As first noted by AppleInsider, Apple yesterday began offering the in-store pickup option for its newly launched AirPods wireless earphones. Apple.com online store in the United States indicated at post time that first AirPods ordered with the in-store pickup option would be available on February 8.
If you choose to have AirPods shipped to your home, they're estimated to arrive in six weeks.
Apple this year is giving each of its retail employees a special edition t-shirt and credo printing gift for the holidays. MacRumors has photos of the presents, which show a gray t-shirt featuring a two-circle design made up of all of Apple's retail locations.
As for the credo, it's printed on what appears to be glossy, heavy paper and it even comes in a protective envelop. Apple introduced the 6-paragraph statement earlier this year, which starts off "we are here to enrich lives, to help dreamers become doers."
Online retail giant Amazon is testing a new type of brick-and-mortar convenience store where you simply walk in, pick up your items and walk out, no clerk or a cash register required whatsoever because everything you've put in the shopping basket is automatically charged to your Prime account as soon as you leave the store. Located at 2131 7th Ave in Seattle, the futuristic grocery store, dubbed Amazon Go, has been four years in the making.
The system uses computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning to detect when goods are removed and returned to the shelves. Amazon's retail store of the future that eliminates checkout is launching in early-2017.
Apple on Monday announced on its Chinese retail website that it will be opening a brand new retail store at Vanke Mall in Qibao, a popular tourist destination located in the suburbs of Shanghai. The store will opens its doors to customers on Saturday, December 10, at 10am local time.
Apple's official mobile shopping app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch was refreshed Friday with a pair of new features adding rich notification support on iOS 10 and buying accessories from Favorites with Apple Pay using one-tap authorization on your wrist via your Apple Watch.
Grab the Apple Store app at no charge from the App Store.
Just 24 hours after first shipments began arriving to customers, Apple's new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is now available for purchase at select company-run retail stores in the U.S., China and elsewhere.
According to reports on Reddit, MacRumors, AppleInsider and other outlets, a select number of flagship Apple retail locations have received stock and are now offering limited quantities of the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
Two days after it started selling refurbished iPhones through its online store, Apple has now added the 9.7-inch iPad Pro to the Special Deals section at Apple.com. Refurbished 12.9-inch iPad Pros are available as well. Prices of refurbished 9.7-inch iPad Pros range from $509 for a 32GB Wi-Fi model, a saving of $90, to $789 for a 256GB Wi-Fi + Cellular version, a $140 savings.
Apple has set up a new webpage at apple.com/apple-pay/holiday/ which provides a list of exclusive holiday offers from a number of retailers that are available with Apple Pay on the web, which recently launched with built-in support for iOS 10 and macOS Sierra devices.
“Experience the fast and secure way to shop online with Apple Pay, now on the web in Safari,” reads Apple's notice, adding that would-be shoppers receive exclusive benefits such as free rush shipping, discounts and other rewards.
Opening their doors this Wednesday morning, Apple Stores across the US will be stocking a new pair of wireless earphones named i.am+ Buttons, conceived by musician and part-time tech enthusiast Will.i.am. The full product name of the earphones is i.am+ Buttons and they will reportedly be offered in four colors, matching Apple's black, silver, gold and rose gold iPhone range.
While the timing of the i.am+ launch could not have been more savory with the AirPods suffering heavy delays, it remains to be seen if will.i.am's product will be able to capitalize on the door left wide open by Apple. Until now, most i.am+ products have largely been frowned upon for putting fashion center stage. They also come at a hefty $229 price point.
The original Apple Watch debuted in April 2015 in a few markets, with Apple pushing the $10,000-$17,000 Apple Watch Edition aggressively via pop up shops found in high-profile department stores, including Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Selfridges in London and Isetan in Tokyo. But those pop up shops won't be open for much longer, it would seem.
As reported by French blog Mac4Ever, Apple will be closing the mini-store in Galeries Lafayette effective January 2017 due to poor sales of the device at the location.
Apple's long preloaded special OS images on display devices in stores. When news broke that it's started removing security tethers from iPhone display units at flagship stores to let users try how the iPhone fits in their pocket, I thought the move would encourage thieves to lift untethered devices.
That could prove easier said than done due to a software kill switch that automatically disables the device if a customer goes out of range of the store Wi-Fi.
Apple continues perfecting retail experience for its customers as CNET reports today that some Apple Stores have begun to remove or have already removed security tethers from iPhone display models. Last year, Apple relegated iPods to side shelves and removed iPad smart signage.
According to CNET, Apple's flagship London Regent Street store re-opening this Saturday will feature Apple's next-generation store design and no iPhone security tethers.