Apple Co-Designing Accessory Packaging?

Today comes word that Apple is revamping another aspect of its retail Apple Stores by only carrying third party accessories sold in packages co-designed by Apple.




Anyone who has seen the same product packaged for retail and for Amazon's "frustration free packaging" program is aware of how much easier life can be when products can be packaged not for shelf appeal but for ease of opening.

And ease of opening is one great facet of Apple's own product packaging, which lately features sturdy boxes taped closed with adhesives that can be removed by pulling easy-to-grab tabs.

Of course, unlike the brown paper boxes and bags Amazon can ship (since you see the product on its website, not hanging on a shelf), Apple's packaging, and apparently the packaging of these third party products, is easy on the eyes as well, with vivid photographs of the products contained therein.

And one would hope that these packages also benefit from Apple's experience in staging the contents of the package such that they are removed in a logical order that makes getting up and running easy (e.g. not burying the power cord in a ziplock bag under 5 layers of cardboard, and placing the "quick start guide" front and center).

This seems like a win for the third party accessory makers, for Apple, and for customers of the Apple retail stores.

Sources: AppleInsider, 9to5Mac