Apple could reopen US retail stores as early as next week (report)

Apple Store
(Image credit: Apple)

One of Apple's senior executives reportedly told employees that Apple is anticipating "many more" of its stores will open in May.

Anonymous Apple retail employees spoke to Bloomberg, which reported that Deirdre O'Brien, vice president of retail and people, said, "We are continuing to analyze this health situation in every location, and I do expect we will reopen up many more stores in May."

It's unclear when exactly Apple's stores are expected to open, but O'Brien reportedly told employees that she believed some US stores will reopen in early May. Of course, this could be mere speculation, but it's worth noting. 

Apple stores in China reopened in March while retail locations in Seoul reopened in early April. Meanwhile, in the past couple of weeks, Apple retail staff have been conducting training and meetings remotely.

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Early this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees that when it's time to reopen, they will likely implement social distancing measures, temperature checks and even possible coronavirus testing. 

In terms of production, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the production of Apple's iPhone 12 could be delayed by an entire month due to the pandemic. We're not exactly in the phone business here at Laptop Mag, but if Apple's phone production is being stunted, its laptop production could be affected too. I can feel a couple of coworkers weeping in our virtual office.

Rami Tabari
Editor

Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He’s the best at every game and he just doesn’t lose. That’s why you’ll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.