“Today at Apple” Educational Classes to Launch in May at All Retail Stores

Apple today announced plans to launch dozens of new educational sessions next month in all 495 Apple Stores ranging in topics from photo and video to music, coding, art and design, and more.

The hands-on sessions, collectively called “Today at Apple,” will be led by highly-trained team members, and in select cities world-class artists, photographers and musicians, teaching sessions from basics and how-to lessons to professional-level programs.

“At the heart of every Apple Store is the desire to educate and inspire the communities we serve,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of retail, during a television interview with “CBS This Morning.” “‘Today at Apple’ is one of the ways we’re evolving our experience to better serve local customers and entrepreneurs.”

“We’re creating a modern-day town square, where everyone is welcome in a space where the best of Apple comes together to connect with one another, discover a new passion, or take their skill to the next level. We think it will be a fun and enlightening experience for everyone who joins,” she continued.

The new store format will have spaces for classes and meetings, new screens and hardware and “Genius groves,” a tree-lined area where the “Genius Bar” once was. In addition to traditional IT services, creative professionals like photographers will also be on-site, Ahrendts said.

“The over-arching vision of the future of Apple retail…is what do we want Apple’s role in the community to be,” Ahrendts told The Verge at last year’s San Francisco event. “The store becomes one with the community.”

Ahrendts was hired away from her post as the CEO of Burberry in 2013 in order to run the “strategic direction, expansion, and operation” of Apple’s retail and online divisions. “This is more than just a store,” Ahrendts said last year. “We want people to say, ‘Hey, meet me at Apple.'”

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