Apple Expecting to Reopen 'Many More' Stores in May

Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's vice president of retail and people, today told Apple employees that "many more" Apple Stores are set to start reopening in May.

applestorepaloalto
O'Brien made the comments during a weekly video update shared with staff, according to Bloomberg. "We are continuing to analyze this health situation in every location, and I do expect we will reopen up many more stores in May," O'Brien told staff. Apple did not specify which stores would be reopened, or the regions where the stores would reopen first.

In March, Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien said that Apple planned to begin opening some stores worldwide in the first half of April, and one lone store in South Korea was indeed opened again on April 18 for repairs and purchase pickups. No other stores have reopened at this time, and a separate retail source said told MacRumors that Apple is aiming to open stores in North America by mid-June.

When stores start reopening, Apple will take into account local conditions and recommendations. Some states in the U.S. have already begun relaxing their social distancing guidelines and allowing businesses to reopen, while others have extended shelter-in-place orders.

Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee, for example, are letting stay at home orders expire, while the Bay Area, where Apple is located, has extended its shelter-in-place order through the end of May. Apple will need to follow state restrictions and guidelines as stores begin to reopen.

All Apple Stores outside of Greater China (and the reopened South Korea location) have been closed since March 14. Over the course of the last few weeks, retail employees have been returning to work through training and meetings at home, while others have been handling online and phone support technical requests.

Top Rated Comments

danny842003 Avatar
51 months ago

Why does this concern you? You have the choice to not enter any Apple Store. You are free to stay isolated in your bunker for as long as you want, peaking out of your window from time to time to see if people are still alive. So why would you care who enters the stores or how many do so? As long as you stay isolated you’re safe, right?
Because social distancing is pointless on an individual level. Individuals can’t stay isolated forever but communities can reduce risk for everyone.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sedulous Avatar
51 months ago
I am sorry but I think many posts here missed the point of these measures. The goal was to “flatten the curve” so that ICUs are not overwhelmed. The goal was never to eliminate infections. The final total number of infections was not going to change much. If the curve has been flattened then it is time to move forward.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ctyrider Avatar
51 months ago

In the USA at least, every state has up to 10X more CoV cases than they had six weeks ago. Nothing has gotten better in that respect - just a lot lot worse. And a month from now all those numbers will at least double. So let's start opening stores.
But I guess it doesn't matter. Who in their right mind would want to go into one?
The number of new COVID cases will continue to increase no matter what we do, until we either have a vaccine or develop herd immunity. Would you propose we all live in bunkers for next ~2 years?

As long the curve remains flat and the medical services can handle the case load - we should be able to re-open our key businesses with some precautions and reasonable amount of social distancing. Life needs to go on.

I for one would go to the Apple Store, as long as all the reasonable precautions are in place. It's no more risky than going to a grocery store or a pharmacy.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ctyrider Avatar
51 months ago

You are not the arbiter of what is essential and what is not. For many people, the Apple Store is far more essential than many so-called essential operations that never shut down. If the Apple Store is open, folks can choose if it's essential on their own. That's the great thing about freedom.
I will go further and say that Apple is in fact essential to many of us. I rely on Apple products on a daily basis to do my job from my home and earn my living. Being able to visit Apple retail store for service, repair and checking out their products is quite essential to me.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tCdemon Avatar
51 months ago
I have a feeling a lot of places are going to reopen next month...hopefully they still continue to implement social distancing and limit how many people inside the store at any given time.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Techwatcher Avatar
51 months ago

You are not the arbiter of what is essential and what is not. For many people, the Apple Store is far more essential than many so-called essential operations that never shut down. If the Apple Store is open, folks can choose if it's essential on their own. That's the great thing about freedom.
To be fair, it really isn't essential lol.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...