Apple to replace Genius Bar MacBook Pros with iPads and slow everything right the f*** down

Apple is apparently planning to replace all the MacBook Pros that are used at the retail store Genius Bars with iPads and, thus, slow everything down to a crawl.

9to5 Mac has a little blurb about Apple’s alleged plans and how it’ll work:

Apple Store Geniuses currently use these MacBook Pros to access a piece of software called GCRM. This software allows Apple Store Geniuses to see if a customer’s product is in warranty, what repairs can be done to it, the recent repairs done to the device, and what parts can be ordered for it. In addition, research can be done on these MacBook Pros on how to repair and repairs can be ordered through the laptops. Now, Apple is supplying Apple Stores with iPads that can mirror that functionality and replace the MacBook Pros.

Sounds pretty slick, but where 9to5 Mac gets it wrong is the claim that this move “will not only make the Genius’ job easier, but provide a much better experience for Apple’s customers.” The idea is that you can only fit so many stationary MacBook Pros at one bar and, therefore, you can only serve as many people as you can cram MacBook Pros into the limited space there. Seems like a pretty good idea until you bear in mind that a considerable amount of typing needs to happen to get a customer checked in and to do the searching involved to bring up relevant information. I, for one, type roughly 90 words per minute on a standard Mac keyboard and, on an iPad, maybe 20 at best… and that’s if it’s laying on a flat surface. The idea of carting around iPads to serve people anywhere in the store seems good in theory until you have to wait for the Mac Genius to hold the iPad in one hand and type with the other while you wait… and wait… and wait…

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it pans out. Unlike a lot of Mac pundits out there, I’m not so sure this will work out well for the Geniuses or the customers they serve.

Source: 9to5 Mac

Corey has been been a tech journalist with a focus on Apple since 1998 and has written for The Loop, MacHome magazine, and as games contributor for The Mac Bible, and co-hosts the iGame Radio Podcast. He works as a corporate consultant and professional musician in Ottawa, Ontario.