The new Apple Store in Pacific Centre is glorious, watching World Cup on Air Canada flights, and some tech deals this Black Friday.
Apple Store in Vancouver’s Pacific Centre reopens just in time for holiday buying
The new Apple Store in downtown Vancouver is truly a flagship location for the consumer tech company.
The expansive space at the corner of Georgia and Howe in the heart of the city looks out onto the Vancouver Art Gallery. Another iconic building, the Hotel Vancouver is just over to the right.
It’s easy to see these landmarks from the Pacific Centre Apple Store thanks to the two-storey glass frontage, slightly curved at the edges in the same proportion as the curves on an iPhone.
This attention to detail is what we expect of Apple, and it’s what makes Apple Stores so inviting.
On the lower floor are the usual wooden tables arranged with Apple devices: iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, all of them are enticing and inviting. Accessories for those devices, as well as other products like Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod are displayed on wall shelving.
The second floor can be reached by climbing a long, dramatic stairwell that slashes up the back of the store, an equally dramatic skylight overhead. It’s even more open up there. A screen takes up most of the back wall, and towards the front of the store is a loft that looks down on the entrance, and out onto the streetscape.
This second floor is the gathering space, the place for sharing and learning. The tables here are free of products but with power and networking ports and stools to support the programs that Apple hosts in its spaces – everything from coding to media production– and the support provided by its resident geniuses.
Where the first Apple Store location in Pacific Centre, which opened in 2010, was in the middle of the mall, sandwiched between retailers selling jeans and others hawking personal health products, this new space befits the brand. It is unabashedly a Vancouver Apple Store, glass and all, and I’ve no doubt it will be filled from now through the holiday season.
Air Canada offering live television on flights within Canada
Just in time for the World Cup, Air Canada has added live, satellite TV to its inflight entertainment options. For now, the service is only available on select Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A330 and Airbus A220 aircraft.
Networks available on the flights include TSN and RDS for sports, CTV News Channel, BNN Bloomberg, and LCN for French-language news.
Best Black Friday consumer tech deals
Black Friday officially begins in a couple of days on November 25, but some of the following deals are available now.
- Dyson vacuums on sale include the Ball Allergy+ corded vacuums at $400 ($200) off and the Cyclone V10 cordless models starting at $630 ($100 off)
- Apple’s giving away gift cards with the purchase of select products. You’ll get a $70 card buying iPhone 13 models, certain iPads and accessories, and Apple Watches, and a $350 card when purchasing select Mac computers.
- Samsung Galaxy S22 series smartphones (S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra) are up to $290 off (read more about the S22)
- Google Pixel 7 starts at $650 ($150 off) and the Google Pixel 7 Pro starts at $880 ($300 off)
- Nikon Z 5 is $1,299 for the body ($500 off) and you can add a standard 24-50 mm lens kit for $400
- Microsoft Surface Pro 8 starting at $1,100 ($500 off) (read more about the Surface Pro 8)
- Acer 27 Predator monitors, including the XB3 high-definition for $350 ($150 off) and the XB1 ultra high-def for $400 ($400 off)
- Jabra Elite 7 Active $130 $110 off) and Jabra Elite 7 Pro $160 ($100 off) (read more about the Jabra earbuds)
- Huawei Watch GT 3 Elite for $299 ($130 off)
- PS5 controllers are $65 ($30 off)
- Nintendo Switch bundle $400, includes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online (a $90 value)
- Xbox Series S $300 ($80 off)
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