{"id":623691,"date":"2026-09-13T19:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623691\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T19:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:38:10","slug":"apple-plans-a-retail-store-redesign-with-dedicated-genius-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623691\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Plans a Retail Store Redesign With Dedicated Genius Bars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple is preparing a broad redesign of its retail stores that will restore the dedicated Genius Bar as a central feature. In a post on X, Mark Gurman (@markgurman)<\/a> reports that new and upgraded locations will also receive redesigned pickup and Today at Apple areas as the company puts more emphasis on service, fulfillment and practical shopping.<\/p>\n

The plan follows several years in which Apple opened stores more selectively and focused on renovations, relocations and closures. Gurman says that renovation program will accelerate, with the refreshed design reaching most upgraded and newly opened locations over time.<\/p>\n

What will change inside Apple Stores
\nDedicated all-wood Genius Bars will return in many stores.Online pickup orders will move into secure wooden Avenue bays.Today at Apple sessions will use side bays with a large display, table, stools and equipment storage.Back-of-house spaces and employee break rooms will also be updated in many locations.<\/p>\n

Gurman says the new pieces are designed to look \u201cfully integrated\u201d with existing stores rather than added later. The Genius Bar will include two counter heights for accessibility, storage drawers and large product posters behind the service area.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDon\u2019t miss the best of The Mac Observer<\/p>\n

Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed \u2014 one tap, no account changes.<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s retail website<\/a> already presents Genius Bar help, product pickup and Today at Apple as three core store services. The reported layout brings each function into a more permanent zone. MacObserver previously covered Apple\u2019s AI Live Notes test for Genius Bar sessions<\/a> and its AI shopping assistant test<\/a>, showing that the company is changing both physical and digital retail.<\/p>\n

A small number of stores already contain parts of the new concept, but Gurman says the complete design will roll out more broadly around the world over several years. Apple has not published a store list or completion schedule.<\/p>\n

The removal of large video walls is another important part of the reported plan. Those screens supported the community-focused store concept introduced during Angela Ahrendts\u2019 retail leadership. Replacing them with service counters signals a shift toward shorter, more functional visits built around repairs, order collection and guided product help.<\/p>\n

The return of a clearly marked Genius Bar could make support easier to find, while the side bays may free the center of the store for products and customer movement. Would a dedicated service counter improve your Apple Store visit? Tell us in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple is preparing a broad redesign of its retail stores that will restore the dedicated Genius Bar as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[24978,235969,61,60,1314,80],"class_list":["post-623691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-apple-store","tag-genius-bar","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mark-gurman","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}