Apple stores in the U.S. “expected” to reopen in May

Despite criticism over several states in the U.S. reopening their economies, and with California’s governor holding firm for stay-at-home orders and business closures, Apple stores are reportedly going to start reopening starting in May. Apple’s retail employees have started training and working from home to help prepare for the reopening of stores.

According to the retail employees, the information came from Apple’s Vice President Deirdre O’Brien, who detailed Apple’s plans during an internal weekly video update. Although O’Brien didn’t provide any further details about specific dates or locations, she said that the company is “continuing to analyse this health situation in every location.” She expects they will reopen up many more stores in May.

Apple users in the U.S. who are waiting on a device stuck at a store, or needing to get their devices fixed hadn’t been able to since before mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their goal to potentially reopen stores in May will depend on a number of states’ plans, including California and New York. These states are hoping to slowly lift or relax movement control orders starting sometime next month. 

Although Apple store locations like in Seoul have recently started to reopen, they’re one of the few countries that have managed to control the spread of the virus. As for the U.S., it is currently the country with the highest number of confirmed cases (1,034,588 cases) and the highest number of confirmed deaths (58,955).

The COVID-19 pandemic is still far from over, but Apple reopening its stores could potentially help for American Apple consumers needing a new machine to help them work from home, or have some local tech support.

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