Photo Credit: @Apple___Sora via X
Apple has placed a new “hello” decoration inside its retail stores, and the purpose is practical rather than purely festive. As of today, the vast majority of Apple retail locations globally have been given the decoration somewhere on the premises so that customers can test iPhone camera zoom in person.
The timing coincides with the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which reached buyers around the globe this week after pre-orders opened on Saturday, September 12. Like the iPhone 17 Pro models before them, the new iPhone 18 Pro models offer up to 8x optical zoom, and the in-store “hello” decoration gives shoppers a fixed target to push that zoom range against on the sales floor.
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The addition arrives alongside broader launch-day preparations at Apple’s flagship locations. The company’s Fifth Avenue store in New York has been readied for the iPhone 18 Pro debut, and its signature glass cube entrance now sports a colorful redesign echoing the Burgundy and Glacier finishes introduced with the iPhone 18 Pro. “So excited for tomorrow,” said Apple CEO John Ternus, who is expected to attend the launch at that location.
For shoppers who skipped the pre-order window, iPhone 18 Pro Max models across every storage tier and finish now carry an estimated three-to-four-week wait in the United States. Demand has been less strong for the standard iPhone 18 Pro, though wait times still apply there as well.
The pre-order rollout followed Apple’s established schedule. Pre-orders began at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, September 12, the same early slot the company has used for several years. Ahead of that window, Apple’s online store went down.
The “hello” decoration now gives buyers a reason to visit a store beyond picking up an order, letting them frame the same test shot every retail location offers.