Apple Store in UK Permanently Closing Later This Month

Apple today announced that its Festival Place store in Basingstoke, England will be permanently closing on Saturday, November 21. Apple Festival PlaceApple had already announced that the store would be closing in November, but it had not provided the public with a specific date until now. Apple's store inside the Festival Place shopping center opened in 2011, so it had a 15-year run. In a statement shared with The Reading Chronicle in August, Apple said all employees at the Festival Place store would have the opportunity to work at Apple The Oracle in nearby Reading, England or at other Apple Store locations in the country. Apple also announced that it would be opening a redesigned store at The Oracle in December. The new store will feature a modern design with a more accessible Genius Bar, a dedicated Apple Pickup area for online orders, and more. Apple did not say why the Festival Place store is permanently closing, but it appears that the company is consolidating its retail presence in the area around the redesigned store at The Oracle. Popular StoriesApple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking IssueIn a memo shared with Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, and later obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided technicians with guidance on how to diagnose and address the iPhone Duo's inner display cracking issue. If a customer reports the issue, Apple advised technicians to inspect the iPhone Duo and repair or replace it in accordance with their standard procedures....Apple Stores Reportedly Rolling Out New Anti-Theft System for iPhonesBloomberg's Mark Gurman today reported that Apple is facing a growing problem where some people will buy iPhones or other products and either remove accessories from the box, open up the device and remove components, and/or remove the entire device, and then attempt to return the box hoping that the employee will not notice. When a customer seeks to return an iPhone, he said that Apple's...Apple Says iPhone Duo Not Available on Walk-In Basis in Three CountriesMonday October 19, 2026 11:00 am PDT by Joe RossignolFor a limited time, the iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be limited to customers with a pickup reservation at Apple Stores in Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, according to notices posted on Apple's localized websites for those countries. The notices suggest that the iPhone Duo will not be available for walk-in customers at Apple's retail locations in Japan, South...