We've got our photographer Katie Sokoler transmitting photos over to us from the new Apple store in Grand Central Terminal right now, and thought we'd give you a sneak peek before it opens up on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The 23,000-square-foot store is Apple's biggest, in all the land, but how do you think it looks? There's no cube, no glass staircase, since thankfully they can't go too against the design of the landmark they moved in to.
We'll update with more (non-camera phone) photos as we receive them. For now, Sokoler tells us the store, "goes down across one balcony—the other side of the store is small rooms with the merchandise. It's an interesting layout."
UPDATE: Apple has now sent out a press release saying, "Convenient services at the Apple Store Grand Central include Personal Pickup, a feature of the free Apple Store App which lets iPhone users shop and buy from anywhere they are, then pick up their purchase when they reach the terminal. Customers using the Apple Store App can even scan and pay for accessories with their iPhone using the new EasyPay function.
Beyond the balcony overlooking the expansive Main Concourse, the Apple Store Grand Central offers rooms dedicated to some of our most popular services, including the largest area in the world dedicated to Personal Setup. In the Personal Setup room, customers who buy an iPad, iPhone, iPod or Mac can get up and running before they leave the store. There’s also a room designed especially for Personal Training, where new Mac owners learn the basics or take their skills to the next level as part of Apple’s popular $99 One to One program."
UPDATE 12/8: Here are more photographs from inside the store.
The Apple Store Grand Central is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
