[ UPDATE 29/05/2024 09:39 ] Apple The Exchange TRX will officially open its doors on 22 June.
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The Exchange TRX officially opened its doors earlier this week to become the latest gateway to the Tun Razak Exchange financial district in Kuala Lumpur. One of the massive shopping centre’s main attractions is a 10-acre rooftop park called TRX City Park which is also the location of the first Apple Store in Malaysia.
While Apple has not yet made any official announcement regarding its new retail outlet despite being rumoured for years, there have been proofs that backed up those rumours. The latest was a short video shared by the well-known local Apple critic, Xavier Naxa which clearly showed an Apple signboard outside of the retail building.
Apple Store TRX seems smaller up close
Now that The Exchange TRX is already opened to the public, you are now able to get up close to the actual building. One thing that struck me as I had my first view of the building with my own eyes is the size of Apple Store TRX.
Given the tudung saji-like roof design, you would immediately notice the building right after you turn your view to the entrance of the TRX City Park. This is regardless of whether you coming from inside The Exchange TRX itself or through the mall’s Dining Terrace which provides more direct access to the park.
Given all the drone footage that I have seen for the past few months as well as the photo I snapped from The Exchange 106, I was expecting the store to be gigantic. However, now that I’ve gotten up close to it, the building seemed much smaller than what I anticipated.
Don’t get me wrong though – the Apple Store TRX still have a sizeable footprint. Not only that I didn’t even need to enter the store to notice its massive headroom but I really expected it to be much bigger.
Aside from that, I also can’t help to notice that the building’s exterior is free of sharp corners, at least in its current state. This applies not only to the multi-tiered roof but its walls as well. If I have to guess, it is quite likely that the walls of Apple Store TRX are made out of glass just like the Apple Park Visitor Centre in Cupertino.
You shall not peek through
Speaking about the inside of the Apple Store, unfortunately, there was no opportunity for me to capture it while I was there. As you can see from the images, the walls have been covered quite well to the extent including the gaps within its walls and doors.
Even the Apple signboard which was shown in the recent “leaked” video has also been covered quite well. On a related note, I managed to find where exactly the video was taken:
When will Apple Store TRX open to the public?
To this day, Apple has never provided any official comment or announcement regarding the Apple Store TRX. Even the company’s recruitment site only said “Various locations within Malaysia” for all job listings that are related to Apple Retail.
However, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg noted in his report back in June that the Cupertino giant has planned to open the Apple Store TRX sometime in February 2024. If that information is accurate, then there are still a few more months to go before you can step into the first Apple Store in Malaysia.