Apple is continuing to press forward with new retail store openings this week, working toward making good on plans to open over 30 new stores during the third quarter of this year.
Apple's Stratford City retail store in London (Thanks, Luke!)
One unusual store opening will take place tomorrow as the Stratford City store opens up in the new Westfield Stratford City shopping center in the northeastern portion of London. The rare mid-week opening for Apple coincides with the grand opening day for the mall itself, a nearly 2 million square foot facility that will be the largest urban shopping center in Europe and serve as a key component of London's plans for hosting next year's Summer Olympics.
Apple's Jungfernstieg retail store in Hamburg (Source: Macerkopf.de)
Apple will also be opening its new Jungfernstieg store in Hamburg, Germany this Saturday. The store will be Apple's seventh German store and second in the city, joining the existing Alstertal store a few miles away.
Apple's Nanjing East retail store in Shanghai
Finally, M.I.C gadget reports that Apple is getting close to an opening for its massive new Nanjing Road store in Shanghai, adding the company's "curtain opening" promotional signage that frequently appears at flagship store locations as the final touches are put on the new stores. The new Nanjing East location will span five levels, with the first floor devoted to product demos and sales and the second floor dedicated to Genius Bar and customer training activities. Portions of the third floor will offer support for business customers, with the remainder of the facility serving as offices for Apple's operations in the region.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
I think this is part of what people clamouring for a store in their city fail to grasp. Apple demand many things to open a store. One is a large enough population. Two is that the population is affluent enough. Three is a premium/upscale mall with a vacant space of the correct size.
Toronto, Canada has like 7 Apple Stores, and they continue to open more here. The GTA area only has 5 million people.
I have not seen any reference to this store, and can't see anything on that website.
There is however an Apple Store opening in Braehead Shopping Centre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braehead#Braehead_Shopping_Centre) this month (reportedly (http://www.heraldscotland.com/apple-to-open-new-west-of-scotland-store-at-braehead-1.1087127)). The third store in Scotland.
I'll second that, when I was last over at Braehead the store front was blacked out with the big white :apple: logo stuck on front and centre, so I would imagine it was fairly imminent.
Its where the Gap store was on the ground floor.
I also cant turn up any evidence of an East Kilbride store other than it was rumoured prior to the Braehead one becoming public knowledge; I dare say it was a rumoured likely site and Braehead won out in the end.
For Info, not sure if it's already been posted, there's one opening in East Kilbride shopping centre, seen it the other day. http://www.shopek.co.uk/
Cheers, J
I have not seen any reference to this store, and can't see anything on that website.
There is however an Apple Store opening in Braehead Shopping Centre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braehead#Braehead_Shopping_Centre) this month (reportedly (http://www.heraldscotland.com/apple-to-open-new-west-of-scotland-store-at-braehead-1.1087127)). The third store in Scotland.
Rumor has it that the Hugendubel Book Store that is shutting down on Tauentzienstraße 13 across from the memorial church on Ku'Damm is going to be turned into an Apple store :) The truth of the matter is that German urban planners, especially in Berlin, have unbelievably strict restrictions and regulations when it comes to building new structures in the city, and it's unclear whether a bright white store with tons of glass is very "fitting" for this particular area of the Berliner cityscape. So, don't hold your breath, but if there is one I'm pretty sure that's where it'll be.
First read concrete info about the Berlin Apple Store in January. Apparently it's on Ku'damm 26, which is an old cinema building...
