Forget the new iPad, here comes the new online Apple store! According to a credible report, the company is informing its K-12 shoppers to get ready for the new online shopping experience. It’s kinda semi-official now as Apple’s notice announcing the redesign has been spotted in the store’s section dedicated to kindergarten through 12th grade institutions.
For now, the company appears to be simply teasing the upcoming changes and it’s unclear whether the new shopping experience will be limited to K-12 buyers only. Be that as it may, with such a diverse portfolio of products spanning lots of product variants and families, a store revamp can’t hurt.
AppleInsider spotted today the following notice advertising “the new Apple Store”. It’s prominently placed on the top of Apple online stores aimed at kindergarten through 12th grade institutions.
Apple is launching a new online store, which is your tool to shop and place orders with Apple. Proposal creation, order status, and a dramatically simplified user interface will make it easier to do business with Apple — all in a secure and reliable environment.
Apple also notes that “your current Apple ID and password will continue to work”. The company will release more information about the store’s features, benefits and launch date “in the coming weeks”.
I’m really excited about this. Apple’s been updating the look and feel of both its online store and the main site a lot over the past few years. For example, they recently added a community-driven Q&A section dubbed Answers From The Community.
The result of all those tweaks is an elegant, clean design that focuses on the products and their features, without any distractions or the overhead of added bells’n’whistles.
However, the site is getting a bit long in the tooth, if you ask me.
Though I use it frequently, I still have trouble navigating the online store.
Let’s not forget that neither Apple’s website nor the online store are mobile-friendly. And don’t get me started on the iOS Apple Store app: it’s still sluggish, quits abruptly and leaves a lot to be desired.
I’m expecting we’ll be seeing some updates on that front, perhaps even a mobile version of the online store and product pages.
And while we’re at it, why not update all graphics for the new iPad’s Retina display?
What would you change in the design and functionality of the online Apple store?