Clearing the way for its own fitness-tracking wearables, Apple has stopped selling Fitbit activity trackers in the Apple Online Store, and has begun removing them from its brick-and-mortar retail outlets also.
Fitbit’s devices have been sold in Apple Stores for the past few years; quickly racking up close to 70% of the fitness-tracking device marketshare, courtesy of a head start over competitors such as Nike’s FuelBand and Jawbone Up.
The first iOS app to receive Apple Pay integration is of course one of Apple’s very own. The official Apple Store app has been updated with “easy one-touch checkout with Apple Pay” on Touch ID-equipped iOS devices.
Using Apple Pay requires iOS 8.1 and a credit or debit card on file in Passbook. While NFC in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is required for making Apple Pay transactions at physical stores, online payments only require Touch ID. That means you can use Apple Pay through apps on the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3.
Several other apps should be updated with Apple Pay support any minute now, including Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Groupon, Instacart, OpenTable, MLB.com, Panera Bread, Target, and the Disney Store app.
Source: App Store
Right on cue, the Apple Online Store has gone down hours ahead of today’s special event. When it returns later today, we expect to see new iPads, new Macs, and maybe even a new Apple TV.
Having welcomed its first Apple Store back in April, it seems that Turkey’s second brick-and-mortar Apple retail outfit is just about ready for primetime.
Whereas the first store was opened on the European side of Istanbul, in the upmarket Zorlu Shopping Center, the second store will be on the city’s Asian side, in the Akaysa Shopping center.
First of all Microsoft announces plans for a flagship Fifth Avenue Store to compete with Apple’s iconic glass cube, and now Amazon apparently wants to get in on the brick-and-mortar game, too.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon plans to open its first physical retail store in time for Christmas on Manhattan’s 34th Street.
While that might seem counter-intuitive for a company which essentially dealt the death knell to many brick-and-mortar stores, it’s designed to be an extension of the online experience — offering customers the ability to pick up orders placed online, or return and exchange products.
Microsoft has copied (or “been inspired by”) many, many Apple innovations over the years, and now it’s set to copy the location of its most famous Apple Store of all.
That’s right: the Windows maker is set to open up shop with a retail store just blocks from Apple’s iconic Fifth Avenue glass cube. The new “flagship” Microsoft Store will move into a location previously occupied by Fendi.
“This is a goal we’ve had since day one — we were only waiting for the right location,” Microsoft’s corporate vice president for retail stores said in a statement. “And now we have it.”
Apple insists “bendgate” isn’t an issue after receiving just 9 complaints about bent iPhones as of last week, and the vast majority seem to agree. But will the Cupertino company think differently when it discovers that people are walking into its retail stores and bending the iPhone 6 Plus units it has on display?
A massive new Apple Store planned for downtown San Francisco is being held up by… tulip trees?
The site in question overlooks Union Square, with Apple planning to demolish a large existing building and replace it with a giant, two-storey glass structure reminiscent of the iconic New York Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. However, in order for work to commence on the building Apple needs to bring in the right equipment, which necessitates the removal of seven tulip trees currently blocking the path.
Trouble is, things aren’t as straightforward as they might seem.
Late last week, former NBA player Rex Chapman was arrested by police in Scottsdale, Arizona, after being charged with theft and trafficking in stolen property as a result of stealing over $14,000 worth of equipment from his local Apple Store over the course of nine visits between May and early August.
As can be seen from the below security footage, Chapman picked up various items from the store, pretended to pay for them using Apple’s EasyPay app, before popping the goods into an Apple carrier bag, at which point he headed off to a local pawnshop to sell them:
In addition to the long lines of iPhone 6 customers, Apple Stores across the United States are going to see another group of people gathering today: protesting security workers.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is planning to stage protests at more than 20 different Apple Store in the U.S., pushing Apple to provide full-time work benefits for for its security officers.
“We are asking tech companies like Apple to support good jobs for workers who contribute to their success,” SEIU spokesman Alfredo Fletes told SFGate.
Sure, folks have been lining up for several days now, causing equal parts consternation and praise, but with pre-orders selling out in hours – leading to record breaking pre-sales – it’s no wonder that the lines at Apple retail stores around the globe are beginning to super size themselves as well.
Reports of scarce supplies of the iPhone 6 Plus are only adding to the madness and we’re only going to see even crazier lines the countdown nears zero. It can only get more wild from here.
One Apple fan in Arizona told Cult of Mac he wants an iPhone 6 Plus so bad he actually paid a teen for their top spot in line at a local Apple Store. She charged him $80. Half up front as a down payment to hold the spot until 4AM, when he’ll come back and maybe get to buy a gold iPhone 6 Plus.
“Doing an after work drive-by to make sure.” he told us. “They seemed cool, and I grilled them. So, hopefully we are good.”
Other fans aren’t as nearly hopeful, but the lines are just getting crazy around the world. Take a look:
Apple has updated its official retail app with a cleaner look for iPhone that matches the iPad version.
In fact, today’s update is mostly about tying the experience of the app together between devices. From now on, any shopping you do inside the Apple Store app will be wirelessly synced from device to device. So you can add items to your cart on the iPhone, add more on the iPad, and then complete the purchases on your Mac.
Some smaller design tweaks, new icon, and layout improvements have also been added.
A protest involving around 50 people blocked customers from entering the main doors of Apple’s flagship San Francisco Union Square retail store yesterday.
The protest was related to service employees claiming to be underpaid. Organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), they staged a sit-in for nearly an hour. While the Apple Store remained opened during this time, customers had to enter through a side door.
One of the protestors, describing himself as an Apple security guard, decried the firm for its lack of job protection. “If [security officers] miss a day of work, they don’t know if they’ll have the job the next day,” he told Business Insider.
Apple still hasn’t opened an official store in the Middle East, but its about to make a huge retail splash by building its largest store ever amid the futuristic skyscrapers of Dubai.
Job listings posted to Apple’s career’s site last week indicated that Apple is interested in pursuing retail operations inside the UAE, but according to EdgarDaily, the company isn’t looking to build just a regular store in Dubai.
Apple finalized its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics just a few weeks ago, but for those looking give their earbuds a taste of Beats, the Online Apple Store is making the over-priced cans a little bit cheaper.
Apple doesn’t have an official retail presence in the Middle East… yet. Recent job listings spotted by ifoAppleStore indicate that the company is looking to open at least one store in the United Arab Emirates by next year.
Tim Cook has led Apple into the front of the LGBT-rights movement with company appearances at Gay Pride parades and Wall Street Journal op-eds demanding equal rights for gay workers, but according to one Apple Store customer in Portland, some of Cook’s employee don’t share his enthusiasm for inclusion.
Adam Catanzarite, who self-identifies as queer, has taken to social media after an Apple specialist printed off his receipt for a set of EarPods with a not-so-subtle homophobic slur tossed in the spot reserved for his email addresses.
Take a look:
How valuable is it to have an Apple Store in your property portfolio? Pretty valuable indeed, as it (unsurprisingly) turns out.
That’s the point proven by the Third Street Promenade Apple Store in Southern California, which has just sold to new real estate buyers for a record-breaking $100 million: making it the per-square-foot record holder for commercial real estate in the entire West Los Angeles area.
Apple added a new Beats by Dre section to its online store that makes it quicker than ever for shoppers to locate Tim Cook’s new favorite headphone brand among the mountain of iPhone and iPad accessories.
The Apple Store on New York’s Fifth Ave has become nearly as iconic as the other shiny glass and aluminum beauties it sells, and now Microsoft is ready to take on Apple in the Big Apple with a Fifth Ave store of its very own.
Microsoft is in negotiations to open its first ever NYC store on Fifth Ave, reports the Daily News, which says the new shop will go up a mere six blocks away from Apple’s famous store.
When your name is the oh-so-ironic Sam Sung, it's quite frankly amazing you were ever allowed in for an Apple Store interview to begin with.
Sung was, however, and when he finally left the job earlier this year, he auctioned off his work shirt, badge and business card to raise money for charity. The eBay auction ended at $2,653.
Photo: Sam Sung
Apple fanboys with a sense of humor and few hundred bucks to spare can own a piece of the thermonuclear history between Apple and Samsung, by throwing down on an eBay auction by the guy who had the worst name for an Apple Store specialist ever.
Apple is set to open its new Dutch brick-and-mortar retail store this Saturday, according to ifoAppleStore.
This will be the third Apple Store to open in the Netherlands, with previous retail outfits opening in Amsterdam and Haarlem. The store will be located in Den Haag (The Hague), which is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but an important city since it is the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State.
Apple is set to open its second brick-and-mortar retail store in Turkey, according to Turkish website ElmaDergisi.
The store is allegedly planned to open this fall, around the same time as Apple’s long-awaited iPhone 6 is set to hit shelves. It will be located in Istanbul’s upmarket Akasya Shopping Center, a shopping mall known for its major brand stores.
Apple today officially welcomed Beats Music and Beats Electronics to its family, along with Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, following its $3 billion takeover back in May.
“Music has always held a special place in our hearts, and we’re thrilled to join forces with a group of people who love it as much as we do,” reads an announcement on Apple.com, while those buying products from the Beats website will now be routed through the Apple Store.
Apple is set to open a new Apple Store in Toledo, OH’s Franklin Park Mall sometime during the fourth quarter of 2014. This will be Ohio’s eighth Apple Store, with its seventh opening last month in Dayton.
The company has already posted 15 job openings via its website, while it recently advertised a full-time retail general manager post via the website CareerBuilder.com.
