All Apple Stores In New York City Have Closed Due To COVID-19

Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases around the world as a result of the Omicron variant, some corporations are closing their retail locations once again. After temporarily closing other stores across the US and Canada, Apple has now decided to close all of its stores in New York City.

All Apple Stores in New York City were partially closed on Monday, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman originally reported. Customers will no longer be able to visit the stores, but they will be able to pick up online orders in-store. The following is a list of recently shuttered retail locations:

• New York, Upper West Side
• New York, Upper East Side
• New York, SoHo
• New York, Fifth Avenue
• New York, World Trade Center
• New York, West 14th Street
• New York, Grand Central
• Brooklyn, Williamsburg
• Brooklyn, Downtown Brooklyn
• Bronx, The Mall at Bay Plaza
• Staten Island, Staten Island
• Elmhurst, Queens Center
• Garden City, Roosevelt Field
• Huntington Station, Walt Whitman
• Lake Grove, Smith Haven
• Manhasset, Manhasset

Apple closed seven more stores last week due to the spread of COVID-19 among staff in Atlanta, Houston, and New Hampshire. Other Apple Stores in Miami, Maryland, and Ottawa were shuttered earlier this month because of the epidemic. When 10% of a store's employees test positive for COVID-19, the corporation usually closes it down.

Apple has also reintroduced the mask-wearing requirement in all of its US retail locations. According to the corporation, it is "frequently monitoring [COVID-19] situations" to determine which stores should be shuttered to "help the well-being of customers and employees."

Apple Re-Closing 11 Stores Across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina And Arizona

Apple is re-closing 11 stores across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Arizona amid spikes in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Arizona, Florida, California, South Carolina, and Texas all reported record-high single-day increases in coronavirus cases on Thursday as states continue to ramp up testing and the virus reaches new communities. It’s not clear yet which stores Apple will be re-closing.

Apple To Re-Open 100 More Retail Stores In The U.S. This Week

Apple will reopen around 100 more retail stores in the U.S. this week in California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and more. Out of Apple’s 510 stores, all but the 52 locations in Greater China closed temporarily on March 13. As of May 26, a total of 148 Apple Stores are open globally. According to Apple's blueprint, all stores will allow customers to make Genius Bar reservations, and those reopening their doors will require face coverings and temperature checks.

All Apple Retail Stores In The U.S. Will Remain Closed Until May

According to a Bloomberg report, Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, told employees in a memo that its retail stores in the U.S. will remain closed and work-from-home procedures will stay in place until early May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The article said O’Brien told staff that the company anticipates that “flexible work arrangements will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May.” She added that Apple is “continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis” and that the company will make “reopening decisions on the basis of thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts.”

Some Apple Stores To Reopen In April

Apple has told staff that some of its retail stores may reopen in April on a staggered basis and has extended remote work abilities for many employees through at least April 5, according to Bloomberg.

The details were disclosed in a memo from Senior Vice President of People and Retail Deirdre O’Brien that was obtained by Bloomberg. 

“For all of our retail stores outside of Greater China, we will reopen our stores on a staggered basis. At this time, we anticipate some stores may be able to open in the first half of April depending on the conditions in their community,” she wrote. “We will provide updates for each store as soon as specific dates are established.”

Apple Stores Promoting Apple Pay With A $5 iTunes Gift Card

In Apple retail stores in the United States and the United Kingdom, Apple is running a promotion to encourage its customers to sign up for Apple Pay this week. Apple employees will ask customers if they would like to pay via Apple Pay. If a customer declines and does not have Apple Pay set up, employees will guide customers through the setup process to make the purchase and will offer a bonus $5 or £5 iTunes gift card for using Apple Pay as their payment method. The $5 iTunes gift card is available for any purchase made in an Apple Store. Seems kinda interesting to me that Apple is trying to push Apple Pay of all things. I don’t know, it just doesn’t make sense to me. What do you think ? 

Apple’s San Francisco Union Square Apple Store Looks Amazing

Apple has revealed its new store in San Francisco’s Union Square, offering many new features and services rolling out to Apple retail stores worldwide. The new store will open to customers on May 21 at 10 AM. Here are some features in the new Apple Union Square design:

• “The Avenue,” inspired by the window displays along a boulevard that dynamically change with the season. Avenue walls are interactive themed “windows” where Apple’s products and services come to life, from music, to creativity, apps, photography and more. New “Creative Pros,” Apple experts in creative arts, offer advice and expertise at each of the displays. Customers will also find “Only at Apple” products on the Avenue, a curated collection of third-party accessories.
• “Genius Grove” invites customers to get support working side-by-side with Geniuses under the comfortable canopy of local trees in the heart of the store.
• “The Forum” is a vibrant gathering place, centered around a 6K Video Wall. It is home to “Today at Apple,” which brings to the community the world’s most talented artists, photographers, musicians, gamers, developers and entrepreneurs to inspire and educate our customers to go further with the things they are passionate about. Today at Apple includes year-round programs for kids, new monthly events for teachers, sessions for current and aspiring developers, Creative Sessions in partnership with local experts in creative arts, Game Night with editors from Apple’s App Store and more. The Forum and Video Wall are a place of discovery, including events about the making of movies from iTunes, or exclusive premieres of new music and music videos from Apple Music. 
• “The Plaza” will be found only at Apple’s most significant stores, including Apple Union Square. It’s open to the public 24 hours a day, features public Wi-Fi and seating, and takes Today at Apple outside, with a regular weekend series of well known local acoustic performances such as Travis Hayes and global talents like Escondido, who will then give exclusive interviews about their craft in the Forum. The Plaza at Apple Union Square features a fountain by well-known San Francisco sculptor Ruth Asawa, originally commissioned in 1969, and a new work, “Love” by local artist Laura Kimpton, commissioned by Hyatt Hotels. 
• “The Boardroom” is an intimate space where the store’s Business Team offers hands-on advice and training to entrepreneurs, developers and other small and medium business customers.

Photos are by C NET.  

Apple Now Allowing In Store Pickup For Australia And Canada

Apple has launched an in store pickup in Australia And Canada allowing customers in those countries to order and pay for devices online and pick them up in Apple Retail  Stores. Personal Pickup is available for a number of Apple products, from Macs, Apple Watch to the iPhone, iPad, and the Apple TV. When an order is placed for an in stock item for Personal Pickup, Apple employees get it ready to go and then send an email to a customer whenever it's ready. Out of stock items are able to be shipped to a store for Personal Pickup. What do you think of Apple adding in store pickup in Canada and Australia ?

Apple Offering New Promotion To Get $50 Off An Apple Watch

Apple has started a new limited time in participating Apple Store promotion that offers customers $50 off an Apple Watch Sport or Apple Watch with the purchase of any new iPhone. Apple confirmed that the promotion runs from October 30 to November 15, 2015, and is not available online. What do you think of this promotion ? Will this boost sales ? 

Apple To Renovate Iconic Fifth Avenue Apple Store

Apple's iconic Fifth Avenue store in New York City will soon close for renovations and temporarily relocate to the soon to be closed FAO Schwarz toy store. FAO Schwarz is the most famous and oldest toy store in the United States, is set to vacate its building in July 2015 due to the rising cost of rent. The storefront is located just a short distance away from the current Apple Store at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue. Apple reportedly plans to renovate about 20 existing retail stores in the United States to accommodate for increased foot traffic, with many stores set to double in size. 

Apple Stores To Boost Trade In Values For Older iPhones

For all of June, Apple is giving a small boost to its trade-in price values for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPhone 5S. Using the Reuse and Recycle program, a customer can bring in an older iPhone model and receive gift card credit toward the purchase of a newer iPhone. Apple is offering the following improvements to its trade in pricing. iPhone 4S will get $50 of credit instead of $35, iPhone 5 will get $100 of credit instead of $85 and the iPhone 5S will get $200 of credit instead of $175. will you take advantage of this deal ? Where you waiting till something like this to get a new iPhone ? 

Trade In Your Old Devices For An Apple Store Gift Card

Apple wants Android users to switch to the iPhone by offering them Apple gift cards in exchange for their Android devices. The gift cards will be available under a new recycling and trade in program that will provide in store credit for users who trade in old smartphones, including those that come from rival smartphones. The new program will work similarly to Apple's existing trade-in program, which provides users with gift cards for older Apple devices that can be used towards a new purchase. Value of the gift cards provided to Android switchers will vary based on the individual device, its age, and its condition.