Apple Store Modernization Efforts Continue From Los Angeles to London

Apple's process of modernizing its chain of over 500 retail stores continues in several major cities around the world.

Over the weekend, Apple celebrated the grand opening of its relocated Beverly Center store in Los Angeles. Apple's original store in the shopping mall, opened November 2005, permanently closed at the end of Friday.

apple beverly center

Apple's new Beverly Center store via Instagram

Apple's remodeled stores often gain additional square footage to accommodate an increased number of both products and customers. The extra space is also beneficial to Today at Apple sessions related to photography, coding, exercising with the Apple Watch, and other topics.

Apple's latest retail design, introduced in 2015, typically includes large glass doors, large video screens for product marketing and in-store events, and sequoia wood shelves on the walls for accessories.

Apple recently announced that its flagship Covent Garden store in London will be closed starting June 27 to allow for renovations to be completed. Of note, this location became Apple's largest store when it first opened in 2010, although it has since ceded the title to a newer store in the United Arab Emirates.

apple covent garden sign

A sign at Apple Covent Garden tipped by a MacRumors reader

Likewise, 9to5Mac's Michael Steeber reported that Apple Wangfujing in Beijing will be closed for renovations starting June 24.

Elsewhere in the Greater China region, Apple has revealed that it will be opening a second store in Macau, along the Cotai Strip, an area with several hotels, casinos, and resorts, earning it the nickname of the Las Vegas of Asia. Apple has yet to specify an exact opening date, but it could be within the next month.

image3

Apple's banner for its second store in Macau via MacRumors reader Chris Gooda

Apple's renovation efforts continue at its iconic Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, and at its Palo Alto store, often visited by Apple CEO Tim Cook on product launch days due to its close proximity to Apple's headquarters.

fifth ave cube reinstalled

Apple reinstalling its glass cube on Fifth Avenue via MacRumors reader David Bills

Other regional stores closed for renovations include locations in Charlotte, Nashville, and Westchester County north of New York City.

Update: As noted by a MacRumors reader, Apple Causeway Bay in Hong Kong is also undergoing renovations, although the store remains open.

Update 2: Apple has announced on its store page for the Cotai Central location in Macau that the grand opening will be June 29.

Top Rated Comments

matt_and_187_like_this Avatar
76 months ago
apple's product changes have been so miniscule in the past years that the value of these stores has decreased significantly. for me it is basically zero.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisCW11 Avatar
76 months ago
You can tell its modern by how white the walls are and how little products are on display.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
76 months ago
Great products mean great sales, period. "Innovation" can be garbage too. Innovation doesn't necessarily make a great product.

A few innovative items:

* iPhone X
* Airpods
* Apple Watch with cellular
* A-Series Silicon
* FaceID
* Privacy/Security (Bugs are fixed, don't start saying these aren't industry leading)

Mac innovation isn't going to be as obvious because the product life cycle is longer and the size of the business is relatively smaller. Computers/Laptops are going to get updated processors and software, but they aren't going to move as fast as mobile and wearables.

I think Apple has done a phenomenal job managing the business. You don't innovate so fast that you lose sales. You slowly release features and market them to maximize sales. That's business. It's working, btw. If people buy and are satisfied with incremental innovations, it is smarter to release them as needed and when the features are fully vetted...not just innovating to innovate.
And to that I'd add MBPs with four ports of prodigious bandwidth multipurpose 40 Gb/sec Thunderbolt 3, 5K iMac displays with DCI-P3 color gamut, iMac Pro, Homepod, and ARKit.

In many ways, Apple is beholden to Intel. I suspect that will change within the next two years.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imageWIS Avatar
76 months ago
I guess you haven't really paid attention to all the changes they've made or they aren't valuable to you? Doesn't mean the changes have been "miniscule" to others or that the value of the stores has decreased.

The entire company is more valuable today than ever before, so it kind of refutes your thesis.
The value of the company and how good it's products are aren't mutually inclusive. matt_and_187_like_this ('https://forums.macrumors.com/members/matt_and_187_like_this.1007624/') is correct that Apple's product changes especially in regards to Mac have been demonstrably non-innovative and utterly lackluster since the round Mac Pro came out in 2013.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrettArchibald Avatar
76 months ago
You can tell its modern by how white the walls are and how little products are on display.
"How white the walls are..." :rolleyes:

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
76 months ago
apple's product changes have been so miniscule in the past years that the value of these stores has decreased significantly. for me it is basically zero.
I guess you haven't really paid attention to all the changes they've made or they aren't valuable to you? Doesn't mean the changes have been "miniscule" to others or that the value of the stores has decreased.

The entire company is more valuable today than ever before, so it kind of refutes your thesis.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...