In June 2015 it was reported that Apple would renovate its iconic Fifth Avenue retail store, temporarily relocating its operations to the vacated FAO Schwarz toy store in the General Motors Building. A MacRumors reader spotted a new sign in front of the iconic store that reveals the relocation will happen on January 20.
FAO Schwarz vacated its location in the General Motors Building in July 2015 due to the rising cost of rent. The space is just a couple feet away from the iconic glass cube, making the relocation largely seamless for frequent customers of the Fifth Avenue store.
Apple's Fifth Avenue store and the former FAO Schwarz space, far right (Flickr)
While the extent of the renovations at the Fifth Avenue store are unknown, the company has been expanding or relocating a number of its older stores to accommodate increased foot traffic. The Fifth Avenue location was last renovated in 2011, when larger, more seamless panes of glass were installed. The renovation was completed in November 2011.
Ahead of the closure, the store will have reduced hours of 6:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on January 16-18. The location is usually open on a 24 hour, 365 day basis.
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...
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...
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"...
Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
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 ...
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 ...
Too many clever words on that sign when a simple arrow would've sufficed (especially considering the number of non-English-speaking tourists that must visit that iconic store)
Perfect example for anyone new to Macrumors as far as what to expect in the forums. People will criticize Apple over the most ridiculous things and rarely is anyone happy.
I worked in that store from 2010-2011. Even back then, the traffic and crowding was unbelievable. Each week, the FDNY would send a fire inspector to see if there were more people than was safe, in case a fire broke out. And each week, they were far over the legal limit. Apple didn't give a ****; they paid the fine each week.
I know Wall Street and the myriad Apple-haterz continue to claim Apple is going out of business quite soon but these sort of things Apple is doing isn't quite indicative of a company going out of business. A company wouldn't keep renovating old stores and adding new stores at this rate. You can tell how Sears, J.C. Penney and Macys are having a financial crisis as they sell off stores and dump employees. Where is that happening at Apple. It's true I don't really know if Apple is having a financial crisis but spending more money on expansion wouldn't make any sense if they did have a crisis. So what is it that Wall Street knows that I don't? Of course, I also don't understand why Yahoo's share price continues to rise while the company's fundamentals are quite crappy. Yahoo has an EPS of -5.1 and yet the stock has risen over 25% this past year. Apple has an EPS of about 8.3 and the stock has risen just 3% in 2016. I just don't get it. There are so many mixed signals with Apple so it's hard to tell who's telling the truth about the company. If Apple were in financial trouble they shouldn't be doing any renovations or expansion.
Apple isn't going out of business, nor are they anywhere even remotely close to what it would take for them to shut down. That is something said by the 1-5% of the tech population that come on these sites and forums because they are angry the MacBook, iMac or iPhone didn't have the feature or specs they wanted or because they prefer another brand product and want to make Apple seem like they are in trouble. On a general consumer level, Apple is doing just fine.
"Apple’s Fifth Avenue emporium probably has annual sales of more than $350 million, said Jeffrey Roseman, executive vice president of real- estate broker Newmark Knight Frank Retail. The location is 10,000 square feet, putting its sales per square foot at a minimum of $35,000, based on Roseman’s estimate.
Those sales trump tony jewelry sellers along the famed street — currently earning about twice as much: Tiffany & Co. rakes in just $18,000 per square foot, Harry Winston between $12,000 – $13,000."
Abercrombie pays annual rent of $12.5 million for a 25,000 square foot shop on Fifth Avenue. Apple probably pays more per square foot for its more prime location but regardless they are turning a serious profit in a location with incredible marketing value.
