What is the most valuable in the Apple Store?

"There is news. It's for you. " Did you get your wallet ready when you received the call from California?

Although thirteen may not smell so good, thirteen is really expensive.

From iPhone 13 mini to iPhone 13 Pro Max, the span is directly from 5 199 yuan to 12999 yuan. Some people have placed an order quickly, and some people want to go to the Apple Store to touch the real machine before deciding whether to start.

However, if you think that these thousands of products are the most valuable things in the Apple Store, you are wrong.

From the moment you stepped into the Apple Store, you entered a golden house.

3354— Compared with decoration, the product is cheaper.

Most people's first impression of Apple is "simple, advanced and expensive", and so is the Apple Store.

If you remove Apple's Logo, it is easy to be mistaken for a building like an art museum.

In the Apple Store, there are many seemingly ordinary but learned hardware, which can be called works of art. 。

Take the table for displaying products as an example, which was specially customized by Apple for the century-old wood enterprise [1] Fitz.

When it is used to display products, it can also accommodate various data lines, which is commendable.

Tianjin Vientiane City Apple Store Exhibition

The wooden stool hidden under the table comes from the 64 series bar stool designed by Finnish national treasure designer alvar aalto [2].

The price of such a stool has reached about 500 euros (about 3,780 yuan) [3].

In addition, in the children's section of Apple Store, there are some spherical seats specially designed for children. Adults want to try. These chairs come from the Italian brand Baleri Italia [4], and the market price has reached 369 euros (about 2795 yuan).

Baleri Italia's spherical seat in Apple Store.

It can be said that the decoration of the Apple Store is completely comparable to its products.

However, the "small transparency" really hidden in these high-definition decorations still has to be glass. Apple is especially keen on using glass, whether in shopping centers or single-family retail stores. Glass not only brings transparency to Apple Store, but also creates a unique sense of high quality.

And these glasses are the most expensive things in the Apple Store. Just some glass. How expensive can it be? 20 14 A glass of Apple Store on Fifth Avenue was smashed by a snow blower, and the maintenance cost of a single glass was as high as 450,000 US dollars (about 3 million RMB) [5].

In 2020, a man smashed all the electronic products of Apple Store in Pudong, Shanghai [6]. However, netizens said: "Fortunately, it is a mobile phone, not glass."

Why is the glass used for apples so expensive?

3354— Why is the glass in Apple Store so expensive?

Glass is so expensive, mainly because apples demand too much glass quality.

In order to fully display the Apple Store, Apple hopes to achieve transparency and exquisiteness through glass. Maybe you think ordinary transparent glass is enough, but it's not.

Ordinary transparent glass contains iron and sometimes looks green. In order to achieve transparency, low-iron glass with low iron content should be used [7].

To achieve a high-grade feeling, in principle, glass should be used as little as possible, so that the splicing needs fewer gaps and fewer fixing devices, and it looks beautiful from the outside.

The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York is Apple's best experiment in using glass. This apple store was built in 2006, and the entrance is a glass box, which stands on Fifth Avenue [8].

In 2006, Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Each side of the box consists of 18 pieces of glass, which are divided into upper and lower layers. * * * 90 pieces of glass are used for splicing to achieve bright and transparent effect.

20 1 1 With the upgrading of glass manufacturing technology, Apple redecorated the Apple store on Fifth Avenue with glass with higher transparency and purity. The modified cube only has 15 rectangular glass, which looks fresher and brighter [9].

Although glass is transparent and beautiful, it is fragile after all. Apple Store is crowded with people every day, which also puts high demands on the safety of glass and greatly increases the cost of glass manufacturing.

In 20 19, the glass box of Apple Store on Fifth Avenue received another renovation. The new glass plate is made by Seele, an old German glass manufacturing company, which combines heat strengthened glass and tempered glass [10].

Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, New York, 20 19

The biggest advantage of> heat-strengthened glass is that it is not easy to self-explode, and it will not produce crushing effect when it bursts [1 1].

Tempered glass is used to improve the durability, heat resistance and impact resistance of the whole structure, thus further reducing the possibility of its fracture [12]. The special glass synthesized by the two is safer. After Fifth Avenue, Apple began to make more different Apple Store with glass in different cities around the world.

In 20 10, Apple first adopted curved glass in Shanghai, and applied for a patent for this glass cylinder [13]. Due to the lack of support, the building itself rarely uses curved glass walls. Apple invented unique glass fins and beams, which can be integrated with metal fittings. The metal fittings are directly laminated with the glass, which makes the whole panel stronger in structure and simpler in construction [14].

Shanghai Pudong Apple Specialty Store 20 12

These requirements of Apple have brought great challenges to glass suppliers. But what is more difficult is that the glass used by apples is getting bigger and bigger. From 9.8m on Fifth Avenue to 12m [8][ 14] in Pudong, in order to build the whole face with as little glass as possible, the glass in Apple Store is used more and more.

In 20 15, Apple chose 1 1 piece of custom glass curtain wall [14.5m] and built the largest Apple flagship store in Asia at that time in Hangzhou. There are no columns in the whole space, which requires high glass material and structure.

Hangzhou Xihu Apple Specialty Store 20 15

Larger glass also puts forward higher requirements for manufacturers. Not to mention the difficulty of transportation and installation of this kind of glass, it is necessary to customize the production equipment to produce such a huge glass.

There are not many glass manufacturers in the world that can meet the needs of Apple. The architectural glass used in the global Apple headquarters and Apple stores mainly comes from German glass manufacturer Seele and China Tianjin Bei Bo [16].

Tianjin Bei Bo provides special glass for Apple's headquarters, with a total agreed amount of 28.4365 million US dollars, accounting for more than 20% of Bei Bo's 20 13 [17] operating income.

-The -Apple Store itself is the best product.

In September, 20021,the world's first Apple Store with gradient effect and double glass curtain wall was opened in Changsha [18]. You can watch different appearances at different times of the day and all the year round.

This time, the glass manufacturer is still Bei Bo.

Changsha Wharf Apple Store 202 1

Today, Apple has opened Apple Stores in 25 countries/regions around the world [19]. These glass boxes are scattered all over the world, becoming city landmarks and standing in the most prosperous business district in the area.

On 2001May 19, Apple opened its first Apple Store in Tai Sen Point, Virginia, USA. The shop is decorated with glass doors and white lights, creating a spacious and transparent atmosphere [2 1].

Since then, Apple has started the careful layout of the Apple Store. In addition to the glass boxes and high-definition decorations we can see, in order to provide a good shopping experience, Apple has never let go of any small details from the ceiling to the desktop.

200 1, Apple Store in Tai Sen Center.

In 20 13, Apple obtained the patent for the internal layout of the Apple Store, and made unified planning for the storefront layout of the Apple Store [22]:

The shop is a transparent glass storefront. The lights in the store are embedded in a rectangle along the ceiling, and there is a cantilever shelf in the middle of the store. Rectangular tables arranged in parallel are parallel to the wall, and a plurality of shelves extend from the storefront to the back of the store along the side wall. There is a rectangular table at the back of the store. There is a stool on the table. The stool is placed under the video screen on the back wall.

Patent Schematic Diagram of Apple Store Layout

Because of the unified layout, people will be familiar with the Apple Store wherever they go. This layout has also attracted many imitators, which often makes people mistakenly think that an Apple Store has opened in the shopping mall passing by.

After all, Apple is not only a technology company, but also a design company.

Best of all, it occasionally undertakes some "Renaissance" work. The Apple Store in Macau's Sands Plaza has achieved the perfect combination of glass and jade.

Apple sandwiched the glass in a thin layer of stone, which has a jade texture from a distance, classical and modern [23].

20 15 Apple Store in Cotai Avenue, Macau

In 2020, the reopened Sanlitun Apple Store well combined Beijing elements with Apple's design style.

It is reported that the glass curtain wall of this store adopts cloisonne, one of the "Eight Wonders of Yanjing", which is perfectly integrated on the huge glass to form a wonderful texture effect [24].

2020, Beijing Sanlitun Apple Store

Because if you can open an Apple store in your city, it is also a strong proof of the strength of this city.

As a new first-tier city, Wuhan has been waiting for the Apple Store for a long time, but it was unexpectedly robbed by Changsha. However, it should be relatively stable to settle in Wuhan International Plaza this time.

What kind of glass curtain wall will be used in Wuhan Apple Store is also worth looking forward to. After all, the Apple Store is not only Apple's retail store, but also Apple's best product.

Related Q&A: Is there a difference between an Apple experience store and a specialty store? The difference between Apple stores and authorized stores. 1. The difference between authorized Apple store and exclusive Apple store on the door. It's as simple as teaching you to distinguish between true and false Apple's official after-sales maintenance point! ! In the article, we have introduced the difference between Apple authorized stores and exclusive stores. You can go to the Apple Repair Shop to find out if there is an Apple store in your city. According to Apple's requirements, there can only be the name of the dealer company+the logo of Apple+the logo of the authorized dealer, and the words Apple, Retail, Monopoly, Experience Store and Experience Center can never appear on the door. These are authorized stores. For the convenience of operation, unauthorized stores often write the words Apple Monopoly, Apple Authorized Store and Apple Experience Store. In fact, most people think that these are authorized stores, but the fact is just the opposite. A regular authorized store should look like this. The door of the APPLE store is usually simply hung with a big apple, the Apple Store. There is no text introduction. There it is! 2. The difference between Apple authorized stores and Apple exclusive stores in city selection. I believe everyone knows that not all cities have Apple stores, so which cities have Apple stores? Apple stores will only be sold in China's north, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and provincial capitals. Other cities are generally Apple authorized stores. 3. The difference of facilities and environment between authorized Apple store and exclusive Apple store: authentic Apple Store, exclusive Apple Store. Authorized store: generally, it is an organization that authorizes after-sales maintenance, which is the same as joining. The authorized point is authorized by the authorized seller, but the signboard should also be made according to Apple's regulations, and the software for interior decoration and display is also needed. Direct stores are directly managed by Apple, and all aspects are standardized. The direct store is designed by Apple itself, and Apple's demonstration prototype is richer and more convenient for customers to experience. In order to save costs, authorized stores will not be so complete in the demonstration prototype. 4. The price difference between authorized stores and specialty stores is the same as that of direct stores in terms of the quality of Apple products, but the specialty stores have the richest inventory. However, in terms of price, specialty stores are basically priced according to official website, and the products of authorized stores will have different discounts, such as Gome Suning. 5. The difference of service attitude between Apple authorized stores and Apple exclusive stores. The employees of Apple stores are all excellent talents selected through layers of screening, while the employees of Apple authorized stores are all selected by their franchisees. Although Apple has certain requirements for employees in authorized stores, do you know that you may ask a maintenance worker in a third-tier city to be proficient in English? The service attitude evaluation of the employees in the exclusive store is unknown to the authorized store. So if you want to enjoy high-quality service, of course, Apple Store is better.