"It's going to be like this forever"
Let’s begin with a quote from John Gall’s The Systems Bible:
During a visit to New York City last fall, I saw the Experience Room at Apple Fifth Avenue repurposed as an Apple Pickup zone. It’s been this way since stores reopened in 2020. As I watched customers file in and out, a thought popped into my head: “Oh. It’s going to be like this forever, isn’t it?”
At stores throughout New York, I observed Forums hosting waiting lounges, display tables acting as express purchase counters, and additional pandemic-era signage turned wayfinding. This was the during the interlude before Omicron, so none of the changes felt like emergency measures. It all just felt like business as usual.
The temporary patch is becoming permanent. To imagine stores operating as they did in 2019 feels impossible. Just look at the numbers. Apple has many more customers to serve and far more devices in use than before the pandemic. Many of those new Macs and iPads are now being used at home, where there is no IT department just down the hall. In the same amount of time, Apple has opened or expanded just under two dozen stores globally.
Former early Apple Retail employees speak of the original iPhone launch as the moment when Apple Stores "changed forever." Foot traffic permanently increased, customer expectations grew, and the stores had to evolve — both visually and functionally. Today’s fissure is much more challenging: there will soon be 517 stores.
New stores
Apple has begun hiring for a brand new store in Greater London. This will be the first totally new store location in the UK since Apple Edinburgh opened in 2014 and Apple's most significant project in London since the renovation of Apple Covent Garden in 2018.
Open positions are listed on the Apple UK Jobs website under the location "London-UK."
Apple Al Maryah Island is coming soon to Abu Dhabi. Following the all-new Apple Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi is two for two on new store openings this year. There will be much more to say when the store opens, but in the meantime, enjoy these photos via @appleholic. It’s a big year for Apple in the United Arab Emirates.
Sidenote: I'm intrigued by this line of copy at the bottom of Apple's preview page for the store:
This is the first time I can recall seeing the Apple Store, [Location] naming convention on any new marketing material since the "Store" descriptor was dropped in 2016.
Video Lab
Check out this ad currently running on Twitter (you'll have to click through to see the embedded video.)
This clip, along with shots in AppleCare+ videos for Mac and iPad currently featured on Apple's website, appear to be filmed inside Apple Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
Apple Stores as filming locations is a fun recent change and a great way to highlight familiar places. My favorite is the Guided Tour of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro filmed at Apple Tower Theatre.
Featured image
If you’d like to share photos or suggestions for future issues of this newsletter, my inbox and DMs are always open.