Comments update: Apple's latest store in San Francisco by Foster + Partners showcases the tech giant's new approach to retail, but does the rethought design offer a better shopping experience for customers? Read on for more on this and explore our comments page to keep up with the latest discussions.
Apple sours: Apple's San Francisco outlet will serve as a model for the company's future stores around the world. A public plaza with seating and free wifi, in addition to an education space, are among the new innovations. However, some commenters don't think Apple and Foster + Partners have gone far enough.
"The design is very elegant, though after visiting the store in Hangzhou, China, there are a startling amount of similarities," wrote Felix Amiss. "I thought Apple and Foster + Partners were capable of more than a copy and paste job."
"It's not exactly a radical shift, is it?" added regular commenter Kay, while others criticised the internal fixtures and fittings for looking out of place.
Others disagreed with the criticisms and praised the store's architecture and community-based ethos.
"It's a great project with community at its centre," said Xi. "The complaints here don't seem to take into account the fact that Apple is moving in the right direction."
What do you think of Apple's new store design? Let us know in the comments section »
Taxi for one: controversial taxi app Uber hit the headlines after announcing that it is testing driverless car technology. The news angered some readers and prompted a wider debate about the future of transportation in cities.
"Uber are undercutting competition and putting poorly informed drivers on the road," said Kay. "Perhaps driverless cars would be an improvement to what they are currently offering."
Not so, argued another reader who described Uber's tests as a cynical move to cut costs by getting rid of drivers. For others, the safety benefits will outweigh the cost of people losing their jobs.
"Autonomous vehicles will save millions of lives and are an absolutely necessary part of our future," wrote Derek Elliott. "This technology, like any, is developing rapidly and I can only hope more people begin to place their trust in these increasingly reliable systems." Read the comments on this story »
Royal rendering? The image used by the UK government to showcase what future spaceports in Britain might look like was widely ridiculed by commenters this week.
The introduction of the Modern Transport Bill, which aims to put Britain at the forefront of the modern transport revolution, was announced by the Queen during her annual address at the State Opening of Parliament last week. But many felt the ambitious aims of the bill were undermined by the child-like rendering.
"Did the Queen herself do that rendering?" asked John McGrath, while Majo Vargas Bianchi thought it was most probably a piece by Prince Phillip.
"Is this a joke?" asked another reader. "Nobody will take the UK seriously with a render like that."
"The UK government obviously need to hire a new rendering company," added Roberto Sideris before accusing the government of getting its priorities wrong. "Get welfare, education and inequality right before you move into the commercial space," he said. Read the comments on this story »
Wheels in motion: a 3D-printed wheelchair designed by Benjamin Hubert's London studio Layer, which is launching at Clerkenwell Design Week today, quickly became this week's most-commented story.
"The seat does not support the entire thigh, the footboard is too far under the legs, there is no back support, and the front wheels are too small to traverse anything with a texture," observed regular contributor Concerned Citizen.
"Do you really think the designer hasn't thought about ergonomics and functionality?" hit back Kay, while another reader praised the detailing.
"It's a worthy area for designers to focus on and bring attention to," concluded a guest commenter. Read the comments on this story »