As reported earlier this week, Apple has stopped selling new iPhones to customers on a two-year contract with AT&T as of today.
As first noted by MacRumors, subsidized $199/$299 prices for new iPhones on a two-year AT&T contract have been removed overnight and replaced with the carrier's financing program called AT&T Next.
Apple said today its watch will be hitting seven new markets later this month, with the sole exception of the 42mm Space Black Stainless Steel model with Space Black Link Bracelet.
In an email sent to customers who ordered that device, a copy of which was obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple has clarified that the 42mm Space Black Stainless Steel model with Space Black Link Bracelet won't be arriving in retail stores until all online orders have been fulfilled.
Additionally, availability of many Apple Watch bands has improved substantially as many are now shipping in one business day, WatchAware noted Thursday.
The Apple Watch will be arriving to an additional seven countries beginning Friday, June 26, the company confirmed Thursday in a media release.
Customers in Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan will be able to buy the device beginning June 26 from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.
In addition, the Cupertino firm has announced limited in-store availability of the wearable device.
A trio of supply chain reports out of Asia are making the rounds this morning. The first rumor suggests that one of a future-generation iPhones is a four-inch handset that should be released in Q1 2016.
The second report claims that Apple will formally announce walk-in purchases for its wearable device at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week.
And the third story informs us that an Apple and Samsung supplier is investing $260 million in a production facility to churn out 3D curved glass, suggesting the faint possibility of sapphire-protected screens on some iOS devices.
The Apple Watch has not been available for walk-in customers since its April 24 launch as high demand and poor yields forced Apple to adopt an online-only reservation system with optional try-on appointments.
Now 9to5Mac is reporting that you won't need to pre-reserve your unit online as the firm will soon permit end-to-end sales in its brick-and-mortar stores.
As we reported, CEO Tim Cook told retail employees during his May 2015 trip to China that the wearable device would be available for walk-in purchases in June. In addition to buying the device in-store, customers will be allowed to reserve models not yet in stock.
A report Monday by the Khaleej Times says Apple will be opening the world's largest retail store in Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with population of more than 2 million people.
In fact, not only will it file as the world's largest Apple Store, but also as UAE's very first Apple Store, too. Located at Dubai's Mall of the Emirates, the store is currently under construction and is expected to open doors to fans in August 2015. Dubai is a popular tourist destination known for its luxury goods market and high-profile shopping malls.
Reports are coming in that Apple is preparing the in-store pickup option on new Watch orders in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, allowing customers in these launch countries to (soon enough, hopefully) select an Apple retail store to pick up their device after order.
As indicated by a report on MacRumors, the grayed out in-store pickup option on both the Apple Online Store and Apple Store shopping app is now labeled as “coming soon”.
Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s recently-hired senior vice president of retail and online stores, was the highest-paid female executive in the United States last year. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Ahrendts was awarded $82.6 million in 2014, including a sign-on bonus and a make-whole grant for money she left on the table at Burberry.
Coming in second on the list was Oracle’s Safra Catz, who raked in $71.2 million in fiscal 2014 for her role as chief financial officer and co-CEO. Rounding out the top 3 highest paid female executives was Yahoo!’s Marissa Mayer who, at 39-years-old, was the highest-paid female chief executive last year, with a salary of $59.1 million.
Contrary to earlier reports today, Home Depot isn't disabling Apple Pay, it's instead rolling it out to all of its 2,000+ brick and mortar retail stores. As Bloomberg reports, this will make Home Depot the biggest retailer accepting Apple Pay to date.
This is huge news, and certainly a major turnaround from the reports that said otherwise early this morning. Home Depot, which has been subject to massive data breaches in the past, is clearly putting its chips in with Apple Pay, which is known for its ease of use and its security.
Today is Earth Day and Apple Stores around the world are marking the occasion with revamped signage outside the brick-and-mortar locations featuring green leaves. Although the physical stores now rock logo leaves tinted in green, the Online Apple Store was unaffected as of this writing.
The Apple.com homepage is heavily promoting the company's green initiatives based on the updated 2015 Environmental Responsibility Report and an accompanying video entitled ‘Better Starts Here’, which highlights “significant progress” the company has made in terms of its commitment to preserving our environment during the 2014 fiscal year.
Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts sent out a video to Apple retail employees today, addressing concerns and questions regarding the Apple Watch and MacBook launches. In the video, posted by French site Mac4Ever, Ahrendts reiterates much of what was said in an internal memo that was sent out to employees last week.
In a bid to get new Watch customers up to speed and help them learn how to use their Apple wearable device, select brick-and-mortar stores are now offering a brand new workshop called 'Apple Watch Basics,' MacRumors discovered earlier today.
The program can be booked now and is showing up as a Concierge option on Apple's website, with first in-store workshops slated to begin on April 24. According to Apple's website, select stores both in the United States and in other countries are offering workshops as of today, including locations like Xidan Joy City in China.