Apple took down its online store on Tuesday without citing any specific reasons, except that it was making updates with a standard "Be Right Back" message.
Speculations arose, but most suspected it was due to a scheduled maintenance that brought the page offline at 3:50 p.m. PST on Tuesday, per MacRumors. After about an hour, Apple sprung the page back to life again, revealing the real reason behind its outage: a revamped design.
As 9to5Mac reported,the new design is reminiscent of the Apple Store app on the iOS, showing mobile-first functionality such as smooth horizontal scrolling between cards that may not translate as well to desktop.
Dedicated Apple Store Tab Brought Back in Revamped Design
In the new Apple Store, the old dedicated "store" tab in the navigation was brought back, 9to5Mac further noted. It shows a simple carousel of product categories, with links to shop with a specialist or look for a nearby Apple store.
Clicking on the links on these cards will direct users to Store pages for these products, presenting which models are available and take buyers to shopping guides, accessories, and support.
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Below the carousel, the prominent items are what's new on the store. They are displayed like cards, just like in the app. A back-to-school deal is currently featured, wherein buyers will get a free AirPod with every purchase of a Mac or an iPad.
A dedicated help section is also available to enable a personal session for getting to know how to use a new device. There is also a quick link to book a Genius appointment for device repair. Below the help section are store highlights, such as callouts to two-hour delivery, Apple trade-in and pickup options.
In addition, other carousels show available accessories for Apple products. Then below the storefront are added sections for Apple services and other stores. Here you can know more about Apple One or join a Today at Apple session.
New Apple Store Product Category Pages Show Neat Card-Based Look
Product category pages have been redesigned to have a neat card-based appearance. This applies to such products as the Mac, iPad, iPhone and the Apple Watch.
Apple is also emphasizing "The Apple Difference," featuring customization preferences before purchasing a product, gift packaging, and personal sessions buyers can use to learn more about the product being purchased.
Apparently, no new products are available yet with the update just providing that fresh look on the online store, The Verge emphasized in its report. Those pages in actually buying the product is no different from what was previously used.
This design change comes ahead of Apple's rumored release of the iPhone 13, new AirPods, and the new MacBook Pros next month. With these new products on their way, isn't it fitting to have a newly revamped online store to sell them?
