The Palo Alto Apple Store Might Be Too Loud For Sensitive Ear Drums

By

applestore_palo_alto

One of the newest Apple Stores in the world opened up just a few weeks ago in Palo Alto, just a stone’s throw away from Apple HQ in Cupertino. The new store is supposed to be a sort of prototype for future Apple Stores and features a glass facasade that allows passersby to view the entire store from the street.

It’s a fabulous new building, except for one thing – customers have started to complain that the store is just too noisy and loud for their liking. One Palo Alto blogger/resident even tried to go all scientific on Apple by measuring the decibel levels in the store so his complaints would be totally legit.

Jean-Louis Gassée discovered that –

“On a relatively quiet Saturday evening, the noise level around the Genius Bar exceeded 75 dB. Outside, the traffic noise registered a mere 65 dB. It was 10 db noisier inside the store than on always-busy University Avenue!”

If only Gassée understood the comparative differences of the decible scale maybe his argument that the Apple Store is too damn loud would hold weight. However, as Gizmodo notes in their beat down, 75dB is pretty tame.

“Traffic in a real city usually clocks at a much louder 85 dB. Indeed, 75 dB is probably only a big deal for library-loving nerds from Stanford. Regular human conversation usually registers about 60-65 dB—or roughly the SPL that Gassée measured outside the Apple Store. It makes complete sense that the collected sound of many human conversations might be a little louder, no?”

So if you ever go to the Palo Alto Apple Store and hear anyone complaining about the noise, just tell them that’s the sound of excellence. It’s much quieter inside a Microsoft Store.

 

Source: Monday Note

Via: Gizmodo

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.