Skip to main content
Tech Radar Tech Radar TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice
Subscribe
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
Technology Magazines
Technology Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
View
  • News
  • Best
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • How To
  • Deals
  • More
    • Versus
    • Appliances
    • Audiovisual
    • Cameras
    • Car Tech
    • Computing
    • Coupons
    • Downloads
    • Entertainment
    • Fitness
    • Laptops
    • Phones
    • Smart Home
    • Tablets
    • TVs
    • Wearables
    • About Us
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • WWDC 2023 LIVE
  • Apple VR headset
  • iPhone 15
  • ChatGPT
  • Wordle hints
  • Best VPN

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Mobile Phones

Inside the new Apple Store Brompton Road - where you won't have to wait to pick up the new iPhone

By Alex Walker-Todd
published 27 July 2022

The new Apple Store in London: where we left with a packet of seeds

Apple Store in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London - exterior
(Image credit: Future)

Apple has proven itself resistant to the economic challenges a lot of consumer technology companies have faced of late, and the opening of a new flagship retail store in one of London's most affluent areas embodies its ongoing success pretty well - and TechRadar got an early chance to look around.

The new Brompton Road Apple Store - nestled in London's high-sheen corner, Knightsbridge, where designer fashion retailers rub shoulders with the famous luxury department store Harrods - is located on the spot of the old Brompton Arcade, which dates back to 1903.

Like the company's other London stores in Regent Street and Covent Garden, the design of Brompton Road pays homage to the site on which it's found; the shape of seven-meter tall floor-to-ceiling arched glass windows echo the original arcade, for example. 

As storefronts go it's hard to miss, especially when you can see what's inside.

Grab and go

The Brompton Road Apple Store is the first in the country to feature something that Apple has been developing hard in the US: Apple Pickup, which evolved from Apple's Express Pickup system that allowed consumers to get their hands on products without needing to visit stores during lockdown.

This is the first time in a UK Apple Store that customers will have a dedicated area where they can head to pick up the items they've ordered online, compared with needing to flag down a staff member to help with their order.

This will be hugely beneficial come the expected iPhone 14 launch in September, where a steady stream of customers will be expected in the weeks following the release and having a way to navigate them will make the experience a little slicker.

The new Apple pickup zone in Brompton Road, with people at a desk pickup up new apple products

(Image credit: Apple)

What's interesting about the Brompton Road Apple Pickup zone is that it's on the left-hand side of the store, towards the rear. Apple Store blogger Michael Steeber recently wrote about how Apple is openly evolving the placement of this Pickup areas in different stores, with different locations and layouts being used depending on the location.

In the new Apple Brompton Road Store, you'll need to weave your way past many other Apple gadgets to pick up your new device - taking you past the tree-lined zones and a likely-tempting AirPods trial zone, where you can see how Apple's own headphones work.

While you grab your order, the eye might be also caught by the huge 'Today at Apple' screens that show off workshops and other content that take place in the Store - perhaps another design choice to engulf customers in the differing Apple retail experience.

Building green

As with the company's original Regent Street location - which opened in London in 2004 and was subsequently refitted in 2016 - Brompton Road's Apple Store features a familiar open-plan layout, dressed in natural materials, designed to reflect the company's green pledges.

Apple Store Brompton Road Knightsbridge London - interior

The arched wooden ceiling also pay homage to the design of the arcade on which the new store stands (Image credit: TechRadar)

Sandblasted Castagna stone lines the walls and pillars, the terrazzo flooring is made from a bio-resin that includes castor oil and recycled glass, and both the tables dressed with iPhones, iPads and Macs, as well as the arched ceilings, are all hewn from sustainable wood; with twelve sizeable ficus trees helping soften the space, with the intention of reminding visitors this isn't solely a retail space.

Located just a stone's throw from one of the city's most centrally-located green spaces, Hyde Park, at launch Apple has dressed the windows with plant-based motifs, blended with some of their most popular products, and attendees from the preview event walked away with a packet of wildflower seeds sporting this same bespoke designs.

Not the typical thing Apple customers can expect to pick up, when the store formally opens on July 28.

Apple Store Brompton Road Knightsbridge London seed packet

The seed packets Apple handed out feature a plant motif unique to the Brompton Road location (Image credit: TechRadar)

Educate and entertain

Just as with its other flagship locations, Apple's new Brompton Road store will host numerous free events too; with training, talks and more, revolving around areas like fitness and creativity.

To mark opening day, Apple’s VP of Fitness Technologies, Jay Blahnik, is going to be on-hand, accompanied by trainers Cory Wharton-Malcolm, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, Kim Ngo, and Jonelle Lewis, who'll be leading an Apple Fitness+ Q&A session, followed by a three-kilometer walk and a five-kilometer run around Hyde Park.

Apple Store Brompton Road Knightsbridge London Tin Nguyen, Edward Cutting, Just Blaze

Artists Tin&Ed alongside producer Just Blaze, talking about the creation of the United Visions AR experience. (Image credit: Future)

Additional sessions including talks on AR (the preview event also marked the launch of the new 'United Visions' AR experience, created for the Getty Museum by Tin&Ed and award-winning producer, Just Blaze), as well as illustration sessions, where attendees will be shown how to create using 'inspiration from the local blooms,' as Apple puts it.

Fans inside and out

The staff in Apple's retail stores are a famously passionate bunch and that rang true based on the interactions we had during the preview event.

The 200-strong team is reportedly comprised of musicians, artists and developers from 26 nationalities, speaking 45 languages, and chatting with a handful of them, there was a tangible sense of excitement surrounding opening day and the interactions they were expecting to have with the initial wave of curious customers.

Apple Store Brompton Road Knightsbridge London - iPhone 13 range

(Image credit: TechRadar)

The stage is set

The Apple Store Brompton Road carries all of the hallmarks that make the company's other London locations appealing retail experiences.

There's little doubt that this new store will play host to a familiar line of excited Apple fans in the coming months, when the iPhone 14 series eventually arrives (expected to be around late September). 

Even if the rumors are true and the iPhone 14 does end up sporting a higher price than its predecessor, nowhere more so in the city of London will a few extra pounds go unnoticed than in affluent Knightsbridge.

TechRadar Newsletter

Sign up to receive daily breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis, deals and more from the world of tech.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Alex Walker-Todd
Alex Walker-Todd
Social Links Navigation
Senior Phones Editor

Alex joined as TechRadar's Senior Phones Editor in June 2022, but brings over a decade's worth of experience to the role, with an expertise in smartphones, tablets and wearables. He's covered keynotes hosted by the biggest brands and attended the launches for some of the most influential mobile products of the last few years. His experience was amassed at some of the most reputable consumer technology publications out there, including GSMArena, TechAdvisor and Trusted Reviews. Alex is currently holding out hope for the Pixel Watch's success and is excited for the advancements coming to the world of foldable phones in the near future.

See more Mobile phones news
More about mobile phones
An image of the Google Tensor chipset

Google Pixel 8 could get a major gaming and AI boost from leaked Tensor G3 chip

Apple logo in neon colors on a black background above the words WWDC 2023 in white text

WWDC 2023 live blog: Apple VR headset, MacBook Air 15, iOS 17 and more

Latest
DualSense controllers

The best cheap PS5 DualSense controller deals in M06 2023

See more latest ►
Most Popular
North Korean hackers are spoofing journalists to gather intelligence

By Craig HaleJune 05, 2023

If you’re not streaming Apple Music’s Power Up 2023 playlist are you even WWDC ready?

By Becky ScarrottJune 05, 2023

Windows 11 lost users this month – should Microsoft be worried?

By Darren AllanJune 05, 2023

WWDC 2023 live blog: Apple VR headset, MacBook Air 15, iOS 17 and more

By Lance UlanoffJune 05, 2023

Disney Plus could lose more movies and TV shows after recent content purge

By Tom PowerJune 05, 2023

Microsoft quietly deletes difficult Xbox achievement in popular Game Pass title

By Aleksha McLoughlinJune 05, 2023

Sony wants to improve cloud gaming, but admits the tech is tricky

By Rhys WoodJune 05, 2023

New Diablo 4 patch notes make Barbarians worse at yelling

By Cat BussellJune 05, 2023

Major Microsoft Azure outage was caused by a simple typo

By Craig HaleJune 05, 2023

Why Apple needs to make a 2-in-1 MacBook

By Michelle Rae UyJune 05, 2023

Quordle today - hints and answers for Monday, June 5 (game #497)

By Marc McLarenJune 05, 2023

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.