U.S. Apple Stores to Remain Closed Until Early May

Apple today informed employees that its Apple retail stores in the United States will remain closed until early May, and Apple employees will continue to work from home until then.

applestorestanford
In a memo to employees, excerpts of which were shared by Bloomberg, Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien said that Apple is "continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis" and that reopening decisions will be made on after "thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts."

For now, Apple's flexible work arrangements "will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May."

In Santa Clara County, where Apple Park, Infinite Loop, and many other corporate offices and retail stores are located, there is a shelter in place order that will remain in effect until May 3. It prevents all nonessential businesses from being open and requires employees to work from home. Apple's corporate offices will not be able to reopen until that order is lifted.

According to O'Brien, Apple is "working on options" to ensure that parents have the flexibility to adjust their schedules as necessary as many are also looking after children who are no longer able to school.

Apple had previously planned to begin reopening some stores in the first half of April, and that could still be the plan for some of its stores outside of the U.S. At the current time, all stores outside of China are closed and have been shuttered since March 14.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
apple unsold web store

Retail Accessories Apple Won't Sell You Now Available via New Site

Friday January 30, 2026 8:46 am PST by
A newly surfaced resale operation is seemingly offering Apple Store–exclusive display accessories to the public for the first time, potentially giving consumers access to Apple-designed hardware that the company has historically kept confined to its retail environments. Apple designs a range of premium MagSafe charging stands, display trays, and hardware systems exclusively for displays in ...
Apple Creator Studio

Apple's Next Launch is Today

Tuesday January 27, 2026 2:39 pm PST by
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available. Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year. A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...

Top Rated Comments

Mr. Dee Avatar
76 months ago
At the end of the day, what COVID-19 tells us is, a lot of the things we have been concerned about, really does not matter. When the iPhone launched in 2007, it definitely changed the course of communication. But 5 years later, the success of the device and explosive growth of Apple couldn’t save its founder Steve Jobs. He had to leave it all behind. I remember reading a quote from someone when Steve was going through a rough period. Steve said to him in a room at Apple, what I want right now is a new body.

You could buy a maxed out iPhone 11 Pro Max or iPad Pro today, get COVID and not even live to open the box by the end of the week.

What I hope come out of this is more presence in the things that matter: your loved ones, your thoughts and dreams, experiencing each day like its your last instead of through a 5.8, 6.5, 12.9, 5.5 square.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
76 months ago
This whole thing is crazy. I remember celebrating New Years and this was not on my radar for 2020. Can someone wake me up when this is all done?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Steve686 Avatar
76 months ago
Very responsible taking the lead.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sanlitun Avatar
76 months ago
Nothing to be done about this. The thought of millions touching Apple store demo screens each day is horrifying.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
76 months ago
Good. I mean, why open the Apple stores in mid April, when the situation is worsening every single day. It’s better to reassess in a month from now, to find out where and how COVID-19 is continually expanding. One of the worst things Apple could do, is prematurely open their stores, and promote the spread further.

If we’re going to beat C/19 Collectively as a Community, sacrifices have to be made with certain ‘non-essential’ businesses remaining closed. That’s how it has to be until further notice.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freeangel1 Avatar
76 months ago
YIKES! not good for Apple but at least the employees at each of these stores are still being paid. unlike other businesses the let their employees go. 10 million and counting.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)