Apple Retail

In its continued full-court Earth Day press, Apple is expanding its Reuse & Recycling program to help responsibly recycle more devices and get current generation devices into the hands of more customers.

As of this morning, the iPad is now eligible for the in-store Reuse & Recycling program at Apple Retail Store locations that allows customers to receive credit for their aging Apple devices. In the past, customers could only receive trade-in credit for iPhones. Also new, Apple will now allow iPhone or iPad trade-in credit to be used on cross products. That means you can trade-in an eligible iPhone and use that credit towards the purchase of a new iPad. Previously, iPhone trade-in credit could only be used to buy a new iPhone.

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After a brief period of downtime, the Apple Store website around the world has now gone back up. Aside from a bit of Mother’s Day promotional advertising, there is no change to most regions. For some countries, however, Apple has now made the 8 GB iPhone 5c introduced last month available for sale. The device is now available in the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, and other regions.

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4bQxN-bXFQ]

After a long build up, Apple’s first Eastern Europe/Asia Minor store opened up today in Istanbul at the Zorlu Center. As with some other flagship stores, it is mostly subterranean with a glass upward protrusion. This one has four large panes of glass covered by a white roof with a darker Apple logo surrounded by a fountain as pictured below.

Image via ifoAppleStore

Apple yesterday held a press event attended by one of the Apple Store leads Steve Cano. Tim Cook took to Twitter to announce the opening:

[tweet https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/452417592544608256]

More images and videos below:

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Turkish websites DonanimHaber and iPhoneTurka provide our first look at Apple’s first Turkish store now the covers have been removed, revealing a mostly-glass design. Like the iconic 5th Avenue store in NYC, what is visible above ground is simply an empty glass space, though in this case it’s a lower and more subtle skylight than the famous glass cube.

More photos below … 
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Following several months of anticipation, Apple’s first official Apple Retail Store in Turkey will open in Istanbul on April 5th. The new store is located in the center of the Zorlu Center mall, and the official announcement has come in the form of emails to customers in Turkey and on a banner around the physical store…

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From 9to5Toys.com:

The Apple Store just got filled with refurbished iPad Airs in a few varieties starting at $419 for 16GB and $509 for 32GB in both Space Grey or White. That’s $80/$90 off the new price and the lowest price we’ve seen for iPad Airs with Apple’s 1 year AppleCare warranty (we saw them new for $430 last week). Apple certified refurbished products look and act like new, come with all manuals and accessories, a new outer shell batter and come in a new white box.

Walmart still has refurbished iPad Airs for $399 but with a more dubious 90-day non-Apple warranty. Meanwhile, if you are after new iPad Airs, Staples currently has them for $50 off across the board. 
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In the recent past, customers who purchased an iPhone directly from the Apple Online Store and in Apple Retail Stores have had 30 days to return the device for any reason. The only stipulation was that it had to be undamaged and include all of the original accessories. According to an internal document provided by one of our retail sources, Apple plans to change its iPhone return policy to just 14 days beginning on March 13th. However the return policy currently published on Apple.com already reflects this change. All other products purchased from Apple are already subject to a 14 day return policy.

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Re/code reports that the city of San Francisco has finally granted Apple permission to begin work on its iconic new Union Square retail center, which the company has said will be “more iconic than the glass cube in New York City.” The store, pictured in the rendering above, has been in the works for almost a year as the city insisted upon various changes to preserve historic elements and allow for improved accessibility.

The store will replace Apple’s existing Stockton Street location, adding about fifty new jobs in the process. Apple’s new building will feature a two-floor design with 23-foot glass sliding doors and a plaza behind the store that will be shared with the hotel next door with free Wi-Fi to visitors.

The iconic Ruth Asawa fountain behind the store will be relocated (slightly) to accommodate the design of the plaza, which caused some concern among members of the city’s planning commission, though Apple has assured the city that the fountain will be entirely preserved during the process.

More renderings of the gorgeous new store can be found below:

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Once again, Apple is back to giving away free music through an iTunes promotion within its Apple Store app for U.S. customers. The new giveaway highlights three artists with “new tracks helping to define this year’s musical landscape.” Specifically, the app features tracks from Master Blaster Sound System, Bad Suns, and Kris Bowers. It’s worth checking out if you’re into discovering new music, but Amazon has some more traditional artists like George Strait, The Beach Boys, and Dean Martin in its Icon Series music giveaway over at 9to5Toys. Check below for how to grab the free tracks from iTunes.
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Update: Apple has confirmed the promo, and according to the T&C online orders are also eligible.

According to our sources, Apple retail employees were informed this morning that beginning today, anyone who purchases an Apple TV from Apple will receive a free $25 iTunes gift card. As of right now this promotion seems to only be available at brick and mortar locations, but we will update this post if it pops up at the Apple online store. The promotion is scheduled to end on March 5th. iTunes gift cards can be used to download movies, music, apps, and more.

Here’s what we know so far about the incoming next-generation Apple TV hardware:

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The online Apple Store was taken down briefly for an update which sees Accessories given their own tab on the store homepage, appearing to the right of the recently-added Shop Apple TV tab … 
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The Apple Store iPhone Reuse and Recycling trade-in program is launching in Canada in the coming weeks, according to a source with knowledge of the initiative’s expansion. The source says that training for Apple Store employees in Canada will begin this upcoming week…

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The San Francisco city planning commission voted today in favor of accepting the new Apple Store in Union Square, which an Apple spokesman said would be “a flagship” store that would become “more iconic than the glass cube in New York City.”

The changes announced today include moving the historic fountain outside the new location to center it in the resized plaza. According to Apple’s architect, the fountain will be moved in one piece rather than disassembled and rebuilt a few feet away from its current position. Apple’s previous plan to relocate the fountain was not satisfactory to the city’s historic preservation committee, but the new plan was accepted this week.

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After teasing the store last month, Apple has confirmed on its website (as noted by MacMagazine) that the store will launch on the 15th of February, in just over a week. The store will launch at 11am local time (ATZ) in the luxurious Rio de Janeiro VillageMall, marking Apple’s debut entrance into the country.

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A Turkish government website reporting on Tim Cook’s meeting with President Abdullah Gül says that the country’s first Apple Store will open in Istanbul in April. Istanbul, which uniquely straddles Europe and Asia, is one of the largest cities in the world by population with over 14 million residents.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Qnx60Ghrk]

In addition to a rumored $4 billion plan to put iPads into Turkish schools, it was said that the two discussed the amount of sales taxes levied on iPhones and iPads and when Apple might include Turkish in the languages supported by Siri with at least some suggesting that the two issues might be linked …
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