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Apple Stores to carry third-party accessories in custom boxes

Apple is well-known for being very particular about its packaging... and it apparently cares about other companies' packaging, too. According to 9to5Mac, the tech giant is telling retail staff that it will soon sell third-party accessories in boxes co-designed by Apple... and possibly only in those boxes. Yes, that familiar minimalist look would soon spread to just about everything in the store. The move would ostensibly help you find what you're looking for and make sure that it works with your devices. Many of the familiar brands in Apple stores are reportedly on board with the idea, including Incase, Mophie and Logitech.

If the leak is accurate, you could see this change spread to all stores next week. Apple's recently opened Upper East Side store in Manhattan might already serve as a good preview, in fact. Whether or not you'll like the shift is another matter. It could save you from having to explore confusing packaging to see if a case will work with your iPhone, but it could also introduce a not-so-helpful sameness -- is the iPad keyboard you want in this modest white box, or that modest white box? Also, the implication is that you may lose easy access to some products whose manufacturers can't or won't partner on new packaging. This wouldn't be a surprising move for a company that cares a lot about its image, but it might not help if it forces you to visit multiple stores to get everything you want.