U.S. Apple Stores to Remain Closed Until Early May

Apple today informed employees that its Apple retail stores in the United States will remain closed until early May, and Apple employees will continue to work from home until then.

applestorestanford
In a memo to employees, excerpts of which were shared by Bloomberg, Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien said that Apple is "continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis" and that reopening decisions will be made on after "thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts."

For now, Apple's flexible work arrangements "will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May."

In Santa Clara County, where Apple Park, Infinite Loop, and many other corporate offices and retail stores are located, there is a shelter in place order that will remain in effect until May 3. It prevents all nonessential businesses from being open and requires employees to work from home. Apple's corporate offices will not be able to reopen until that order is lifted.

According to O'Brien, Apple is "working on options" to ensure that parents have the flexibility to adjust their schedules as necessary as many are also looking after children who are no longer able to school.

Apple had previously planned to begin reopening some stores in the first half of April, and that could still be the plan for some of its stores outside of the U.S. At the current time, all stores outside of China are closed and have been shuttered since March 14.

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 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...
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 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 ...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 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. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. 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 ...
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...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...

Top Rated Comments

Mr. Dee Avatar
66 months ago
At the end of the day, what COVID-19 tells us is, a lot of the things we have been concerned about, really does not matter. When the iPhone launched in 2007, it definitely changed the course of communication. But 5 years later, the success of the device and explosive growth of Apple couldn’t save its founder Steve Jobs. He had to leave it all behind. I remember reading a quote from someone when Steve was going through a rough period. Steve said to him in a room at Apple, what I want right now is a new body.

You could buy a maxed out iPhone 11 Pro Max or iPad Pro today, get COVID and not even live to open the box by the end of the week.

What I hope come out of this is more presence in the things that matter: your loved ones, your thoughts and dreams, experiencing each day like its your last instead of through a 5.8, 6.5, 12.9, 5.5 square.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
66 months ago
This whole thing is crazy. I remember celebrating New Years and this was not on my radar for 2020. Can someone wake me up when this is all done?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Steve686 Avatar
66 months ago
Very responsible taking the lead.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sanlitun Avatar
66 months ago
Nothing to be done about this. The thought of millions touching Apple store demo screens each day is horrifying.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
66 months ago
Good. I mean, why open the Apple stores in mid April, when the situation is worsening every single day. It’s better to reassess in a month from now, to find out where and how COVID-19 is continually expanding. One of the worst things Apple could do, is prematurely open their stores, and promote the spread further.

If we’re going to beat C/19 Collectively as a Community, sacrifices have to be made with certain ‘non-essential’ businesses remaining closed. That’s how it has to be until further notice.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freeangel1 Avatar
66 months ago
YIKES! not good for Apple but at least the employees at each of these stores are still being paid. unlike other businesses the let their employees go. 10 million and counting.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)