Samsung's anti-Apple advertising campaign continues as the company mounts another effort to highlight the difference between iPhone X and Galaxy S9, this time in LTE speeds, while ridiculing the concept of Genius Bar that Apple successfully pioneered with its retail stores.
Apple's dedicated Support app was refreshed on App Store today with the ability to schedule repairs and make Genius Bar reservations. Bumped to version 1.1, the app packs in other improvements as well, including simplified authentication process, support for iOS 10's rich notifications for chat and the ability to filter locations by mobile carrier.
As mentioned, the refreshed app now permits iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners to schedule repairs at participating Apple Authorized Service Providers. The ability to make Genius Bar reservations from within the app is currently limited to Apple Stores in China, Hong Kong, Macao, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
Apple Support is a free download from App Store.
When Apple's former retail chief Ron Johnson presented the idea for tech support stations—dubbed Genius Bar—that would be located inside the company's brick-and-mortar stores, Steve Jobs loathed the concept and thought it would never work.
“I remember the day I came in and told Steve about the Genius Bar idea and he says, ‘That’s so idiotic! It’ll never work!’”, Johnson told Recode.
Contradicting a recent 9to5Mac report which said only try-on appointments will be possible come April 10, sources told The Mac Observer that the appointment-only process will reportedly accommodate walk-in purchases, using a system similar to one recently instituted at Genius Bars in Apple's real stores worldwide.
The Genius Bar will handle walk-ins by taking your phone number, allowing customers to run their errands and go about their business until they receive timely updates from the Genius Bar related to waiting times via SMS. Apple's already using this system to handle purchases and is reportedly intending to tap it for the Watch as well.
Remember how devious Chinese scalpers adopted a new tactics and grabbed all of the available Apple Store Genius Bar appointment slots to make a quick buck by selling them for real money online?
Guess what? Apple took notice of the trend, too! In order to thwart scalpers, Apple now requires an Apple ID to book an appointment with a retail store Genius.
Previously, making an appointment was as easy as picking a desired store on the Apple Retail website and choosing a session. The company only required your first/last name and email address, which opened door to misuse...
Scalpers stop at nothing to make a few bucks off Apple's popularity around the world, and especially in the 1.33 billion people market that is China. As you know, large-scale buyers are known for paying scalpers to stand overnight in snaking queues and buy Apple devices in bulk to resell at a premium.
According to a report Monday, scalpers now have a new innovative technique: they are booking up all available Genius Bar appointments in Apple's retail stores in China for the purposes of selling these slots online...
Apple once again is rated best at providing technical support to consumers, according to Consumer Reports, an influential American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. This year's overall score of 86 out of 100 topped Apple's 2012 rating, the publication announced.
Additionally, Apple's retail Geek Bar solved nearly 90 percent of tech problems, higher than Best Buy's lookalike Geek Squad bars. The iPhone maker produced the highest survey results, outstripping its nearest competitor, Lenovo, which scored 63. Apple's success was due to a number of factors, according to the Consumer Reports survey...
Apple Store Geniuses are some of the most recognizable employees in the industry. Where as most retailers have moved to phone tech support, Apple takes pride in its in-store helpers.
So much so, in fact, that it's starting to offer the personalized support to online shoppers as well, meaning customers can now get Genius-level help without ever leaving their house...
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Apple has begun airing interesting new commercials, possibly marking a subtle change in advertising direction. The adverts debuted during the Olympic Games opening ceremonies tonight. Rather than focus on the newly released Mountain Lion, the nine-month-old iPhone 4S or Siri (which is increasingly working against Apple these days), these new clips depicts Apple Store Geniuses solving problems for customers.
The first advert that can be seen above is aptly named Mayday and depicts a Genius on board an airplane helping a customer solve an issue before landing. Two more commercials are included right below for your viewing pleasure...