Last year, Apple unveiled a new, streamline Fifth Avenue cube that reduced the number of glass panes from 90 to 15. This year, Apple Retail revamped the SoHo store with an extensive expansion into space once occupied by a United States Post Office.

Along with adding more sales space, Apple's architects redesigned the famous glass staircase. Apple first unveiled the glass staircase design at the SoHo location in 2002, a design that has made its way to dozens of high-profile stores.

glassstairs
With the SoHo redesign, Apple has done to the iconic staircase what it did to the Fifth Avenue Cube. Instead of stitching three pieces of glass together to make the sides of the staircase, Apple has built a 30-foot long, zig-zagging single pane of glass. The sides are made out of 5 single sheets of glass laminated together.

Core77 has a number of other photos of the new staircase that are worth exploring.

Top Rated Comments

akb Avatar
167 months ago
Do seams honestly bother anyone? This doesn't seem like a very effective use of apple's money.

It means Apple's insane attention to detail is intact, even though Steve is gone.

That's great news.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peteullo Avatar
167 months ago
Do seams honestly bother anyone? This doesn't seem like a very effective use of apple's money.

All comes from the pursuit of perfection embedded in this company by Steve Jobs. The stairs didn't have seams because they knew it would have seams. Just like how Paul Jobs taught Steve to paint the other side of the fence even though no one would see it. The whole idea is that you know it's there.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Laird Knox Avatar
167 months ago
Do seams honestly bother anyone? This doesn't seem like a very effective use of apple's money.

You are correct, they could save so much money selling products out of this building:



I mean who really wants to visit a nice store?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FrizzleFryBen Avatar
167 months ago
Do seams honestly bother anyone? This doesn't seem like a very effective use of apple's money.

When I was shopping for a fridge, I had to have stainless steel, even though it was more expensive. And when I found one that had tons of LED lights that faded on when you opened the doors...I HAD TO HAVE IT. It was $400 more than I wanted to spend, but 2 years later, I still love opening that fridge...every time. Once perfection is defined, some people gotta have it. ;)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
admanimal Avatar
167 months ago

Because we like estatics.

Spelling on the other hand, we don't care for so much. :p
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
myrtlebee Avatar
167 months ago
Do seams honestly bother anyone? This doesn't seem like a very effective use of apple's money.

You're under the mistaken impression that money is any factor whatsoever to Apple.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
iphone 17 pro majin bu sky blue

iPhone 17 Pro Allegedly Coming in Sky Blue Color Used for MacBook Air

Tuesday April 22, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro in a new Sky Blue color, the same color that debuted on the latest M4 MacBook Air models Apple released in March. That's according to the leaker Majin Bu. Concept mockup from Majin Bu Writing on his website, Bu claims that "sources close to the supply chain confirm that several iPhone 17 Pro prototypes have been made in various colors, with Sky Blue...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...