The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been one of the hardest iPhones to date to pick up in store, and since launch, shipping times have stayed high. But as we approach the holidays, that seems like it’s finally starting to change.
A new Apple Store opening up is always something of an event. But over the weekend, a one-of-a-kind Apple Store opened in London, and I guarantee you’ve never been to one quite like it.
It looks like an Apple Store. It even sells various Apple products. But not the kind you’re thinking of: not Macs, but Macintosh apples.
Ever since Apple bought Beats for $3 billion back in May, Cupertino has slowly but surely been integrating the headphone maker’s products and services into the official Apple portfolio. It’s added Beats Music to the Apple TV, officially listed it as an Apple app on the App Store, and rolled out a Beats by Dre section at Apple Stores.
Now it looks like Beats by Dre headphones will officially be an Apple product in the biggest way that counts: You’ll soon be able to get them repaired or replaced at your local Genius Bar.
Although many — including Apple — would argue that Bendgate is overblown, and the iPhone 6 is no more prone to bending when treated right than any other smartphone, there’s a small but vocal minority that disagrees. If you’re one of them, there’s now a resource to track Apple Stores that will be sympathetic to your plight.
Apple is looking to open a flagship store in downtown Los Angeles’ historic Broadway Trade Center, reports the Downtown LA Examiner, which claims its heard whispers that Cupertino plans to invade the massive building that nearly occupies an entire city block.
The Broadway Trade Center building was recently purchased by New York real estate firm Waterbridge Capitol earlier this year for around $130 million, but it the company may have already scored its first tenant.
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.