Apple Will Temporarily Move Into the FAO Schwarz Space

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FAO Schwarz has just over a month left before it says goodbye to its Fifth Avenue, but plans are already in place for what'll happen to the address next—at least for a little while. The Associated Press reports that Apple will move in here while its flagship undergoes renovations, though an exact timeline for when it'll be in and out wasn't specified.

It's part of the tech giant's plan to update 20 major stores across the country, the original designs of which predate the iPhone and thus are no longer equipped to handle the newest product categories, according to senior vice president (and former Burberry CEO) Angela Ahrendts. Presumably, they won't be touching the cube, which got covered up in the summer of 2011 so they could reduce the number of glass panes in its design.

Apple's occupation of the FAO space could serve as a test run for what'll permanently go there—previous rumors have included splitting up the 64,000 square feet of retail space to fit multiple tenants. Also in the rumor mill is talk of FAO's future, which could be headed to Times Square and/or New Jersey.

And elsewhere in the Apple universe, its Upper East Side store is set to open tomorrow. The AP reports that the company has carefully restored the Beaux Arts buildings to its glory days as a former bank by reproducing its original chandeliers and converting an old vault into a VIP showroom (perhaps for the Apple Watch?).