How Apple Built 3D Touch⇢

Josh Tyrangiel at Bloomberg’s article about the new iPhone is a dense read, but this part jumped out at me in particular:

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, says that at most software companies the designers decide what they want and the engineers respond with what’s easy to build. “Every single feature becomes this unholy compromise,” says Federighi, who began his career at Apple and spent a decade at Ariba, a maker of financial management software, before returning in 2009. “With [3D Touch] it was only at the moment where we finally got a design experience that’s like, ‘Yes! This is what we want!’ that we [asked] how hard it’s going to be to make.”

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Construction begins on new Apple Store in Memphis

Memphis’ new next-gen Apple Store is on its way. The new design calls for lots of glass and natural light, but the location at 2031 West Street in Germantown, TN has a brick facade currently.

That brick is on its way down as construction begins:

The new store faces east, and as the parking lot has little in the way of tall trees, I bet its going to be bright in there in the mornings. The render given to the city of Germantown includes two trees directly in front of the store, assumedly to help with the sunlight.

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First look at Memphis’ new Apple Store shows stunning, open design

Earlier this week, news broke that the Memphis Apple Store is moving to a new space around the corner from its current location, and will be one of the company’s first stores to sport a new design. Here’s what the store will look like:

Image credit: The Commercial Appeal

In a video hosted on the City of Germantown website, (skip to 1:30:00) plans for the store are shared. The new storefront will use ground-roof glass panels, surrounded by matte granite, with no visible supports or joints.

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Busy Keynote will be busy⇢

According to Mark Gurman, next week’s Apple event is going to be one for the books. Here’s what seems to be on tap:

  • iPhone 6S and 6S Plus
  • iOS 9
  • Revamped Apple TV
  • iPad mini 4
  • iPad Pro
  • New Apple Watch bands

I felt pretty sure that the iPads would surface in October. After this event, all that’s left for next month will be OS X El Capitan and updated Macs. Is that enough for an event, or is this the end of dual fall Apple keynotes?

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Memphis to get ‘next-generation’ Apple store⇢

Seems like our Apple Store — which was the 20th opened — is about get a big upgrade:

Rick Millitello, who presented the plan to the design commission on behalf of Apple, said the store will be one of the first to feature Apple’s new store design.

“Our project is the next generation of retail store that we’re rolling out, and that’s the design concept that we have – and we’re really excited because this is going to be one of the first, if it’s approved, that we build,” Millitello told the commission. “So we’re really excited to expand in Germantown and we’re excited to see the result of all the work that we’ve put in to develop this design.”

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The other side of One to One⇢

The end of Apple’s training program has an upside for some businesses, like the Apple Retailer Peter Cohen works for:

Apple makes its computers and portable devices very easy to use, but let’s not deceive ourselves: Even Apple products can still be overwhelming, confusing and just plain scary for many. For them, One to One assistance and other individualized training is really helpful.

The problem is that individualized training purchased as a package is a money-loser for the store. We’re not compensated by Apple for training customers in any way. When a customer buys the $99 deal from us, they’re getting customized training for $10 an hour, which doesn’t even cover the employee’s wages.

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The end of One to One

MacRumors is reporting that Apple is ending its One to One program:

MacRumors recently learned that Apple’s One to One training program for Mac, iPhone and iPad may be coming to an end soon, and we can now confirm that Apple Stores are holding meetings with retail employees about phasing out the membership-based service, which has been available under its current name since May 2007. One to One members should be informed about the changes in the near future.

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What I would like to see in the iPhone 6S Plus

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p data-preserve-html-node=“true”>After purchasing an iPhone 6 last year, I settled into owning a 4.7-inch phone. There were things I didn’t like, but overall, I was pretty happy with the device.

Then everything was ruined when I switched to a loaner iPhone 6 Plus for a couple of weeks. I ended up buying one, and I haven’t looked back.

There are compromises when it comes to having such a large phone. It’s bulky in some pockets, and I look like I’m holding a piece of pizza next to my face when I’m talking on it, but the improved screen, battery life and camera make it worth it for me.

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