Genius Bar

Unionized Apple Workers Say Tip Your Genius Bar-Tender

As part of contract negotiations, staff at a Maryland Apple store have asked for higher wages, more time off, and overtime pay. They've also floated tipping.

Tech News Lauren Leffer May 4

Apple Is Reportedly Giving Its Retail Workers Raises to Make Sure They Don’t Leave

The pay bumps range from between 2% and 10% and apply to salespeople, Genius Bar tech support, and some senior hourly employees, according to a new report.

Tech News Jody Serrano Feb 12

Apple Workers, Alleging Discrimination and a ‘Culture of Secrecy,’ Mobilize

A group using the name AppleToo claims that the company has repeatedly squashed efforts to survey coworkers.

Tech News Whitney Kimball Aug 24

Apple Will Sell You a $29 Replacement Battery Even If You Don’t Need One

After Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones, the company tried to calm frustrated customers by dropping the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements from $79 to $29. Unfortunately, even that discount came with a catch, because unless your phone’s battery failed a diagnostic test at the Genius Bar, you wouldn’t actually be eligible for a…

Tech News Sam Rutherford Jan 2

Legendary Apple Engineer Gets Rejected For Genius Bar Job

This weekend’s New York Times op-ed about the ageism people over 50 face in the workplace includes a charming anecdote via JK Scheinberg, the esteemed Apple engineer who got Mac OS running on Intel processors. A little restless after retiring in 2008, at 54, he figured he’d be a great fit for a position at…

Tech News Eve Peyser Sep 5

The Worst Apple Store Customer Horror Story

We asked for nightmare tales of the Apple Genius Bar—from both sides of the bar. One Apple Store employee submitted a customer encounter that makes us despair about mankind. The majority of Gizmodo commenters sang the praises of Apple’s in-house customer service, reporting helpful, pleasant interactions with Genius Bar and Store staffers. The horrors often…

Tech News Kaila Hale-Stern Aug 6

Tell Us Your Nightmare Stories of The Apple Genius Bar

We want to hear from both sides of the bar. We know it’s not easy to work at an Apple Store, facing an endless line of customers, some of whom act hugely entitled. The infamous “Lady Goes Crazy At An Apple Store” video is the third autofill result if you start typing “woman screaming” into…

Tech News Kaila Hale-Stern Jul 9

I Ditched My iPhone and Spent the Summer With Android

For five straight years, I spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the screen of an iPhone. I’m not alone in that, but I am usually quick to buy new models and even quicker to download new operating system updates. Perhaps I’m a little too quick, because earlier this year, my enthusiasm got the…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Sep 30

What It’s Like to Work the Apple Store Front Lines on iPhone Day

What, if anything, would you stand in line for all night? Front row tickets to your favorite band? A cameo on your favorite show? A spot for your child in that better school? If you’ve ever entered an Apple Store on iPhone release day, you know that tensions can start running a little high, to…

Tech News J.K. Appleseed - McSweeney's Oct 18

Retail Therapy: Inside the Apple Store

An Apple employee is never supposed to point when giving directions in their store. For example, when asked where the iPhone cases are sold, a specialist should either gesture with an open hand or, preferably, walk the customer to the proper location. If you’ve ever wandered into an Apple Store just to covertly check your…

Tech News J.K. Appleseed - McSweeney's Sep 26

Chinese Scalpers Created a Black Market for Genius Bar Appointments

The Apple Store is a hectic place in China, so hectic that if you try to go in for a repair without an appointment, you can expect to wait all day. No big deal. This is what the black market for Genius Bar appointments is for. According to the Beijing Morning News, ticket scalpers are…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jul 29

Apple Asks You To Reset Your iPhone Before Hitting the Genius Bar

There must be an enormous amount of iPhone-related idiocy showing up at the Genius Bar because now before Apple will allow you to make a reservation, the company prompts you to kindly reset your phone. Which, people, why have you not been doing this already? The five second procedure will resolve a huge number of…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Nov 12

Apple Might Replace Your Broken iPhone 4 with an iPhone 4S

If you bring your broken black iPhone 4 to the Apple Store, you might get a fresh iPhone 4S as your replacement phone. What?! Yep, because of supply constraints, many Apple Stores don’t have any black iPhone 4 units (16GB/32GB) in stock so they have been instructed by Apple to give customers an iPhone 4S…

Tech News Casey Chan May 7

Real Apple Store Fixes Fake MacBook Air

What happens when you’re in China and your MacBook Air knockoff breaks down? You bring it to the Genius Bar of an Apple Store, of course. And what’ll they do? They’ll fix it out of the kindness of their hearts. This is supposedly what happened to a Chinese man who visited the Pudong Apple Store…

Tech News Kelly Jul 28

Apple to Replace Peeling Macbook Butts

If your plastic unibody Macbook is having peeling rubber butt issues, you aren’t alone. Apple’s now actually fixing the problem for free—either through the Genius bar or a DIY kit. They’ll even refund any money you’ve spent before. Apple has determined that under certain circumstances the rubber surface on some MacBooks may separate from the…

Tech News Michael Zhao May 31

The Genius Bar

What follows is a very intense trip to the Genius Bar. 1. “For some reason, this hinge on my MacBook Air, as you can see here, isn’t closing all the way. It kind of clicks and then just stays stuck there, not quite closing. See?” “There’s always been some error, some amount of neurological disconnect…

Tech News Dan Kennedy - McSweeney's Jan 26

The Apple Repair Line Is Broken. Just Like My Computer.

My notebook is toast. It’s basically being completely rebuilt. I dropped it off at the Genius Bar a week ago. I wanna know where it’s at, so I called Apple to find out. I didn’t get very far. Fantastic. I hope it’s in better shape than Apple’s repair line robot.

Tech News Matt Buchanan Oct 8

Apple Friend Bar Is a Genius Idea

Click to viewWhere to go when you need a regularly scheduled “chat about Mac” experience? The Apple Friend Bar, of course! The venerable Onion News Network uncovers the key details in this investigative video report. Not to mention the iStore, which would look admittedly out of place in my laundry-strewn apartment. [ONN]

Tech News Brian Barrett Jul 7

Apple Store iPhone Upgrade Gives Woman Access To Stranger’s Photos and Texts

The owner of this bedazzled iPhone is Stockton, CA resident Maria Avila. When she got her handset back from an iOS4 upgrade at her local Apple Store, she found it chock full of a complete stranger’s personal data. Curious! Setting aside the oddness of going to the Genius Bar for a firmware update, it’s hard…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jul 1

Whatever You Do, Don’t Use Apple Support This Weekend

Basically all of Apple’s support servers will be offline this weekend, so “customer support will be limited to basic troubleshooting,” according to an internal memo. So avoid all forms of Apple tech support, from Apple Stores to Authorized Service Providers. “Advisors will not be able to determine support eligibility, register products or agreements, create dispatches…

Tech News Matt Buchanan May 14

Genius Bar

Unionized Apple Workers Say Tip Your Genius Bar-Tender

Apple Is Reportedly Giving Its Retail Workers Raises to Make Sure They Don’t Leave

Apple Workers, Alleging Discrimination and a ‘Culture of Secrecy,’ Mobilize

Apple Will Sell You a $29 Replacement Battery Even If You Don’t Need One

Legendary Apple Engineer Gets Rejected For Genius Bar Job

The Worst Apple Store Customer Horror Story

Tell Us Your Nightmare Stories of The Apple Genius Bar

I Ditched My iPhone and Spent the Summer With Android

What It’s Like to Work the Apple Store Front Lines on iPhone Day

Retail Therapy: Inside the Apple Store

Chinese Scalpers Created a Black Market for Genius Bar Appointments

Apple Asks You To Reset Your iPhone Before Hitting the Genius Bar

Apple Might Replace Your Broken iPhone 4 with an iPhone 4S

Real Apple Store Fixes Fake MacBook Air

Apple to Replace Peeling Macbook Butts

The Genius Bar

The Apple Repair Line Is Broken. Just Like My Computer.

Apple Friend Bar Is a Genius Idea

Apple Store iPhone Upgrade Gives Woman Access To Stranger’s Photos and Texts

Whatever You Do, Don’t Use Apple Support This Weekend

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Let us help find what you are looking for...