Apple Accidentally Posts Funny ‘Mock Store’ Listing with Real Apple Logo

Apple Mock Store Credit: Apple/MacRumors
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Apple probably doesn’t have a retail location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with an actual apple as its logo. But for a while on the Apple Store app, it looked like it did.

As spotted by MacRumors, Apple recently let a fake “Mock Store” populate on the Apple Store app. (The listing isn’t there as of the writing of this piece, however.)

It isn’t clear why this Mock Store showed up on the official Apple Store app, but it’s almost certainly unintentional.

While the location for the Mock Store is listed as Bubb Road in Cupertino, California, the actual location on the Apple Store map clearly showed the store in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

It’s worth noting that there’s actually a Bubb Road in Cupertino, located about 10 minutes west of Apple Park. The 9014 postal code on the address doesn’t exist, however.

Perhaps most amusingly, rather than showing the front facade of an Apple brick-and-mortar retail location, the Mock Store’s image was an actual apple. Specifically, it appears to be a Granny Smith — though it doesn’t have the signature bite taken out of it.

As you might expect, Twitter and Reddit users had a field day with the fake Apple Store.

At least one user even attempted to order a new 10.2-inch iPad from the location — and the app even offered in-store pickup as a shipping option.

The most likely scenario is that Apple’s development team accidentally published the Mock Store listing, which is likely used for testing purposes.

On the other hand, there is actually a legitimate Apple “mock store.”

The Real Apple Mock Store

According to a Recode piece from 2015, the location is used by Apple retail to test new designs and marketing materials before pushing them out to real-world locations.

There are also reports that this mock store (or similar locations) are used to train Apple Store staff. Because of that, a fully functioning appointment and pickup system are probably implemented.

While the location of the actual mock store is unknown, it’s reportedly near Apple’s HQ in Cupertino — and not in the middle of the ocean.

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