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Apple stores are now doubling as distribution centers as part of a plan to increase shipping speeds for online shoppers.
Customers living within 100 miles of an Apple store should expect faster delivery times, according to a recent Bloomberg report. That means Central Texas residents could receive their new iPhones, Macs and iPads delivered directly from its Apple Barton Creek store or its Apple Domain Northside store.
Products should arrive the same day or the next day, according to 9to5 Mac, an Apple-focused news site.
Non-coincidentally, Apple Inc. released plans Tuesday for its new iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, the company's first 5G-compatible mobile device.
"With this new method, Apple will likely be able to better handle the high number of online orders for the new iPhones. Shipping products from its retail stores will also reduce operating costs, Apple told its employees," the 9to5 Mac report states.
The iPhone 12 Pro is available for online buyers starting Oct. 16 and in-store customers starting Oct. 23. The iPhone 12 Pro Max debuts shortly after, with online sales starting Nov. 6 and in-store sales starting Nov. 13.
Other highly anticipated products launching include the new iPad Air, over-ear headphones and a smaller HomePod, according to Bloomberg. In total, there are more than 300 Apple Stores in the U.S. and Canada.
But customers can't choose where orders originate, the report says. Instead, Apple's operations team decides, according to company sources.
The news represents another reminder of Apple's increasing presence in Austin. The California-based tech company is in the midst of a $1 billion expansion plan in Austin that includes a 3-million-square-foot campus near its existing office on Parmer Lane.
That is where the Mac Pro, "Apple's most power computer ever," according to CEO Tim Cook, is produced. Cook and President Donald Trump visited the Austin-based Apple facilities in late 2019 in anticipation of a Mac Pro redesign, which is also produced there.
In total, Apple employs 7,000 people in Austin, according to the company.
The Apple store in Domain Northside as well as the Barton Creek location are open on a limited basis for online pickup orders as well as appointment-only shopping and support.
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(Tesla)
Giga Texas, the massive Tesla factory in southeast Travis County is getting even bigger.
The company filed with the city of Austin this week to expand its headquarters with a new 500,000-square-foot building. The permit application notes “GA 2 and 3 expansion,” which indicates the company will make two general assembly lines in the building.
More details about the plans for the building are unclear. The gigafactory has been focused on Model Y production since it opened in April, but the company is also aiming for Cybertruck production to kick off in mid-2023.
While there is room for expansion on the 3.3 square miles of land Tesla has, this move comes after CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the state of the economy and its impact on Tesla.
In a May interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, Musk said the gigafactories in Berlin and Austin are “gigantic money furnaces” and said Giga Texas had manufactured only a small number of cars.
And in June, Musk sent a company wide email saying Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10%, then later tweeted salaried headcount should be fairly flat.
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(Dullnig Ranch Sales)
You’ll have to leave city limits if you’re looking for a proper ranch property like 417 Acres Shipp Lake Ranch, aptly named for its acreage. The property comes built out with three farmhouses, one of which has bedrooms and two bathrooms and two of which have two bedrooms and one bathroom. The nearly untouched property, which surrounds the 100-plus-acre Shipp Lake, has remained in the same family since the early 1900s and gives you picturesque views for the making of a dream home. In fact, the previous owners ran a water ski camp on the property.
Sitting waterside on Lake Austin, this home gives you the unique opportunity to own a piece of the lush Hill Country with views of Mount Bonnell. The 2,750-square foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom house allows you to integrate indoor and outdoor life with large windows opening to an outdoor living area. The crown jewel is the .76-acre parcel of land that tapers off to your own lakeside resort, featuring an covered outdoor kitchen, fire pit, stone boat house to store your water sports supplies and veranda sitting at the mouth of the water, perfect for an entertainer.
Got dreams of becoming a real Texas rancher? 7814 Brown Cemetery Rd. is the perfect place to start with 40 rolling acres of land and its very own swimming hole. Just east of Austin in Manor, the modest-on-the-outside home clocks at 4,412 square feet with five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms, but there are an additional two living structures on the property. The horseshoe-shaped pond sits in the heart of the property and comes equipped with a water slide, diving board and a fishing dock.