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
Following the brief acknowledgment of retail consolidation in a statement in February, Apple has officially announced the closure dates of two of its store locations in Texas. On April 12th, Apple Stonebriar in Frisco and Apple Willow Bend in Plano will permanently close their doors.
Around the world today, Apple fans gathered to hear the latest announcements from Steve Jobs Theater, where the company introduced a wave of new services like Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Card. To celebrate the event, Apple hosted livestreams of the keynote at approximately 96 of its retail stores throughout the United States and all over the globe. Store visitors and 9to5Mac readers shared their photos of the experience.
Coinciding with the start of spring, Apple has announced a new live concert series set to be held in Italy. “Apple Music Live: Piazza Liberty” begins on March 28th and will run throughout spring and summer on the public amphitheater above Apple’s new flagship store in Milan.
Apple is offering visitors to its stores across the world an opportunity to watch March 25th’s Special Event with friends and other Apple fans on the big screen. Stores with Video Walls will host special Today at Apple sessions to livestream the keynote from Steve Jobs Theater.
Apple updated its Apple Store app today with a few new features to spotlight Today at Apple sessions and make participating in the Apple GiveBack program easier. The update brings the app to version 5.3.
Following an earlier collaboration in 2014, Adobe and accessory company Moleskine are teaming up again to deliver a new and improved Creative Cloud smart notebook. The connected paper tablet will allow creative professionals who enjoy the experience of drawing on paper to take advantage of the digital flexibility of working in Adobe Illustrator on the desktop.
A new report today from KQED calls out artist dissatisfaction with compensation and promotion received for hosting Today at Apple sessions. The report highlights the challenges of proving the value of creative work in a culture built around “working for exposure.”
Less than a decade ago, a desktop drawing tablet was an essential tool for just about every professional digital artist. More recently, the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and other competing products like the Microsoft Surface line have given creative professionals a range of affordable and portable options to consider. Still, many artists consider dedicated graphics tablets the gold standard for illustration and design. Leading the industry is Wacom, known for its line of Cintiq pen displays. For 2019, Wacom has released the entry-level Cintiq 16, and I’ve been testing how it compares to an 11-inch iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 2.
As intelligent speakers and voice assistants like the HomePod and Siri drive awareness of home automation, HomeKit has become a key part of Apple’s product ecosystem. Unless you know an enthusiast who has already made the investment in a full smart home, the best way to learn about HomeKit today is at Apple retail stores.
Opposition to Apple’s planned global flagship store in Melbourne’s Federation Square has not subsided in the seven months since revised designs were released to the public. Now, Melbourne’s city council has spoken out against proposed changes to the square that many citizens argue would irreparably disrupt the cultural fabric of the space.
Like it has done at other flagship stores in Santa Monica and Palo Alto, Apple will temporary close Portland, Oregon’s Apple Pioneer Place for renovations starting March 24th. Upgrades are expected to include a new Forum, Video Wall, and Avenue displays along the store’s rear wall.
Apple announced today that its retail store at Bondi Junction in the Australian state of New South Wales will begin a temporary closure on March 24th. Following renovations, the location will become Apple’s fourth upgraded store in Australia. Locations in Chadstone, Robina, and Adelaide were previously upgraded throughout 2017 and 2018.
Beginning in March, Apple will offer a unique collection of Today at Apple sessions in select retail stores around the world to celebrate International Women’s Day 2019. The series, titled “Made by Women,” highlights creative achievements by and for women in various creative disciplines.
Skateboarding graphics, linocut prints, and the Apple Pencil inspire designer Neil Vilppu. His distinctive illustration style is the product of merging traditional and contemporary ideas. It’s this willingness to experiment that has led Neil to success in a workflow that combines the creative freedom of the iPad Pro with the powerful familiarity of the Mac.
Update: Apple has confirmed its store opening and closure plans in a statement to TechCrunch:
“We’re making a major investment in our stores in Texas, including significant upgrades to NorthPark Center, Southlake and Knox Street. With a new Dallas store coming to the Dallas Galleria this April, we’ve made the decision to consolidate stores and close Apple Stonebriar and Apple Willow Bend. All employees from those stores will be offered positions at the new Dallas store or other Apple locations.”
An unusual Apple retail plan is taking shape in Texas. According to public permits filed with the City of Dallas, Apple has secured a tenant location in the Galleria Dallas, a large shopping center less than 10 miles from Dallas Love Field airport. The mall is located midway between four existing Apple Store locations currently serving central Dallas and surrounding communities to the north.
New photos published today by Xataka México detail what is believed to be the framework of Apple’s second retail store in Mexico. The expansion has been anticipated since shortly after Apple opened its first store in the country, Apple Vía Sante Fe, in 2016. Today’s photos provide the first clear look at what Apple may have in the works.
Apple released the third developer beta of iOS 12.2 today, and with it comes a few new features. In addition to design tweaks and subscription discount options for developers, Apple has enhanced Siri functionality to help spread awareness of its Today at Apple retail initiative.
Over the weekend, a wide-ranging report from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo offered new insight into upcoming Apple products we may see unveiled in 2019. One of the most interesting tidbits for pro users was a note about possible future MacBook Pro models with 16-inch to 16.5-inch displays.
Following Apple’s ambitious retail expansion promise last fall, plans for larger and modernized stores that form greater community connections have steadily revealed themselves. From Florida to Vancouver to Barcelona, Apple looks set to fulfill its word with a myriad of concurrent construction projects. Close to home, changes are also afoot. San Jose’s Westfield Valley Fair shopping mall is in the midst of a massive expansion that will include a brand new flagship Apple Store.
Apple’s first retail expansion of 2019 is complete. Customers and team members in Natick, Massachusetts celebrated the grand reopening of Natick Mall’s Apple Store today after just under nine months of renovation work. The redesigned store offers more than twice the space of the previous storefront. 9to5Mac reader Dakota Allen visited the new space and shared photos of the redesign.
Adobe is rolling out new features and fixes to its Lightroom CC desktop and mobile apps today with Sensei-powered enhancements and workflow improvements. Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw users will see a few changes as well.
Since Apple announced that Angela Ahrendts is passing her role as senior vice president of Retail to longtime leader Deirdre O’Brien, many Apple enthusiasts have arrived at the conclusion that the company’s stores are in dire need of radical change. Valid complaints of low appointment availability, slow service, and overcrowding have inflated themselves into an online meme that Apple store visits are becoming as unpleasant as the DMV. One of the most commonly prescribed antidotes is to “just build more stores.”
As the sun sets on plans to transform a historic park in Stockholm with the addition of a flagship Apple store, Apple is now looking to unload the property it planned to occupy and distance itself from the project, according to a new report from Swedish publication Fastighetsvärlden. The property sale would mark a disappointing end to an extensive and expensive investment for Apple as it seeks to expand and modernize its retail experience worldwide.
Apple’s announcement earlier this week that senior vice president of Retail Angela Ahrendts will be departing from the company in April sent a wave of concern through the industry. Apple’s press release left details of Ahrendts’ departure and promotion of longtime Apple veteran Deirdre O’Brien open to interpretation, causing many to speculate around the terms of her exit and future plans after leaving Apple.