Apple Xinyi A13 Taipei Store Previewed Ahead of Official Opening This Saturday [Updated]

Update: Apple has now shared photos of the store's grand opening in a press release.

Located in Taipei's bustling Xinyi District on an tree-lined open-air plaza, the new store features signature Apple architecture not seen in Taiwan before, including a two-story, free-standing pavilion design with a carbon fiber reinforced roof, similar to Apple's Chicago, Illinois store.

Entering through doors of the floor-to-ceiling glass facade, visitors will find the usual mix of Apple products and services on offer between the two stone pillars, and will be able to receive personalized technical support on their devices in Taiwan's first Genius Grove, under a comfortable canopy of trees.

Visitors can also descend the two marble staircases to discover the store's underground video-wall equipped Forum space, where artist-led Today at Apple sessions will be hosted on a daily basis for the first time in Taiwan. These will include sessions on art and design, photography, video, music, coding, app development and more.

The adjacent Xinyi A13 shopping mall is still being constructed by the Far Eastern Group but is expected to open in September, which will also allow visitors to enter the Apple store at basement level.

Apple says over half of the 155 team members at Apple Xinyi A13 come from stores across the region and collectively speak more than 10 languages. The company is also touting the store's Creative Pros – "the liberal arts equivalent to Apple's technical Geniuses" – who are experts in one or more areas of the arts and ready to pass along their knowledge to Apple users.

Apple Xinyi A13 opens Saturday at 10.00 a.m., and Apple is expecting big business at the new flagship store – nearly 4 million people have already visited the first Apple Store in Taiwan since Apple Taipei 101 opened almost two years ago.