The locations provide concierge-style, face-to-face support for customers from "Geniuses" who are specially trained and certified by Apple, with multiple levels of certification depending on the products serviced.

Ron Johnson, the former senior vice president for retail, often referred to the Genius Bar as the "heart and soul" of the Apple Store.

[1] Layouts of a Genius Bar previously consisted of at least two 15" or 17" current PowerBook or MacBook Pro, often mounted on "floating" stands.

The "Red Telephone" sometimes seen behind the Genius Bar was a direct line to Apple product specialists, allowing for problems and questions too complicated for the in-store employees to answer.

[8] The manual also teaches employees to read emotional cues such as drumming on a table or placing a palm on the back of the neck that might mean a customer is bored or frustrated, respectively.

"[10] A Christian Science Monitor article connected the manual's contents to the idea of the "reality distortion field", a term for Apple's effectiveness at charming customers.

[14][15] Apple has also branded features in their iTunes application "Genius" that make musical suggestions based on the user's observed taste.