By Apple is making two significant changes to its retail footprint in South East England that will affect customers in Berkshire and Hampshire.
The company has confirmed it is moving and completely redesigning its Apple The Oracle store in Reading, with a reopening planned for December 2026. Ahead of that, its Apple Festival Place store in Basingstoke will close in November 2026.
The changes will leave Apple with 38 retail stores in the UK once the closure takes effect. They are part of a wider programme of relocations, expansions and refurbishments that Apple has been carrying out across the UK and globally over the past 18 months.
Apple Is Moving and Redesigning Its Reading Store
The Apple Store in the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading, UK, is being moved to a new location with a completely new design in December. The Oracle Shopping Centre is located in Reading town centre on the banks of the River Kennet, just inside the A329 ring road, and is one of the town’s main shopping destinations.
Apple says that the revamped Oracle store will offer all of the facilities customers now expect from its latest design. In a statement shared with 9to5Mac, Apple said:
“We’re excited to reopen the completely redesigned Apple The Oracle this December and offer customers in South East England new ways to discover, shop the latest Apple products, and get support for the devices they own.”
The store first opened in June 2011 and has operated from the same unit since then. Apple has not published the exact new unit number, floor area or architectural drawings for the relocated store, so those details should not be presented as confirmed. What is confirmed is that it will be a full relocation within The Oracle, built to Apple’s current retail design language.
What Will the New Apple The Oracle Store Offer?
According to Apple, the all-new Apple The Oracle will be built around experience and support as much as sales. The company said:
“The all-new Apple The Oracle will feature an experience room for customers to explore products, a designated Genius Bar and Apple Pick Up area to collect online orders, and free Today at Apple sessions teaching customers how go further with the products they love.”
Based on Apple’s confirmed statement, the redesigned store will include:
- Experience Room – a dedicated space where customers can try products and get hands-on guidance
- Dedicated Genius Bar – for technical support, troubleshooting and repairs
- Apple Pick Up area – a separate zone to collect online orders quickly
- Today at Apple sessions – free creative and educational sessions covering photography, music, coding and more
- Product discovery and shopping – improved layout for browsing iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and accessories
- Customer support – integrated help for setting up devices and getting more from existing products
These elements are now standard across Apple’s newest stores, including its recently revamped Regent Street location in London.
Apple Is Closing Its Basingstoke Store
Apple Festival Place in Basingstoke is scheduled to close in November 2026. The store is located on the upper level of Festival Place, Queen Anne’s Walk, Basingstoke, RG21 7BE, where customers can currently buy Apple products, receive technical support at the Genius Bar and attend free Today at Apple sessions.
The Basingstoke store too has been open since 2011, meaning it has served the local community for 15 years. Announcing the decision, Apple said:
“As we prepare to make these updates, we have decided to close our Apple Festival Place store. Apple Festival Place will remain open until November 2026, after which all team members will have the opportunity to work at Apple The Oracle or other Apple Store locations.”
Apple added:
“We’ve loved serving the Basingstoke community for the last 15 years and look forward to welcoming customers at nearby Apple Stores and on Apple.com, the Apple Store app, and at Apple Authorised Resellers and Service Providers throughout South East England.”
Importantly, Apple has not described the closure as a redundancy or mass layoff. The company has explicitly stated that all team members will have the opportunity to transfer to the redesigned Reading store or other nearby locations.
What the Basingstoke Closure Means for Customers
Once Apple Festival Place closes, customers in Basingstoke will no longer have an Apple Store in the town itself. Apple is directing customers to alternative channels.
For in-person support, the closest full Apple Stores after November are expected to be:
- Apple The Oracle – Reading (from December 2026, completely redesigned)
- Apple Southampton – Westquay
- Apple Reading’s surrounding region – including stores in the wider South East
- London stores such as Regent Street and Covent Garden for those travelling to the capital
Apple has also emphasised online and partner options. Customers can continue to shop via Apple.com, the Apple Store app, and get service through Apple Authorised Resellers and Service Providers throughout South East England. Genius Bar appointments, Today at Apple sessions and order collection will move to Reading and other nearby stores.
Driving distances between Basingstoke and Reading are approximately 25-30 miles depending on route. Exact travel times vary and should be checked via maps before travelling.
Reading Store Will Become an Important Nearby Alternative
With Basingstoke closing in November and Reading reopening in December, there will be a short interim period where neither location is operating in its new form in the immediate area.
Once reopened, the redesigned Apple The Oracle is expected to become the primary Apple destination for customers in both Reading and Basingstoke, as well as surrounding towns such as Newbury, Wokingham and Bracknell. Apple has specifically said the new store will serve customers in South East England, indicating it has been designed to handle increased footfall.
This approach – consolidating a smaller, older store into a larger, more capable one nearby – is consistent with Apple’s recent UK strategy, rather than a retreat from physical retail.
Apple’s Wider UK Retail Changes
The Reading and Basingstoke changes are not isolated. In the past 18 months, Apple has revamped its Regent Street, London, store along with Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex. Stores in Birmingham and Southampton are in the process of receiving their own upgrades, according to 9to5Mac.
Worldwide, Apple has opened a total of eleven new stores and relocated 17 more with newer designs over the past 18 months. This includes high-profile openings such as Apple Miami WorldCenter and Apple Downtown Detroit.
After the Basingstoke closure, Apple will have 38 retail stores in the UK. The company has not suggested it is abandoning the UK high street. Instead, the pattern is one of reinvestment in fewer, larger, more modern locations with enhanced services.
What Happens Next?
Here is the confirmed timeline based on Apple’s current statements:
| Date | What is Happening |
|---|---|
| November 2026 | Apple Festival Place, Basingstoke expected to close. Store will remain open until then. All team members offered roles at Apple The Oracle or other stores. |
| December 2026 | Apple The Oracle, Reading expected to reopen in new location within The Oracle Shopping Centre with completely redesigned format, including Experience Room, Genius Bar, Apple Pick Up and Today at Apple. |
Key Takeaways
- Apple The Oracle in Reading is moving to a new unit within the Oracle Shopping Centre and will reopen in December 2026 with a completely redesigned store format.
- The new Reading store will feature an experience room, dedicated Genius Bar, Apple Pick Up area for online orders, and free Today at Apple sessions.
- Apple Festival Place in Basingstoke, open since 2011, will close in November 2026 after 15 years.
- All Basingstoke team members will have the opportunity to work at Apple The Oracle or other Apple Store locations – no mass layoff announced.
- After closure, Apple will have 38 retail stores in the UK.
- In the past 18 months, Apple has revamped Regent Street and Lakeside, with Birmingham and Southampton upgrades in progress.
- Globally, Apple has opened 11 new stores and relocated 17 in the same period.
- Customers can continue to use Apple.com, the Apple Store app, and authorised resellers and service providers across South East England.
Conclusion
Apple’s retail changes in the Thames Valley area show a clear trade-off: the loss of a long-standing community store in Basingstoke after 15 years, balanced by significant investment in a larger, fully redesigned destination in Reading.
For customers, the practical impact will be a short gap between the November closure and December reopening, followed by access to a more modern store with improved facilities for shopping, support and learning. For Apple, the move aligns with its broader UK and global strategy of upgrading key locations while consolidating its footprint to 38 UK stores.