Apple Watch Pop-Up Shop Also Planned for London's Selfridges Department Store

Apple is planning to open a dedicated pop-up shop for the Apple Watch at high-end department store Selfridges in London, according to sources. The shop will likely be located near the entrance of the iconic Wonder Room, a 19,000-square-foot shopping hall that houses a wide selection of luxury jewelry and watch brands alongside a concept store and mezzanine wine bar.




Wonder Room at Selfridges in London houses fine jewelry and watches


A section of Selfridges located near the Wonder Room was boarded up earlier this month to allow for construction of the expected Apple Watch pop-up shop, sources say. The store-within-a-store concept will display various Apple Watch models and provide customers with a personalized shopping experience, potentially including One to One service for those interested in learning more about the wrist-worn device.



Apple is recruiting retail employees from nearby Apple Stores in London to fill Specialist vacancies at an upcoming Central London location, which is likely to be this Selfridges boutique. The pop-up shop is expected to be readied in time for the Apple Watch launch in April and will likely join Galeries Lafayette as one of multiple standalone Apple Watch stores that Apple plans to open throughout Europe.



Selfridges has the second-largest retail space in the United Kingdom behind competing high-end department store Harrods. The store offers a myriad of designer jewelry and accessories, such as watches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, pendants and rings. With the Apple Watch positioned at least partially as a fashion item, the department store offers an ideal setting for the wrist-worn device to be displayed.

Apple Likely Building Apple Watch Demo Area at Yerba Buena Center

A new image has surfaced that shows construction of an outdoor extension at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, as reported by 9to5Mac . The tented space will likely serve as an Apple Watch demo area at the upcoming "Spring Forward" media event on March 9th, where Apple is widely expected to provide further details about the Apple Watch's features, pricing and release date.





According to the tipster that submitted the photos, there are security guards wearing "Apple Security" shirts monitoring the construction site, all but confirming that the external addition belongs to Apple. The company previously built a similar structure outside of the Flint Center as a demo area for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, so an exterior demo area would not be unprecedented.



Apple sent out invites for its "Spring Forward" media event earlier this week, and will also be providing a live stream of the event on its website for Mac, iPhone and iPad. The media event will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on March 9th at 10:00 AM Pacific and should be focused on the Apple Watch ahead of the wrist-worn device's launch in April.

Case Logic Video Review: Hands-On With the Ibira MacBook Backpack [Mac Blog]

Case Logic is known its line of backpacks, cases, and other storage accessories, all of which are priced affordably, making it quite popular with people looking for inexpensive but quality solutions for carrying around their devices.



We met up with Case Logic at CES this year, where the company had a large booth showcasing all of its products, including the Ibira backpack, one of its newest offerings. We went hands-on with the Ibira backpack in our latest video review, so check it out to see what we thought.






The Ibira is a lightweight, slim backpack but we were impressed with what it was able to hold. We fit in a MacBook, an iPad, an Apple keyboard, an iPhone, several chargers and accessories, a water bottle, and several notebooks. Build wise, the backpack is made of a high quality material that feels like it will stand up to heavy usage, but the straps were a bit too thin and could use more padding to be comfortable.



Case Logic's Ibira Backpack is available in black and anthracite from the Case Logic website for $29.99.

Buyer's Guide: Deals on iPad Air, iMac, MacBook Air, and Apple Accessories [iOS Blog]

As we head into March, deals are beginning to pick up a little bit. The iPad Air 2 is still available at discounted prices from B&H Photo, and Best Buy is offering discounts on its stock of original iPad Air tablets.



There are also deals to be had on the iMac, the MacBook Air, and the Retina MacBook Pro, plus, as always, we have a nice selection of Apple accessories that have been discounted this week.

iPad Air 2

B&H Photo is offering up to $60 off its entire stock of iPad Air 2 models, dropping the price of the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2 to $459. Discounts vary based on model, but the lowest discount is $35 and the highest is $60 off the 128GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2.

iPad Air

Best Buy is discounting its entire stock of original iPad Air tablets by $50 to $100, depending on the model. Wi-Fi only models are discounted by $50, dropping the price of the entry-level 16GB iPad Air to $349.99, and cellular models are discounted by $100, dropping the price of the entry-level 16GB cellular model to $379.99.



Best Buy also has a few now-discontinued higher-capacity iPad Air models available at low prices.



- iPad Air Cellular Silver 128GB (AT&T) - $599.99

- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 128GB (AT&T) - $599.99

- iPad Air Cellular Silver 64GB (Verizon) - $566.99

- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 64GB (Verizon) - $566.99

iPad mini 3

Best Buy is discounting its stock of 16GB iPad mini 3 models by $50, dropping the price on cellular versions to $479.99 and the price of Wi-Fi only versions to $349.99.

iPad mini 2

Best Buy still has a few now-discontinued higher-capacity iPad mini 2 models available at low prices.



- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Silver 64GB - $399.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Space Gray 128GB - $499.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Silver 128GB - $499.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular Verizon Silver 64GB - $412.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular Verizon Space Gray 128GB - $566.99

iMac

- 21.5-inch 2.7GHz/8GB/1TB (Adorama) - $1,189, $110 off

- 21.5-inch 2.9GHz/8GB/1TB (Adorama) - $1,389, $100 off

- 27-inch 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB (Adorama) - $1,689, $110 off

- 27-inch 3.4GHz/8GB/1TB (Adorama) (B&H Photo) - $1,794, $205 off

- 27-inch 3.5Ghz/8GB/1TB Retina iMac (Adorama) (B&H Photo) (MacMall) - $2,349, $150 off

MacBook Air

- 11-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB (Adorama) - $799, $100 off

- 11-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB (B&H Photo) (Adorama) - $999, $100 off

- 13-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB (B&H Photo (Adorama) - $919, $80 off

- 13-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB (B&H Photo) (Adorama) - $1,099, $100 off

Retina Macbook Pro

- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/128GB (Adorama) (B&H Photo) - $1,189, $100 off

- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB (B&H Photo) (Adorama) - $1,399, $100 off

- 13-inch 2.8GHz/8GB/512GB (Adorama) - $1,599, $200 off

- 15-inch 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB (Best Buy) (Adorama) (B&H Photo) - $1,799.99, $200 off

- 15-inch 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB - (Best Buy) (Adorama) (B&H Photo) - $2,249.99, $200 off

Apps

There are quite a few apps that are on sale at discounted prices or available for free for a limited time. We'll highlight a few here, but make sure to check out our sister site AppShopper for a complete list.



Toca Hair Salon , a popular game for children, is available for free this week, down from $2.99. NFL Quarterback 15 is available for free, down from $0.99. Duet Display is half off this week, priced at $7.99 instead of $15.99.



Twisty Hollow is priced at $0.99 this week, down from $2.99. Space Age: A Cosmic Adventure is available for $1.99, down from $3.99. Botanicula is available for $1.99, down from $4.99.



Printer Pro was named Apple's app of the week this week, and it will be available to download for free for the next six days.

Apple Accessories

The Bolt battery and wall charger is available for $44.99 from StackSocial, a $15 discount off its regular price. The Griffin PowerJolt car charger is available for $24.99 from Groupon, $10 off its normal price. Groupon is also selling the Mophie Powerstation 4,000mAh battery charger for $29.99, down from its original price of $79.95.





The second-generation Jawbone UP fitness tracker is available for $49.99 from LivingSocial, down from its original price of $129.99. The Ion iCade Arcade Bluetooth cabinet is available for $59.99 from Amazon, $70 off its regular price of $129.99. PayPal Digital Gifts on eBay is offering a $100 iTunes gift card for $80.





The JBL OnBeat Mini Speaker Dock for iPhone 5/5s/6/6 Plus and iPad is available for $39.99 from Groupon, an 80 percent discount off its regular price.LivingSocial is selling the Speck CandyShell Grip case for iPad mini for $14.99, down from $44.95.





Speck is offering 50 percent off site wide, discounting its entire stock of iPhone cases and accessories. The discount will be available until Saturday and is applied at checkout.



SkinIt, a site that makes custom skins for a wide range of devices from the iPhone to the MacBook, is offering a special deal buy one get one 50 percent off deal for MacRumors readers. With the code MACRUMORS, you can get 50% off a second skin after purchasing one skin.



MacRumors is an affiliate partner of some of these vendors.

iOS 8.2 Could See Public Release Next Week, Two More Betas of iOS 8.3 to Come

Apple may be planning to release iOS 8.2 to the public as early as next Monday, reports BGR . iOS 8.2 has been in testing since November and notably contains support for the Apple Watch. The March release date has been rumored for several weeks now, but earlier information pointed towards a launch a bit later in the month, possibly during the second week of March.



A Monday, March 2 release date for iOS 8.2 would mean the software would be released to consumers a full week ahead of Apple's scheduled March 9 "Spring Forward" media event, where the company is expected to divulge additional details on the Apple Watch.



BGR is fairly accurate when it comes to iOS release date predictions. The site correctly determined several iOS 7 beta release dates, but it has been wrong on occasion. Because March 2 is not in line with earlier predictions, BGR could be off by a week, but we will certainly be seeing a public release of iOS 8.2 sometime during the first two weeks of March, even if the March 2 date is inaccurate.



Thus far, there have been five iOS 8.2 betas, with the last beta coming on Monday, February 2, suggesting either another beta or a public release is coming in the near future.



The site also says that it has learned from its sources that there may be as many as four betas of iOS 8.3. We have had two iOS 8.3 betas, so there could be two more beta updates before the software is provided to the public. That would put iOS 8.3 on track to launch in April. iOS 8.3 brings several new features to the operating system, most notably introducing a redesigned emoji picker and adding both new emoji and emoji skin tone modifiers.