Apple is planning to introduce new co-designed packaging for many of the third-party accessories that it sells in its stores, according to retail store information shared by 9to5Mac. Apple has reportedly been working with several third-party accessory manufacturers on packaging design, helping to create a new look for boxes to better fit in with the packaging that's used for Apple's own products.
Companies participating in Apple's revamped packaging efforts include Tech21, Sena, Incase, Mophie, Logitech, and Life Proof. When these products are sold in Apple Stores, they'll be sold with simple, no-frills white boxes with minimal labeling as seen in photos.
According to the memo, the packaging will be mostly white to match the Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch boxes, while they will also include simpler fonts, new photography, higher-quality materials, and more consistent compatibility labeling. This shift is yet another in a string for third-parties that has included new environmental guidelines and a ban on leveraging early iPhone leaks.
Apple's new head of retail, Angela Ahrendts, has been working to revamp the Apple Store experience in recent months, streamlining the purchasing process and reimagining both product discovery and customer-employee interactions. The packaging redesign is part of a larger effort to overhaul Apple's in-store accessory lineup, limiting the number of products that are sold for a more refined look.
News of the revamped packaging was first shared by Mac Otakara [Google Translate] in June, and a sneak preview of what the accessory sections of Apple's retail stores might look like can be seen at the company's Upper East Side store in New York.
Apple's Upper East Side store, image via Mark Lennihan, Associated Press
Apple Store accessory sections are expected to begin seeing changes starting next week, which is when the new packaging will be introduced.
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model.
The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by Joe Rossignol
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass.
In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory.
A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June.
The original AirTag was announced...
Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr.
The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhon...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Apple's packaging is second-to-none. This is good news for those lucky peripheral companies. Hopefully it means less overall materials use so it can be good news for the environment too.
Would I sound foolish for thinking that Apple retail stores have become almost too upmarket? I know, high standards are something that every company aspires for, but to me they're just so sterile and unfriendly (that applies to both the staff and the surroundings).
I'm from U.K - would love to hear others thoughts.
I think most people who can read and deduce what's inside the box from the photograph on the outside of the box will not have any trouble.
You grossly underestimate the stupidity of the average consumer. Besides, when people are in a hurry, mistakes happen. And you're talking about tech gadgets, you can hardly deduce everything about it from a mere picture. Specs matter.