Tabletops: Unplugged
Finally, an issue of Tabletops that lives up to its name.
Unplugged
Something strange happened in Miami on August 19, 2021: the plug tables disappeared.
Ok, let me explain. Today we’re going to talk about cable management. Get ready.
A brief history of tables
In the beginning, Apple Store tables looked like this:
Macs were arranged on Brooks Stevens-approved Corian islands, and cables were routed through small round holes drilled in the tops. It was a practical design when stores were organized by sections like “home” and “pro,” but Apple’s product line grew.
Soon, stores switched to wood tables and defined an aesthetic still synonymous with Apple Stores. Based on my research, Apple SoHo was the first location with maple display tables when it opened in 2002.
The new tables had a cable management solution perfect for the era of large desktops and laptops: six holes and six Macs:
Then came the iPhone and iPad.
Apple Store tables are complex power management appliances disguised as furniture. As Macs shrank and iPhones and iPads grew, more and more devices could fit on tables that were never designed to carry them in the first place. Things got complicated below and above the surface:
By 2015, it was time to mess with the tables. Apple Brussels and the New Store Design introduced what I’ll call the “channel table.”
One narrow channel cut down the center of each table unlocked boundless merchandising flexibility. It was almost perfect. The only thing better than one channel would be no channel at all.
Enter late 2017’s “plug table.” Inspired by the glass Apple Watch display table, small metal discs spaced evenly across the tabletop conceal hidden power connectors. When removed, iPhone docks and custom power cables can be attached directly to the table. No channels, no holes, few cables. It was a beautiful moment.
Original plug tables seemed to bet on a plausible future with iPads, iPhones, and little else. Those tiny connectors couldn’t handle the power demands of larger devices like the HomePod, which launched just months later. And they certainly couldn't support desktop Macs, which, despite the outlook in 2017, were anything but dead.
In 2018, plug tables were revised with a hybrid plug and channel design. If you’ve been to an Apple Store of any age in the past few years, there's a good chance you've seen these tables. Quite a few Classic stores have had their tables swapped, and the Boardroom table design was revised to add plugs.
In theory, the hybrid table was a design that could last forever. Plugs were there if iPhones and iPads were merchandised, and the channel was there for desktop Macs and future products. But the plugs got no love. When iPhone risers launched in fall 2020, their design eschewed plugs and relied on Lightning cables. Most channel-free plug tables, now effectively defunct, were removed.
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Phew.
Where were we? Oh right, Miami. Apple Dadeland moved to a new space last August and forgot to bring plug tables with it. Could the strange omission just be an anomaly? Let's take a look at the major retail projects completed since August 2021:
If three times makes a pattern, we're approaching fractal territory. After six years of experimentation, the tables are back where they started in Brussels.
So what happened? Why am I telling you this?
I’d love to be wrong, but I think this marks the end of an era that I couldn’t let pass without a farewell. Plug tables were a great example of how to iterate on an iconic design without corrupting what made it special.
This change also formalizes a shift in Apple's product line and future ambitions. The demise of the plug table is an acknowledgment that Macs still matter and that the iPhone has matured. MagSafe unlocks new possibilities for merchandising.
So what happens next? I expect plug tables to slowly fade away through table swaps and store remodels. Apple Watch display tables continue to use plugs under the glass.
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Some day you might spot a shiny bronze connector poking out from under the edge of a Magic Keyboard like the ghost of an airport phone booth behind a snack kiosk. You'll turn to your grandchild and say, "I remember when the iPhones plugged right into the tables."
"Sure grandpa," they'll say. "And I bet the ports just magically appeared when you waved your hand over the table."
Bonus unfounded theory
Remember that Apple Watch display table pilot design?
In summer 2019, a handful of Apple Stores replaced their glass Apple Watch display tables with grids of Apple Watches mounted (with plugs!) on individual wood blocks. The pilot design filled the void created by removing the glass from the table, but I always imagined a permanent design where watches were attached directly to the plugs in standard display tables.
This pilot also included an early version of Apple Watch Studio, which launched in fall 2019. The blocky Apple Watch display table did not, and was never seen again.
What went wrong? My theory is that the wind changed direction on plug tables at about the same time, and all related merchandising was scrapped. There’s now a new pilot Watch stand at a few stores that we still need to discuss, but that is for another day.
Featured image
Apple Xinyi A13
Photo via shot81rich on Instagram.