) … 
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While Apple Store customers in the U.S. can look forward to gift cards on selected purchases on Black Friday, it seems European customers may be missing out. Apple last year offered its European customers discounted pricing rather than gift cards, but rumors – including from the usually reliable MacG – say that there will be neither cards nor discounts this year … 
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