Apple redesigns its online store, makes it more like the iOS app
Late on Tuesday, Apple's website went down for a brief period of time, prompting speculation that the company might launch new products.
Not this time, though — when the site went back up, it had a new "Store" tab on the top left side.
As MacRumors pointed out, Apple's website had a "Store" tab some years ago, but it was removed in a redesign. Now, however, the Store tab leads to a thoroughly redesigned store front, which lists all major Apple product categories, but also has an overview of deals and new items, as well as a few support links and documents.
Clicking on a particular product category will open a page that lets you horizontally scroll through cards with major sub-categories, which is similar to the way it's done on the Apple Store app on iOS. Try browsing it on a phone and you'll see what I mean.
Finally, choosing a particular sub-category will lend you on that product's webpage which appears to be identical or at least fairly similar to how it looked before the redesign.
These types of redesigns are best judged when you're actually shopping for a product, but my gut feeling is that this is a good change. Having a dedicated "Store" section which lets you start picking your way through product categories can sometimes be better than finding your way through Apple product pages.
Also, the new Store has a lot of content that should help you decide what you want, either through various support documents, or one-on-one sessions with Apple staff. There's nothing really new, here, mind you, but it's nice to have it all in one place.
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Topics Apple
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
