Apple Updates Online Store With Touch-Friendly Navigation and Search Result Tweaks

Apple today rolled out a few minor tweaks to its online store (via Mac Otakara), making it easier to navigate the store on touchscreen devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

One change involves a new sliding navigation bar for product categories. From the main store page, once users select one of the four main shopping categories (Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod), the navigation bar at the top of category page showing various products and other topics within that category can now be slid back and forth with the touch of a finger. Users on non-touch devices can slide the bar by clicking on arrows at each end.

apple_online_store_nav_bar
A second change involves product search results, which had previously been presented as lists of items. Results are now presented in a grid formatted to allow easy tapping on touch-enabled devices. Users on non-touch devices will also see arrows appearing on either side of each product image allowing them to view all associated product images without having to click through to the product pages.

apple_online_store_search_result_grid
Apple's change should notably improve the user experience on the iPad, where the large screen can take full advantage of the grid-based search results and where Apple does not have a dedicated app for shopping the store. The company's Apple Store app has been iPhone-only since its July 2010 launch, with Apple believed to be refraining from making it a universal app with a native iPad interface under the view that the iPad allows for a full web experience.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

Chupa Chupa Avatar
166 months ago
Seems broken... I navigate to Mac Pro and it still shows me the one from 2010. :D
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleMacFinder Avatar
166 months ago
touch me, touch me
Much better version from Youtube (//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wX5hbQIyy0) :D

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
needfx Avatar
166 months ago
some people...

do you really find that a touch enabled desktop computer is actually comfortable to use?

hasn't HP already made such products (https://www.google.com/search?q=hp+touch+screen&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qeleUfacNoaqPPKYgYgJ&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1311&bih=632) and failed miserably?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
166 months ago
Seems broken... I navigate to Mac Pro and it still shows me the one from 2010. :D

I wondered how long it would take for someone to mention MacPro. :D
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JAT Avatar
166 months ago
The company's Apple Store (http://appshopper.com/lifestyle/apple-store) app has been iPhone-only since its July 2010 launch, with Apple believed to be refraining from making it a universal app with a native iPad interface under the view that the iPad allows for a full web experience.

Silly.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
needfx Avatar
166 months ago
With that attitude the the iPad would have never have come into existence, given the disaster of Windows Tablets. Implementation is everything and just b/c HP doesn't do a good job doesn't mean Apple can't design something that is intuitive and improving upon people's current work flow.
I can agree that an open mind is mandatory for such situations but my arm's muscles will seriously disagree after 30 minutes of continuous use, if not earlier.
So unless the iMac takes a more horizontal approach in the future, I don't see the ergonomics team at cupertino signing off on it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)