Tabletops: Pro production

PSA: As you know, this Friday is iPhone and Apple Watch launch day. If you're visiting a store, feel free to share anything new you see with me by email or Twitter DM. I can't include everything in this newsletter, but I love seeing perspectives from every store.

Pro production

If you've been marooned on Dynamic Island for the past week, you might have missed the iPhone 14 & iPhone 14 Pro Guided Tour that landed on YouTube. It features a rare shoutout to Manhattan's Apple Upper West Side. Last year we got a look inside Apple Tower Theatre.

I'm a little bit surprised that Apple Fifth Avenue — arguably a dynamic island in its own way — was mostly skipped as a filming location for this video, but maybe those massive graphic panels at Upper West Side were just too enticing to pass up.

My imagination runs wild trying to imagine the measures Apple had to take to maintain secrecy while filming an unannounced product in the busiest parts of Manhattan. Were those graphic panels composited in later? Did Apple coordinate filming with the MTA, or did they recreate Bowery station on a film set?

By the way, that giant rooftop sign at the start of the video? It's actually The Empire Hotel, located halfway between Apple Upper West Side and Columbus Circle:

Award winner

Apple Tower Theatre recently won the California Preservation Foundation's 39th Annual Preservation Design Award for Rehabilitation. Winners are selected by a jury of top industry professionals and will be recognized during a series of programs planned for October. You can read more about the award here.

Just in time

Apple Downtown Brooklyn closed for renovations in July and reopened this past Friday, just in time for launch day. Several readers have asked if there are any notable design changes. For customers, the answer is no, as seen in the above photo courtesy of Shloime. Upgrades include new Lutron window shades and backstage upgrades — quality of life improvements for the employees.

Art Tour

The AIA Silicon Valley Sketching Together group is made up of architects and designers who gather every month to sketch environments around the Bay Area. The group is meeting at Apple Park Visitor Center on September 17th for their next event. This sounds like a fun, unofficial extension of Today at Apple Art Tours with a focus on architecture. Anyone can join.

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Apple Bağdat Caddesi

Photo via @clubofsister on Instagram.