Last week, we highlighted the unique construction barrier art in place at Apple's forthcoming Passeig de Gràcia retail store in Barcelona, Spain. The art, which consisted of tile mosaics using images of Apple iOS app icons and honoring the style of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, surrounded the store during the final phases of construction leading up to grand opening scheduled for this Saturday, July 28.
With the grand opening just two days away and Apple making preparations to open the store for the media and then the public, the construction barriers have come down and Cult of Mac has been able to shoot some photos through the windows of the new store.
Despite the Gaudí-influenced signage promoting the store's opening, Apple appears to have maintained its usual style for the store itself, using its typical stone, wood, and metal finishes to create a clean, open feel inside the store. With three levels, the large store offers a full range of Apple products on display, as well as a large Genius Bar and a theater.
On the ground floor of the Barcelona Apple Store, about half of the available floor space is taken up with iPhone and iPad displays, spread across twelve tables in three rows. The other half of the floor is taken up by various models of MacBooks, with only a single table devoted to iMacs.
Higher up, the glass staircase leads to the Genius Bar, as well as an in-house theater.
In the basement is where Mac and iOS accessories are stored, which Apple retail employees are now hard at work filling the shelves.
Apple's new Passeig de Gràcia store opens to the public at 10:00 AM on Saturday.
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors.
Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report.
iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design
The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too.
2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple didn't update the...
Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years.
iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack)
At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.
The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM.
...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
I get that point, but thanks to Northern Ireland being so much smaller than the Republic it does have a higher population density than The South. It's also not that hard for people to make their way up to Belfast from Dundalk or even Dublin now that the roads around Newry have been upgraded. The Republic is a big place. For instance, it takes nearly four hours to get from Dublin to Cork.
Scotland has a population more or less on par with Ireland, of which 2 of Apple's 3 stores are found in central Glasgow area which is also on equal terms with Dublin so with that in mind i see no reason why Apple wouldn't even consider one retail store placement in this region.
This topic has already been discussed and reasoned around i think it's inevitable but to each their own i guess.
