Cataloging your store visits
Cataloging your store visits
A big update to Facades is here
In November I launched Facades, a field guide to Apple Retail Stores. A big update is available today, and it brings some of your most requested features.
Visited stores
Now you can track and share every Apple Store you visit. Visits are synced between your devices with iCloud and CloudKit, so your data is private. You can add a date and notes about your visits, and there’s even an option in settings to show visited tags on lists.
After you’ve built your list, you can share it as an image in light or dark mode and export the plain text. There are three image styles: Most Recent Visit, List, and Grid. Here is what they look like with my collection of visits:
You can export up to 219 stores as an image before the resolution exceeds the limit iOS can render. In 2018, Angela Ahrendts said she had visited 150 stores, so I hope this limit will cover most people’s needs. If you manage to exceed it, let me know.
More store features
You can now browse stores with a Boardroom, Plaza, Trees, or Green Wall. Some of these categories can be subjective, so I welcome your feedback if you disagree with my classification of any store.
More lists
In addition to Visited Stores, there are now three custom lists: Bookmarks, Favorites, and Wish List. These lists also sync with iCloud. If you previously added your store visits to the Bookmarks list, you can import them to Visited Stores on first launch.
Global map
There is a new Global Map view on the Locations tab representing every single open and closed store location. In a future update, I’m planning to highlight your visits to the map.
Quick actions and more
Long press stores in lists or the map and website tiles on any store detail page to quickly view more information. You can now display romanized names for all stores and relative dates on store detail pages.
Apple Confluence renovation
Apple Confluence in Lyon, France is closing temporarily from January 14 for some type of renovation. MacGeneration thinks the closure will last until March. If we assume this rumor to be true, it presents a potentially interesting scenario. Let’s think it through:
Apple Downtown Brooklyn and Georgetown both closed for renovations for approximately two months in 2022. These renovations included no customer-facing changes, and neither store employed any celebratory branding online or on the storefront to mark the closure.
Apple Confluence is now using that time-tested ribbon Apple logo, a mark that usually means more than “maintenance in progress.” Two months is not long enough for a full renovation, which means that either the timeline MacGeneration suggested is only an estimate, Apple is using their new store opening branding for routine maintenance, or some kind of renovation is coming that we haven’t seen before.
Creative Studios Shorts
It’s been a while since we last checked in on Today at Apple. There’s a new project out now on Apple TV+ that is the first of its kind: Creative Studios Shorts. From the description:
This summer, the initiative worked with Fully Focused Productions in London, aiming to uncover diverse stories from young people across the city. Throughout August 2022, these young creatives were charged with creating short films based on themes of belonging, community, culture and identity.
Today at Apple Creative Studios began at Apple Tower Theatre with the goal of providing resources to underrepresented communities, but it has really grown far beyond the store walls in cities across the world.
These shorts are only available on Apple TV+ in the UK, but you can watch the trailers on the web by opening this link in a browser.
Featured image
Apple Sydney
Photo via @bentangphotos.