Last week, Apple began offering customers the option of having their online orders shipped to their local retail store for pickup, a service especially valuable for those who have difficulty receiving shipments at their home or office. The "ship to store" option initially rolled out in the company's three San Francisco stores, and quickly expanded to include all sixteen Bay Area stores before the four New York City stores jointed the program earlier this week.
Apple has been said to be taking the service full-scale as of today as part of a series of retail enhancements that will also allow customers to use self-checkout for shelf-stocked items at Apple retail stores using the company's iOS app.
Evidence of Apple making minute-by-minute tweaks to the ship to store program is visible in Apple's online store, where just a short time ago customers had the option of using the service throughout the company's 51 California and four New York City stores.
The new expanded program did not last long, however, as Apple now appears to have completely shut down the ship to store option, with all stores listing online-only items as "unavailable for pickup". Items stocked in-store can still be purchased through the system, with California and New York City stores listing those products as "available now".
Apple is said to be viewing in-store pickup and self-checkout as major changes for the future of its retail stores, expecting that the majority of its customers will utilize in-store pickup as their default delivery method for Apple purchases.
Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging."
Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface.
The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas.
Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial
The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
Following the announcement of Apple's upcoming "Awe dropping" event, on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show we talk through all of the new accessories rumored to debut alongside the iPhone 17 lineup.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
We take a closer look at Apple's invite for "Awe dropping;" the design could hint at the iPhone 17's new thermal system with ...
Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.7 for compatible iPhone models, according to evidence of the update in the MacRumors visitor logs.
We expect iOS 18.7 to be released in September, alongside iOS 26. The update will likely include fixes for security vulnerabilities, but little else.
iOS 18.7 will be one of the final updates ever released for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR,...
Who needs their local store pick-up these days? It's a complete waste of time and in some cases money.
Apple offers free shipping on any order over $50. And the shipping is quick. Only a moron with a ton of free time on his/her hands would want to drive/take local transportation to the local store and then still wait in line.
Some "morons" work and do not trust having little boxes containing stuff that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars being left by their front door all day. Rather than having to work the deal to go pick it up at UPS or Fedex or similar, this gives them the option of picking it up at their local Apple store instead. If the Apple store is closer than the Fedex, etc pickup point, it's not so moronic after all.
Who needs their local store pick-up these days? It's a complete waste of time and in some cases money.
Apple offers free shipping on any order over $50. And the shipping is quick. Only a moron with a ton of free time on his/her hands would want to drive/take local transportation to the local store and then still wait in line.
Just because UPS delivers to your parent's basement, doesn't mean everyone has that same luxury. People have concerns over package drop offs, security, PO boxes only, don't want someone to see their gift, etc.
Plus, someone might want one-on-one help, to ask some additional questions before opening ... we could probably come up with dozens of scenarios where a store delivery would be preferable.
Who needs their local store pick-up these days? It's a complete waste of time and in some cases money.
Apple offers free shipping on any order over $50. And the shipping is quick. Only a moron with a ton of free time on his/her hands would want to drive/take local transportation to the local store and then still wait in line.
Some people like to stand in line. That way other people can see them standing in line at Apple.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
