28/05/20206min
There seems to be an urgency in the U.S. to get back to those carefree pre-COVID-19 days when the only thing you had to worry about was whether Apple’s new iPhone 12 series would support both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G signals (they will). While some behavior, such as crowding together on beaches during Memorial Day, will no doubt lead to the second wave of COVID-19 cases, most businesses are reopening slowly while trying to take a safe approach.
A week ago, we told you about some of the changes that T-Mobile has instituted for its reopened locations. An employee will open the door (regardless if you are coming or going), the capacity of each store will be sharply reduced to keep consumers at safe distances from one another and employees will have to wear a mask (no word on whether it has to be a magenta one). The sanitizer will be applied to the demo devices on the shelves while employees will have to spray and disinfect their own personal phones and tablets.
Today, Apple said that it will reopen more Apple Stores in the U.S. starting tomorrow. Last week 25 locations in the states turned their lights back on along with 12 in Canada and 10 in Italy. The Apple Stores opened last week include those in Arkansas, California, Washington, Florida, Colorado, Hawaii, and Oklahoma. And now we are looking at another 100 U.S. stores that will be reopened this week. Most of these brick and mortar locations will provide curbside or storefront service only. Customers will be able to pick-up devices and accessories ordered online and show up for Genius Bar appointments. Some stores will be open for walk-in customers. Those stores will most likely require that customers wear a mask and have their temperatures taken before they are allowed to walk inside. Despite Apple’s willingness to get back to normal, those locations allowing walk-in customers will limit browsing and Apple will still focus on online sales.
Apple says, “This week we’ll return to serving customers in many US locations. For customer safety and convenience, most stores will offer curbside or storefront service only, where we provide online order pick-up and Genius Bar appointments. Others will be open for walk-in customers and we encourage everyone to check their local store webpage for more information about hours at their preferred location. Customers can also visit apple.com for support by phone or chat. We are committed to reopening our stores in a very thoughtful manner with the health and safety of our customers and teams as our top priority, and we look forward to seeing our customers again soon.”
As of today Apple has 510 stores globally with 271 located in the states. 148 stores worldwide are currently open and if Apple goes through with its plans for this week, that number will rise accordingly. Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s Senior VP of Retail + People said earlier this month, “Our commitment is to only move forward with a reopening once we’re confident we can safely return to serving customers from our stores. We look at every available piece of data — including local cases, near and long‑term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials. These are not decisions we rush into — and a store opening in no way means that we won’t take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant.”
Apple has still released new devices even with its stores closed. This includes the new refreshed versions of the iPad Pro (2020) and the second-generation iPhone SE. The company has also had to move its annual WWDC Developers Conference online; Apple will virtually host WWDC starting on June 22nd.