Drawn to life
Dynamic artwork fills walls and windows
The unveiling of new Apple Store graphics means more than a fresh marketing initiative to the Apple community. The images represent new ideas, new products, and new artwork. It's an exciting moment.
Brightly illustrated Graphic Panels, Video Wall loops, and Feature Bay artwork launched at US Apple Stores over the past week. A few significant stores added matching window displays. Jason Granovsky shared the photos above from Miami. Additional displays have been spotted at New York City's Apple World Trade Center and Santa Monica's Apple Third Street Promenade.
The new imagery highlights features like Cinematic mode, macro photography, and spatial audio on iPhone 13, Apple Watch workouts, and HomePod mini colors. The Feature Bay for AirPods includes an App Clip Code with a link to Apple Music. Check out this Twitter album from Brian Yu for more photos.
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Apple Stores feel more welcoming and less like retail spaces when in-store graphics reach beyond product hero images to encourage creativity and art. This is Apple at its best.
Sound off
Earlier this year, Apple discontinued the Beats Pill+ Bluetooth speaker without announcing a replacement product. This presents an interesting dilemma, as Apple Store Forum Tables around the world rely on the speakers to provide audio for Today at Apple sessions.
Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza solved this issue with speakers built into its tables, but that's only one store. What happens when a Pill+ needs to be replaced at any of the other 515 locations? What happens at New Store Openings?
Perhaps this is a great opportunity to revisit the Forum Display, that custom TV behind every Forum Table. Updated hardware could solve the audio issue and address feedback from Creative Pros discovered after five years of sessions.
iPhone LiDAR scan
Rafa Pagés captured Ruth Asawa's San Francisco Fountain outside Apple Union Square using Scaniverse on iPhone. LiDAR scanning and Object Capture on Mac are the most powerful and exciting new preservation tools to emerge in recent memory. Check out the 3D model on Sketchfab.
Featured image
Apple Michigan Avenue braves a sub-zero January day on the Chicago River. Photo via Kenny Johnson Jr. on Instagram.