You can no longer try on AirPods or Apple Watches due to coronavirus

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Apple won't let people try on AirPods or Apple Watch to avoid spreading coronavirus among staff and customers

AirPods or Apple Watches can't be tried on due to coronavirus
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

AirPods and Apple Watches, two of Apple's most popular products, are no longer being offered for try-ons in certain Apple Stores. This is, as you might expect, an attempt to avoid spreading coronavirus amongst staff and shoppers. Disinfecting surfaces regularly is one of the coronavirus tips to follow to stay safe and continuously cleaning the AirPods and Apple Watches would be difficult.

Business Insider reports that while Apple Stores will still let you try the fit of a product if you ask, staff have been asked not to offer it themselves. The number of chairs and stools available within the stores has been reduced to avoid people sitting too close to one another.

Trying on an Apple Watch in store isn't only beneficial for checking if it fits. Apple Stores offer unique customization options for the casing and strap of the Apple Watch, which will become more difficult to do when customers are discouraged from handling the products.

BI is currently uncertain whether this policy only applies to specific Apple Stores or if it will cover all of them. Apple has said that it is looking to decrease crowding in stores, but hasn't commented on any specific policy, including the reduction of try-ons.

Apple has also increased cleaning staff and hand sanitizer stations in stores, and is allowing hourly employees to take sick leave more freely, according to previous reports by 9to5Mac.

Apple's efforts to reduce the risk of its employees getting infected has affected other parts of its business too. Its upcoming iPhone 9 and iPhone 12 launches are allegedly delayed, possibly indefinitely for the iPhone 9.

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Richard Priday
Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Zachary 99
    Not really hard to phase out Beats or come after Bose, considering they both suck and are overpriced mediocre pieces of crap at best. Interesting to see how bose and apple both screwed the pooch on the selling point with ANC after an update, too. Regardless, specifically related to the ear tampons/ electric toothbrush heads apple are selling, I never really understood why there had to be a slightly less mediocre version of an existing product such as this "airpods pro lite" bs. I mean, by no means is anything apple sell remotley geared towards professional 90% of the time, but a pair of cheap buds especially not.

    Am I also the only one that finds that presumed magnetic case design moronic? Just dangling there asking to be lost and/ or stolen. Anyways, just wanted to chime in and say it's Sony apple should be competing with and they don't and wont ever, partly because of abstaining the lacking scummy tacktics in regards to bogging down performance with software updates and mediocre sound quality and ANC. So, no, Sony is the undesputedly leader and isn't being challenged with presumably and more than likely mediocre <Mod Edit> from either apple or bose.

    Lastly, when has beats ever been relevant after 2012? They pretty much coasted on endorsement and popularity but did nothing to really compete, despite being called out for adding artificial weight to products, sub par sound quality as "bass" with inferior construction to boot, not to mention the whole overpriced bs. I mean, it made sense crApple bought them up, being useless, boutique, terrible and essentially a means to printi money at some point from the lemmings who bought into their ecosyste, but at this point it kinda feels like a manipulative girl stringing a boy crush along in the sense that apple has done nothing to incorporate their products (aside from the proprietary connection chip) and beats has pretty much remained as this now irrelevant and <Mod Edit> brand that most would have the common sense to avoid.
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