Apple Stores ease coronavirus precautions, allow customers to try on AirPods

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2021
In a sign that Apple's retail fleet is slowly returning to business as normal, Apple Stores around the world are again allowing customers to try on AirPods after placing a restriction on such activities during the coronavirus outbreak.

AirPods Pro


Citing Apple Store employees, Bloomberg reports customers in the U.S. and other regions can test out the earbuds prior to purchase. The option is available at Apple outlets open for walk-ins, both with and without an appointment.

Customers in Asia, where the coronavirus has in some areas been largely contained, have been able to try on AirPods and other headphones for months, the report says.

Apple first placed restrictions on earbud try-ons in the early days of the pandemic as it took measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. The policy also extended to Apple Watch.

When Apple began to reopen stores across the globe it enacted sanitation guidelines in a bid to keep customers and employees protected. Social distancing, occupancy restrictions, mask mandates, temperature checks, screening, and mandatory cleaning of products were among the protocols adopted to ensure a safe shopping experience.

With AirPods try-ons now available, customers can once again test out ear tip fit and select the product that best meets their needs.

Apple reopened all 270 U.S. stores on March 1, though some are so-called "Apple Express" locations that offer limited interactions like order pickups and Genius Bar appointments.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    Considering there is little to no evidence of surface transmission, it’s about time.  
    calisurfboyfred1
  • Reply 2 of 7
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,958member
    My store (Costa Mesa, CA) has completely transformed into a series of “teller windows” inside the store. 
  • Reply 3 of 7
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    sdw2001 said:
    Considering there is little to no evidence of surface transmission, it’s about time.  
    Yet this has transformed our society into a bunch of addlebrained paranoid germaphobic morons, afraid that the virus lurks in every nook and cranny.
    JWSC
  • Reply 4 of 7
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,958member
    lkrupp said:
    sdw2001 said:
    Considering there is little to no evidence of surface transmission, it’s about time.  
    Yet this has transformed our society into a bunch of addlebrained paranoid germaphobic morons, afraid that the virus lurks in every nook and cranny.
    True, but no one got the flu this year. There is something to be learned here. 
    randominternetpersonmknelsonGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 5 of 7
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    Trying to understand here. “With AirPods try-ons now available, customers can once again test out ear tip fit and select the product that best meets their needs.”
    So it’s a matter of whether to get the AirPods or the AirPods Pro? Wouldn’t they have to try on all three sizes of the AP Pro tips?
    Seems like a lot. 
  • Reply 6 of 7
    lkrupp said:
    sdw2001 said:
    Considering there is little to no evidence of surface transmission, it’s about time.  
    Yet this has transformed our society into a bunch of addlebrained paranoid germaphobic morons, afraid that the virus lurks in every nook and cranny.
    I have to be honest. I wouldn’t want to wear in ear pods pandemic or not. 
  • Reply 7 of 7
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,876member
    lkrupp said:
    sdw2001 said:
    Considering there is little to no evidence of surface transmission, it’s about time.  
    Yet this has transformed our society into a bunch of addlebrained paranoid germaphobic morons, afraid that the virus lurks in every nook and cranny.
    Yeah that happens when a virus kills more Americans than World War I, World War II, and Vietnam combined. My brother and his wife, in their 50s and no known comorbidities, got it very bad last year, requiring hospitalization to save their lives.

    I don't sweat surfaces very much, tho I do wash my hands after trips to the store or handling deliveries or whatnot. Washing your hands just makes too much sense -- you don't know if the UPS guy sneezed on his hand a couple minutes before, etc.
    GeorgeBMac
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