Ahead of the upcoming iPhone event that's set to kick off tomorrow, some Apple Store locations will have their windows blocked off with black curtains in order to make changes to the front window displays.
Twitter user Brian Roemmele yesterday tweeted a teaser about the upcoming change, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurmanexplained in another tweet that Apple is planning to bring back "the old-school 3D front windows" at some store locations.
An Apple retail employee contacted MacRumors and confirmed Gurman's report. Apple Store workers recently practiced putting up the black curtains and were also instructed to clean out and fix floor mechanisms that haven't been used in years. This likely includes wires and other equipment used for anchoring the front displays.
Apple previously used intricate, eye-catching window displays with cutouts and designs showing off new products and features, but the practice was discontinued with the launch of the updated Apple Store designs.
Former Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts and Jony Ive worked on the updated Apple Stores, but Ahrendts has since departed and Ive is set to leave the company at the end of the year, which is perhaps why Apple is now prepared to make some changes. Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's head of people, has taken over the company's retail initiatives.
Apple frequently changed its window display setups back when it used window displays, and many of the designs are still well known, such as the colored balls used for the iPhone 5c launch.
In some stores that have seen redesigns, it's not clear how the new window displays will work, but it looks like many retail store displays will soon get more interesting to look at.
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr.
The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhon...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April.
The revamped Mail app debuted on all...
I am SO ready for a retro Apple (retro being, in my mind, a throwback to the mid 2000’s). Truly the golden era of Apple, where they weren’t afraid to make fun niche products, such as the iPod Shuffle. There was a time when Apple products really were fun! Where you felt excited to have an iPod or an iPhone in your pocket. It’s gotten so clinical over the years. Ive’s flat design plus Arendts making the stores “fashion designer” locations. Isn’t there a happy medium between 3D everything and completely flat? Isn’t there a way to make the products themselves trendy instead of relegating that to colorful cases? What the heck is the point of making the most beautiful product in the world just to cover it up in rubber?!
The current Apple Store design comes off as a little too sterile. I mean, it's nice and all, but Apple needs to have some fun with colors and decorations again.
I sure hope this signals the beginning of the end of flat, grey, hard to see UIs with tiny or non-existent controls and an excess of minimalism (is minimalism even minimalism anymore when it is extreme, or does that just make it another form of excess?) I just want things to be usable, visible, and functional again.
Man, I loved these so much. Some of the installations were awful (looking at you snow globe) but by and in large it was always wonderful to put up and see the fruits of your labor in the front of the stores.
