This giant glowing orb is the world’s first propelling Apple Store

Apple’s global retail network may be struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, but that has not stopped the company from taking its cue for award-winning, unique and overseas design. The iPhone maker’s latest retail location, located in Singapore on the waterfront of the city-state and officially known as Apple Marina Bay Sands, could claim the world’s first title: it’s the only Apple store on the planet floating on water.

The location, part of the luxury hotel and resort of the same name, is the third Apple Store from Singapore to Orchard Road, which opened as the first in Singapore in 2017, and Apple Jewel Changi Airport, located in the world-famous retail sector of the transportation hub of Singapore that also has the hottest waterfall in the world. (Singapore looks cool, huh?)

During the day, Marina Bay Sands’ new store appears on an alien spaceship of some sort or perhaps some form of futuristic theater.

Photo by Roslan Ragman / AFP via Getty Images

Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah / Getty Images

But at night, when the iconic Singapore skyline in all its glory is lit up in the background, the store really comes to life and you can tell that the company has clearly designed it as an evening trail that is best viewed in the dark. (Although, I get real Rehoboam vibes, that sinister-seemingly artificial intelligence of Westworldis the third season.)

We do not have many details about the location, such as how exactly the interior is structured. We know that the store is Apple’s 512th retail store worldwide, and that it sometimes opens soon. MacRumors got his hands on a clean little teaser video that Apple made to promote the store’s opening, with a custom graphics display meant to emulate the appearance of the thin light lines scattered across the orb at night.

9to5Mac has published what appears to be marketing images and blurbs promoting the new store, in which the store is referred to as “the lantern at bay.”

“During the day, the glass panels of the store reflect the towering skyline of the Downtown Core and the movement of the shrinking water. At night, the atmosphere glows with a gentle warmth, which commands the design of traditional lanterns during the Singapore Mid-Autumn Festival, ”reads one of the slides. “The pavilion dome melts into an oculus, allowing unobstructed light to flood. A bird’s-eye view of the store resembles a glass of iris looking into the air.”

According to marketing materials, the store will “include the same measures found in Singapore’s other Apple Stores” regarding ongoing COVID-19 health and safety efforts, which include restricted occupations, mask wear and other sanitation requirements.