Earlier this month, we noted that Apple's forthcoming Highland Village retail store in Houston had seen its grand opening date moved up by a day in recent weeks, with Apple opting to open the store on Friday, March 16 rather than holding a traditional Saturday grand opening store. The change led to speculation that the new iPad might be launching on the new date, and Apple did indeed announce last week that the device will be available beginning on March 16.
Apple has yet to announce, however, what time it will begin in-store sales of the new iPad on Friday. The company has sometimes launched major new products first thing in the morning, with stores generally opening early for the events, but as in the case of the iPad 2 last year, the company has also occasionally launched products in late afternoon time slots.
But as noted by the Houston Chronicle, (via @tech513), Apple has now publicly announced that the new Highland Village store will be opening at 8:00 AM on Friday. Like the Friday date, an early grand opening is unusual for Apple's new retail stores, as they generally have their grand opening events at normal opening times, which in the case of the Highland Village store will be 10:00 AM. Consequently, it seems that the early opening may be tied to a launch of the new iPad, in which case Apple may be planning the debut for 8:00 AM local time at its other stores in launch countries.
The store’s doors will open at 8 a.m. Friday, the same day that Apple’s third-generation iPad will go on sale. An Apple spokeswoman would not say whether all its stores will open at that time on Friday, but an early opening is typical when the company starts selling a new iPad or iPhone model.
As noted by Slash Gear over the weekend, the first lines for the new iPad have already begun to form, with a pair of customers staking out their spots outside the Regent Street store in London.
Apple has said that demand for the new iPad is "off the charts", with the company's online stores in all launch countries now quoting shipping estimates of 2-3 weeks for new orders.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account.
In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen.
Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone.
iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about.
Measure App
Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles.
Games App
There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent.
CarPlay
The...
Apple's entry-level iPhone 16e model is selling poorly, just like the iPhone Air, according to an Asia-based leaker.
The Weibo user known as "Fixed Focus Digital" said that the iPhone 16e is not selling well and the attempt at delivering a popular, low-cost iPhone has "failed." That being said, both models are expected to see successors. The iPhone 17e is expected to debut in the spring of...
Apple has said that demand for the new iPad is "off the charts" (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/12/new-ipad-demand-is-off-the-charts-with-initial-batch-sold-out/).
Anyone could have easily got one for Friday delivery by pre-ordering within 24 hours of the event, Apple didn't adjust delivery times until the next day, they obviously had plenty of stock ready to go.
Why can't they have the new iPad out for demo? It's their product and their store; No rules being broken. It's still not for sale until 5pm. (Under the hypothetical.)
It's not Apple's style to put out demos that you can't buy because of the artificial block of an on sale time.
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What time would that be in the UK?
It wil be the same time locally. So if it is 8am in the US it will be 8am local time everywhere else
