Amidst the ongoing concerns over coronavirus outbreak, Apple comes as a bearer of good news for Chinese tech space as it plans to reopen five of its Beijing stores. These are the very first stores to be reopened since Apple choose to close all its retail stores in China; however, this news comes with a pinch of salt as these five stores would only be open for limited hours.

According to reliable sources, these five stores include Apple Mall China, Sanlitun, Wangfujing, Xidan Joy City, and Chaoyang Joy City, which are likely to reopen on the 14th from 11 AM to 6 PM. Before the outbreak, these stores used to operate from 10 AM to 10 PM.

As of now, Apple hasn’t cleared the air on reopening its remaining retail stores in China, while it plans to reopen these five stores in Beijing stores.

Reportedly, coronavirus, which is scientifically named COVID-19, has amped up its death toll to 1,370 while 60,000 patients are placed under confirmed cases. The World Health Organization has even declared it as a global public health emergency, with the American state department releasing a travel advisory as airlines independently slash the number of flights to China.

As an aftermath of this incident, organizers were forced to cancel key events like MWC 2020 over the last few weeks.

In other news, YouTube TV is planning to pull the plug on Apple devices as it decides to end its subscription revenue sharing alliance with Apple. Previously, YouTube TV had stopped taking new signups from iPhone's and iPad's in-app subscriptions, but now the entertainment platform has ended all ties with Apple.

As a matter of fact, YouTube is sending emails to YouTube TV users, stating its intention to shut down support for in-app payments entirely in March. As a result, Apple users would have to subscribe through a web browser.

Meanwhile, other popular services, like Spotify, are also following the same trend by restricting new subscriptions via in-app purchases. However, Spotify still allows its existing users to continue their subscription through Apple devices.

Source Credit: https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/13/21136648/apple-beijing-stores-reopen-february-14th-limited-hours-coronavirus