I just care that what I sell every day are authentic Apple products, and that our customers don’t come back to me to complain about the quality of the products.
This is what an employee at the fake Apple Store in Kunming, China told a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Earlier this week we reported on these counterfeit Apple Store that appeared in China, that closely mimicked the layout of Apple's own retail stores.
The WSJ couldn't get in touch with the owner or manager of the store, but did get in touch with a salesperson who confirmed that the store was not an authorized reseller -- but did sell genuine Apple products at the same prices as those on Apple's website.
The salesperson said it didn't "make much of a difference" if they were authorized. Instead, as the quote above illustrates, the staff in the store simply want to do a good job selling Apple products -- just like the authentic employees at an Apple Retail Store.
Apple Store Sanlitun, Beijing, China
Regarding the counterfeit stores, the salesperson felt his "store should be one of the best in terms of scale and the level of professionalism," noting that the employee t-shirts and name lanyards give it a similar look and feel to the authentic Apple Stores in China, in Beijing and Shanghai.
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports.
iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs.
On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge.
Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
I find the smugness and audacity of an Apple Store employee increases with the distance from Cupertino and distance from a tech industry hub. A friend of mine was back east, I think Rochester, NY, to visit family and help get a printer for his mother who owned a Mac. My friend is no civilian and has done several designs in Silicon Valley that are on retail shelves.
They get to the local Apple store and this Apple store employee, a kid just out of high school, starts to talk down to my friend's mom on what kind of printer to get. My friend interjected knowing this guy was just trying to up-sell a higher end printer with features that are not needed. The kid, in a smug note, starts to talk down to him when questioning the selection. My friend then firmly says, "That is it! Quit with the up-sell and I doubt if you know more about the Apple product line that me." Post-high school red-shirt kid totally breaks his game face and says, "Oh yeah smart-ass, prove it!"
In that moment, my friend pulls out a photo in his iPhone of himself and Woz at a party up in the Los Gatos hills. He then tells the kid he has consulted in Cupertino and if he wanted, could get him fired with a few phone calls for being such a dick. High school kid is wigged out and gets someone else in the store to help out getting the printer.
Was told he didn't get him fired by his next review wasn't the best.
So the "non-civilian" couldn't just tell his mom what printer to get?
