Apple Updates Online Store With Touch-Friendly Navigation and Search Result Tweaks

Apple today rolled out a few minor tweaks to its online store (via Mac Otakara), making it easier to navigate the store on touchscreen devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

One change involves a new sliding navigation bar for product categories. From the main store page, once users select one of the four main shopping categories (Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod), the navigation bar at the top of category page showing various products and other topics within that category can now be slid back and forth with the touch of a finger. Users on non-touch devices can slide the bar by clicking on arrows at each end.

apple_online_store_nav_bar
A second change involves product search results, which had previously been presented as lists of items. Results are now presented in a grid formatted to allow easy tapping on touch-enabled devices. Users on non-touch devices will also see arrows appearing on either side of each product image allowing them to view all associated product images without having to click through to the product pages.

apple_online_store_search_result_grid
Apple's change should notably improve the user experience on the iPad, where the large screen can take full advantage of the grid-based search results and where Apple does not have a dedicated app for shopping the store. The company's Apple Store app has been iPhone-only since its July 2010 launch, with Apple believed to be refraining from making it a universal app with a native iPad interface under the view that the iPad allows for a full web experience.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Chupa Chupa Avatar
153 months ago
Seems broken... I navigate to Mac Pro and it still shows me the one from 2010. :D
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleMacFinder Avatar
153 months ago
touch me, touch me
Much better version from Youtube (//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wX5hbQIyy0) :D

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
needfx Avatar
153 months ago
some people...

do you really find that a touch enabled desktop computer is actually comfortable to use?

hasn't HP already made such products (https://www.google.com/search?q=hp+touch+screen&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qeleUfacNoaqPPKYgYgJ&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1311&bih=632) and failed miserably?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
153 months ago
Seems broken... I navigate to Mac Pro and it still shows me the one from 2010. :D

I wondered how long it would take for someone to mention MacPro. :D
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JAT Avatar
153 months ago
The company's Apple Store (http://appshopper.com/lifestyle/apple-store) app has been iPhone-only since its July 2010 launch, with Apple believed to be refraining from making it a universal app with a native iPad interface under the view that the iPad allows for a full web experience.

Silly.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
needfx Avatar
153 months ago
With that attitude the the iPad would have never have come into existence, given the disaster of Windows Tablets. Implementation is everything and just b/c HP doesn't do a good job doesn't mean Apple can't design something that is intuitive and improving upon people's current work flow.
I can agree that an open mind is mandatory for such situations but my arm's muscles will seriously disagree after 30 minutes of continuous use, if not earlier.
So unless the iMac takes a more horizontal approach in the future, I don't see the ergonomics team at cupertino signing off on it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)