Were You There When Southeast Asia’s First Apple Store Opened On Orchard Road in 2017?

Eight years ago today (27 May 2017), Apple Orchard Road opened its sleek glass doors to a buzzing crowd of Apple fans and tech geeks, making it not just the first Apple retail store in Singapore, but the very first in Southeast Asia.

The night before hype

The queue started forming the night before. First in line was Xiang Jiaxin, a 25-year-old from China, who began camping out since 8pm the night before the launch. He’d also attended Apple Store openings in Nanjing, Guangzhou and Macau.

When the doors opened at 10am, Apple’s then-Senior Vice President of Retail, Angela Ahrendts, joined 237 blue-shirted employees to cheer on the crowd, dishing out high-fives and warm welcomes.

The store is still crowded like this on weekends. | IMAGE: APPLE

The steps on each end of the store were popular Instagram spots back in the day. | IMAGE: APPLE

A sleek space in the heart of Orchard Road

The store, located in Knightsbridge mall, spans two floors, and looks like it came straight out of a futuristic architecture mood board. There are twin curved Castagna stone staircases on both ends – a popular Instagram spot all those years ago. Strong air conditioning provides respite from the heat too.

The entire store is powered by renewable energy, thanks to rooftop solar panels. On the first floor, a space called “The Avenue” showcases all the new Apple products. 

Climb the stairs and you’ll reach the second level: “The Forum”, which Apple designed as a modern-day town square. It’s a space where you can attend free workshops, and talks on topics like digital art, video editing, music production and more - sort of like a community centre in the city. 

Apple Jewel Changi opened in 2019. | IMAGE: APPLE

Apple Marina Bay Sands opened in 2020. Looks like an alien spaceship sia.| IMAGE: APPLE

More Apple Stores since

Since its opening, the Orchard Road store has become the go-to spot for major Apple drops.

The tech firm opened two more stores at Jewel Changi Airport (in 2019), and Marina Bay Sands (in 2020; the floating orb that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi movie).

But people still flock to Orchard Road for the latest iPhone launches. In fact, last September, nearly 300 people queued up there for the newest iPhone 16 release.

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