Michael is a Creative Editor who covered Apple Retail and design on 9to5Mac. His stories highlighted the work of talented artists, designers, and customers through a unique lens of architecture, creativity, and community.
Contact Michael on Twitter to share Apple Retail, design, and history stories: @MichaelSteeber
Lead image courtesy of Wayne Chen
Apple customers today celebrated the grand opening of Taiwan’s second official Apple Store. Apple Xinyi A13 brings new designs, new ideas, and new opportunities to Taipei. Fans gathered outside the doors and in an overnight queue stretching to Le Méridien Taipei hotel for many hours to be among the first to see what Apple has in store.
June 15th marks the grand opening of Apple’s second retail store in Taiwan and the first on the island with direct access to the city of Taipei around it. Ahead of Saturday’s public reveal, Apple has previewed new details about the store’s design and what it represents for residents and visitors in Taipei.
June is Pride Month, and since 2016 Apple has shown its support in the form of special edition Apple Watch bands and later watch faces with a rainbow theme. In previous years, Apple Watch display tables in a handful of select retail stores were redecorated with a white backdrop, rainbow Apple logo, and Pride bands. This year, Apple is rolling out Pride displays to stores across the world with a new design and 2019’s Sport Loop front and center.
In Australia, Apple is putting the finishing touches on its latest store renovation. Apple Bondi will reopen on June 29th at 9:30 A.M. local time after closing in March for significant upgrades.
In Barcelona, Apple’s significant Passeig de Grà cia retail store closed on February 10th to become the country’s second Apple Store to feature modern fixtures, a video wall, and a Forum to host Today at Apple sessions. After just over four months of renovations, the store will reopen on June 20th with a renewed focus.
Apple’s second retail store in Taiwan will celebrate its grand opening on June 15th at 10:00 A.M. local time. The long-awaited location in Taipei’s Xinyi District was first revealed when promotional signage was installed on the building. The store’s name — Apple Xinyi A13 — refers to its location in the district at the foot of a new Far Eastern Department Store.
Apple’s yearly pop-up WWDC Store returned to San Jose today with a new wave of exclusive items and neon-themed merchandise for developers to take home as souvenirs. For 2019, Apple has significantly revamped the store’s organization and inventory with a new checkout process and larger product selection than ever before. Here’s a look at what’s available if you’re an attendee.
Developers lucky enough to attend WWDC in previous years will know that Apple’s Company Store in the McEnery Convention Center is always a popular spot. Each year, the pop-up shop sells a variety of limited edition clothing and souvenirs only available to attendees. This year, Apple looks to make it easier for busy developers to get in, get the items they want, and get back to the conference.
Alongside the introduction of iOS 13, Apple has significantly updated its Design Resources with new tools for developers and designers that will help create consistent, usable, and visually pleasing apps. One of the biggest additions is a brand new set of configurable symbols and a companion macOS app called SF Symbols.
Today Apple previewed macOS Catalina and iPadOS, both of which include a new feature called Sidecar. Using an iPad and a Mac, Sidecar allows you to create an extended workspace by turning your iPad into a second, fully interactive display. Both displays can show different content or mirror each other. Apple has provided more detail on the functionality and an initial list of apps that will work seamlessly with Sidecar when it is released to everyone this fall.
The annual WWDC keynote in San Jose is always one of the most anticipated events for developers, designers, and fans in the Apple community. Sharing the excitement of watching Apple’s announcements with others is always a richer experience, but attending WWDC is only possible for a lucky few. This year, Apple will stream WWDC’s opening keynote on June 3rd to select Apple Stores around the world to help more people join in the fun.
Apple frequently partners with prolific voices in the creative community to support its retail education initiatives. A new collaboration coming this summer will be Today at Apple’s highest-profile yet. Apple announced today that it has teamed up with Madonna to create a brand new Music Lab that takes musicians behind the scenes of creating a song.
If you visit Portland, Oregon today, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a brand new Apple Store just opened. Downtown’s Apple Pioneer Place was actually built in 2014, but two months of renovation work have given it a fresh look that measures up to Apple’s latest and greatest designs. May 31st marked the store’s grand reopening and the start of a renewed focus on Today at Apple sessions in Portland.
WWDC kicks off next Monday in San Jose, and Apple is busy preparing the McEnery Convention Center for a week of events. One of the most fun traditions — the raising of artwork and decorations — began Tuesday night and has been ongoing since.
In a new interview with Bloomberg, Apple’s former SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts reflected on her time leading the company’s physical and digital stores and noted the success of Apple’s retail strategy over the past five years. For the first time since leaving Apple, Ahrendts directly responded to criticisms over store organization and customer experience.
In Taipei, Apple is putting the finishing touches on its second official Taiwanese retail store. After opening its first location on the island in 2017 at Taipei 101, Apple is expanding outdoors with an open pavilion at street level in the Xinyi District of Taipei. Overnight, promotional graphics were installed on the building teasing its imminent arrival and name: Apple Xinyi A13.
It’s impossible to talk about Apple retail in 2019 without mentioning Today at Apple. The program of creative sessions has become a primary force driving the philosophy, architecture, and organization of all Apple Stores since it was rolled out globally two years ago this week. Those two years have been marked by a maturing session curriculum that has sharpened Today at Apple’s focus and expanded its reach. The program has evolved so much, in fact, that it is beginning to outgrow the stores it was designed for.
Following months of renovation, Apple is preparing to reopen its store in Portland, Oregon with a new look. Apple Pioneer Place will welcome customers once again on May 31st at 10:00 A.M. Upgrades will include a new Forum, video wall, and more.
A new collaboration between Apple and celebrated photographer Christopher Anderson aims to change the way you think about photography. Beginning soon, Apple Stores will offer a new Today at Apple Photo Lab with a focus on portraits. The lab is the latest in a series of special in-store sessions designed with iconic voices in the creative community.
For many of us, our iPhones and Apple Watches represent far more than tools used for work or entertainment. We share our lives with these devices, and the experiences and memories made with them are reflected in the scratches and fingerprints that accumulate on their cases. A new photography project by New York City-based artist Elvin Hu attempts to shine a light on the underrepresented human side of technology.
Following a departure from Apple earlier this year, travel service Airbnb announced today that Angela Ahrendts will be joining the company’s board of directors as an independent non-affiliated member. Ahrendts previously led Apple’s online and physical retail stores during a time of rapid change and expansion.
In addition to significant improvements to its prototyping tool XD, Adobe today released updates to Lightroom with new ways to learn photo techniques, improved editing features, and more. The updates are rolling out to Mac and iOS customers starting today.
The growing number of podcasts appealing to just about every interest imaginable has inspired many listeners to create their own shows. But getting started can feel daunting. How do I record? How do I edit my tracks? What can I do to make my show stand out? These are some of the questions a new Today at Apple session designed for aspiring podcasters will try to answer.