Following Apple's holiday ad featuring Stevie Wonder and Andra Day, rival Microsoft today released its own holiday-themed commercial in which employees of its retail store on New York City's Fifth Avenue are shown spreading the message of peace outside of Apple's iconic glass cube store.
As reported by AdAge, Microsoft flew store employees from around the country to New York City to film this commercial on November 16.
Apple logos on the company's retail stores around the world have turned bright red today, and that means one thing: it's honoring the World AIDS Day. In the App Store, Apple and (RED) joined forces with developer Supercell, with 100 percent of proceeds from customers who buy (RED) packs for Supercell's games going to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.
And via its homepage at Apple.com, the company is inviting customers to help the initiative by purchasing (RED)-branded products like Macs, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Watches and accessories such as Beats headphones, the Smart Cover for the iPad Air and the Smart Case for the iPad Air 2.
It's been over a week since I've had my iPad Pro, and I've still yet to snag an Apple Pencil or a Smart Keyboard. The prospects of obtaining either of the vital iPad Pro peripherals from Apple's online store doesn't seem good. Shipments are currently slated 4-5 weeks out in most cases, and in store personal pickup doesn't even appear as an option when checking out.
The situation is so bad that eBay scalpers are taking advantage and selling the Apple Pencil for double and sometimes triple the price. Needless to say, it's a frustrating situation for iPad Pro early adopters wishing to make full use of the new hardware.
But not all hope is lost for those of you hoping to snag a reasonably priced Apple Pencil or a Smart Keyboard before late December or early January. I've seen several reports of folks that have been able to walk in store and pick up one or both products, even though Apple's online store was showing out of stock. According to an Apple employee that I recently spoke to, Apple is receiving frequent shipments of both products and selling out almost as fast as it can re-up.
Thankfully, there is a way that you can check your store's local inventory before making the trip. Instead of risking disappointment, use this handy tip before you venture out in order to up the chance of scoring an Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, or if you're particularly fortunate, both.
Apple's super-sized tablet aimed at professionals is now available for purchase from the online Apple Store. Early this morning, the iPad Pro went on sale, along with notable accessories, the Apple Pencil, and Smart Keyboard.
The iPad Pro is available for purchase starting at $799 via the Apple online store and brick and mortar Apple retails stores. In fact, you can order an iPad Pro right now, and schedule an in-store pickup when the Apple Store opens later today.
After launching online orders for its fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple will start selling the new set-top box at its retail stores on Friday, October 30, 9to5Mac learned from sources close to the matter.
In addition to sales via the Apple Online Store and company-owned retail stores, the new Apple TV is listed for pre-order at other resellers like Best Buy and B&H.
At long last, first Apple Stores are about to launch in India, home to population of 1.25 billion people. As reported by The Economic Times, Apple Stores will be debuting in India in partnership with Tata-owned consumer electronics chain Croma, which will host Apple products at six of its locations as a pilot.
Apple's tried and tested store-within-a-store concept will go live at five Croma stores in Mumbai—Malad, Juhu, Oberoi Mall and Phoenix Mall—in addition to Croma's Jayanagar store in the city of Bengaluru, the capital of India's southern Karnataka state and the center of the country's technology industry.
Here we go again...
In what could only be described as a continuation of its miserable anti-Apple advertising campaign, Samsung has hired people to wear backpack-mounted banners advertising its Galaxy smartphones to folks who queued up for iPhone 6s launch this morning outside the Apple Store in London’s Regent Street, The Inquirer reported.
The banners promote Samsung’s latest Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge+ flagships and carry the provocative tagline “The itch to switch just got bigger.” In addition, International Business Times is reporting that Samsung even gave queued customers bright blue pillows and bottles emblazoned with the hashtag #NextIsNew.
But wait, there's more.
Apple is giving away free copies of Super Hexagon, a minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh, with music by Chipzel. This nicely done iPhone and iPad game is being provided as a free download exclusively through the official Apple Store shopping app.
“Be challenged by the difficult yet beautiful gameplay of Super Hexagon,” writes Apple. “Survive as long as you can through endless levels of minimalist puzzles.”
Super Hexagon has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars based on submissions from nearly 9,000 App Store reviewers. The game currently sells for $2.99 in the App Store so make sure to grab it at no charge through the official Apple Store shopping app, here's how.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are scheduled to hit retail stores on September 25 and a new report published today provides an insight into the company's retail launch plans for the new devices.
Though hardly different from past iPhone launches, you're advised to check out the following tidbits for a more seamless shopping experience regardless of whether you have pre-ordered your iPhone with in-store pickup or are planning on waltzing inside your local Apple Store on launch day.
The Apple Store is down and the stage is set for the release of the new iPhone 6s. We're hoping for a much-improved online ordering experience since Apple revamped its online store, but you can never be sure when it comes to Apple pre-orders.
The last big pre-order event was for the Apple Watch, and that was an absolute nightmare. Granted, Apple didn't have nearly as much Apple Watch inventory as it will have iPhone inventory, so things should be quite a bit better this go around.
Still, though, there are steps that you can take to make your morning a whole lot easier. Although there should be plenty of supply, you need not take any risks or create any unnecessary delays. You want to approach this ordering process in a strategic and tactical manner.
This is your mission. To succeed at this mission, you'll want to take the following five steps seriously...
I'm based out of Europe and it's always been a mystery to me as to why Apple lacks official retail presence in Belgium. Well, the company is finally opening its first brick-and-mortar store in the twelve million people market.
The forthcoming store will be located in Brussels, the largest city and capital of Belgium, the de facto capital of the European Union and headquarters for NATO, and is scheduled to open doors to customers on Sunday, September 19.
As Apple continues to refine the shopping experience at its brick-and-mortar stores under the watchful eye of retail chief Angela Ahrendts, the company is now introducing a brand new retail initiative called Mobile Try-On.
As per 9to5Mac, Mobile Try-On encourages customers to try out Apple's wearable device by walking around the store with a demo unit on their wrist paired to an iPhone running the Apple Watch companion application.