Apple Shuts Down California Stores for Covid-19

Yesterday, Apple announced closing 53 stores in California, amid an ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.

Meanwhile, California has seen over 1,800,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and more than 22,400 deaths as Saturday night, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard. Also, the drastic move comes after the tech giant closed its stores in Los Angeles, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

On other hand, the Retail stores in California have been allowed to remain open under the state's stay-at-home order but have been required to operate at limited capacity, in addition to following protocols on masks and social distancing.

Mean while, there is no word yet on when stores will reopen. However, the state's Department of Public Health website reported that Southern California and San Joaquin regions, would be eligible to exit stay-at-home orders on December 28th.

Later, Apple announced its plans to produce up to 96 million iPhones for the first half of 2021, a nearly 30% year-on-year increase. The firm is set to build up to 230 million iPhones, including both old and new models.

On other hand, Apple is preparing an aggressive production schedule for its high-end computers, including the MacBook Pro and iMac Pro, for 2021. The company is in the midst of replacing Intel central processors in its computer lineups with self-designed CPUs built using technology from British chip designer Arm.

Also, 2021 iPhone lineup will look similar to the 2020 iPhone lineup, with four devices in sizes that include 5.4-inches, 6.1-inches, and 6.7-inches, with two of the iPhones being higher-end “Pro” models and two positioned as lower-cost more affordable devices, according to the firm.

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