Apple this week opened its newest Apple Store in New York City, Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza, which also happens to be the first Apple retail location in the Bronx.
Apple Store aficionado Michael Steeberteamed up with Storeteller for a virtual 360-degree walkthrough of the new location, giving us an in-depth look at the features and improvements that Apple has brought to its latest Apple Store.
Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza may look similar to most other Apple retail locations, but it has a unique feature - a dedicated Pickup Zone. The Pickup Zone is a permanent installation within the store, featuring a dedicated table where customers can get their new devices from employees and more interestingly, a wall of built-in drawers where all the pickup orders are housed.
In most Apple retail locations, employees must go to the back to retrieve orders that have been placed for in-store pickup, but that won't be the case with Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza, and it is the first store with this setup rather than a Forum area.
Along with the Pickup Zone, the store also features an area with round tables for training, and a series of Forum displays. There are leather seats along the walls for those waiting for Genius Bar appointments, and the front of the store is outfitted with sliding glass doors.
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
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I used to love Apple stores 10+ years ago. I find them busy and stressful now. The whole Genius Bar experience used to be fun. Now it feels like waiting at the dentist. A dentist where you can't find the receptionist. The only time I ever go "into" one is if I'm early for a train at Grand Central station. That one feels kind of like it's outside. If there's a product I've not seen in person, I'll have a very quick look there then rush out.
"Picking up your order from our patented built-in, instant-on, soft-close drawers makes buying the latest Apple device even more rewarding. They're the best drawers Apple has ever made - we think you're gonna love them."
"Picking up your order from our patented built-in, instant-on, soft-close drawers makes buying the latest Apple device even more rewarding. They're the best drawers Apple has ever made - we think you're gonna love them."
See, I thought “dedicated pickup zone” is a place to meet ladies.
If there are some ladies there you could try a few of your best pickup lines on them. Who knows, you may get lucky. Worst that could happen is you get hauled off for sexual harassment.