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 its four-day Black Friday shopping event last month, Apple has continued to incentivize customers to purchase a new iPhone with limited time discounts through the Apple GiveBack program. The trade-in offer, which was initially promoted with increasingly pervasive online marketing, has also made its way to Apple’s physical stores in an unprecedented way.
Apple has announced that its HomePod smart speaker will be coming to China early next year. After launching in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia this past February, the company has slowly brought the device to additional countries around the world. Starting in June, customers could purchase HomePod in France, Germany, and Canada. The speaker launched in Mexico and Spain in late October.
No retailer wants to close a store — even temporarily. Closures mean lost sales, disruptions to service, and a negative customer experience. As Apple’s stores have steadily grown in popularity over the past 17 years, renovations and expansions to keep up with increased traffic have necessitated temporary closures from time to time. In locations without nearby alternatives or where construction work is estimated to be time-consuming, Apple has implemented temporary stores to ease the transition.
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The new iPad Pro has ignited conversations about the future of computing and new possibilities for creative work. Paired with a second-generation Apple Pencil, the hardware unlocks potential that has driven many professionals to re-evaluate how iPads best fit in their lives. My own experience with the new iPad Pro has been a journey of discovery. To expand my horizons and help others get more out of their devices, I asked the creative professional community to share their own iPad workflows.
Pro customers are Apple’s most loyal audience. It’s easy to be an iPhone or iPad enthusiast. Regular software updates are practically guaranteed, and year-over-year hardware improvements are dramatic. It’s been much harder to remain optimistic in the pro market. Software changes can make or break productivity, and hardware has, at times, felt neglected and forgotten. For pro customers, this year’s Final Cut Pro X Creative Summit in Cupertino proved that loyalty isn’t without reward.
With the launch of iOS 12 this past September, Apple brought RAW editing support to the built-in iOS Photos app for the first time. The feature is a welcome addition, but iPhone users shooting RAW images will likely be dissatisfied by the rudimentary editing controls available in Photos. Today, Gentlemen Coders released RAW Power 2.0 for iOS and macOS with an impressive list of enhancements aimed at helping you get the most out of your photos.
Top photo courtesy of Arnaud Ducoret
In a city known for style, Apple has made a fashionable contribution. Today in Paris, Apple Champs-Élysées opened as Europe’s most elegant Apple retail location and the best place in France to attend a Today at Apple session. 9to5Mac readers visited the new store and provided us with photos of the grand space to share.
Two Apple retail stores returned to the Pacific coast today. Apple Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California and Apple Alderwood in Lynnwood, Washington both reopened with reimagined designs. The openings come just hours before Apple will unveil its newest flagship location in Paris which houses a towering Forum on the historic Champs-Élysées.
This Sunday, Apple will light up the streets of Paris with the grand opening of Apple Champs-Élysées. France’s latest Apple retail location features stunning historic architecture in a dazzling location. Ahead of this weekend’s full reveal, Apple has shared some photos and new details of the upcoming store.
Earlier today, I published my own experience with the new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. While I’m still finding a niche for it as a creative tool alongside my Mac, many professionals have been integrating iPads into their daily workflows for years.
The new iPad Pro is deceptively nuanced. Its all-screen design communicates obvious simplicity and clearly defined function. But beyond the display is a story that’s still being written. Is an iPad Pro for me? How far can its software be pushed? Is this really supposed to replace my Mac? These are some of the questions I set out to answer when I picked one up last week.
We take photos to capture moments. A great photo can fill in the blanks of our memory, instantly recalling forgotten details and conversations otherwise lost to time. But has looking at a photo ever raised more questions than it provided answers? Let’s look at reimagining the Photos app to better tell the stories of your memories.
After closing on February 25th, Apple’s Lynnwood, Washington store at Alderwood Mall will reopen this Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 A.M. The store will sport an all-new design and significantly increased interior space for a Forum and Video Wall.
It’s a special day for Apple fans in Thailand. The country’s first Apple store and the second in all of Southeast Asia opened today at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM shopping center. The landmark retail complex is significant both for Bangkok and Apple’s overarching goal of making Today at Apple available to more customers and in more countries.
Apple will unveil one of its “grandest Forums in Europe” on November 18th. The opening of Apple Champs-Élysées in Paris will come just over one week after Thailand’s first store, Apple Iconsiam, opens its doors. Both monumental locations mark a significant expansion of Today at Apple around the world.
Ahead of the grand opening of Apple’s first retail location in Thailand this Saturday, November 10th, a new interview has shed more light on Apple’s thinking and goals for the project. Following last week’s special event at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Thai YouTuber Ceemeagain Chatpawee sat down with retail SVP Angela Ahrendts in Williamsburg to learn more about Apple Iconsiam.
After closing on September 16th to receive a renovation, Apple’s Third Street Promenade store in Santa Monica, California will reopen on November 17th at 10:00 A.M. Updates to the store will include a newly added Forum, expansive Video Wall, and Apple’s latest fixtures and displays.
Photos courtesy of Chase Hooper.
This morning in Southlake, Texas, Apple reopened its store in the Southlake Town Square shopping district with an all-new design. The grand reopening comes just in time for the release of new iPads and Macs on November 7th. Customers will recall that the store closed on March 4th of this year for renovations. Over the past eight months, Apple essentially rebuilt the store and massively expanded its footprint.
This week’s Apple event in Brooklyn introduced more than new Macs and iPads. Today at Apple, the company’s platform of in-store creative sessions, received a massive update. After launching globally 18 months ago, the results of Apple’s efforts are beginning to show in a big way. While new hardware and slick designs catch eyes, Today at Apple is becoming Apple’s most underestimated competitive strength in metropolitan areas and a powerful platform to feature upcoming creative talent on a local and global level.
Apple is celebrating the upcoming completion of its newest retail location in France. A new webpage highlights creative sessions arriving soon in Paris. The flagship store was mentioned onstage yesterday by retail SVP Angela Ahrendts during the special event keynote in downtown Brooklyn. An earlier report had confirmed the store would open sometime in November.
Apple Park Visitor Center. Photo courtesy of Brian King.
Apple’s special event in Brooklyn this morning has wrapped up. Along with the introduction of new Macs, updated iPads, and a second generation Apple Pencil, Apple’s retail stores were also spotlighted. 60 new Today at Apple sessions were announced, and fans around the world gathered in stores for a special session where today’s keynote was streamed live from the Howard Gilman Opera House.
Following the announcement of the new iPad Pro at this morning’s special event in downtown Brooklyn, Apple has released two new informational videos that provide guidance for developers and designers updating their apps for the new displays and features.
During this morning’s special event in downtown Brooklyn, Apple announced that its program of creative and educational sessions held at retail stores across the world will be significantly transformed. The program, collectively called Today at Apple, rolled out globally in 2017 and has become an essential part of Apple’s contemporary retail experience.