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Angela Ahrendts attends Apple Store grand opening at World Trade Center in New York City

Video and photos courtesy of AppleInsider reader Ryan of Traced, Inc.

Just a few weeks after opening its first retail store in Brooklyn, Apple debuted its ninth store in New York City on Tuesday, with the new World Trade Center location opening its doors ahead of the anticipated launch of the "iPhone 7."

As spotted by AppleInsider reader Ryan, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was on-hand for the grand opening celebration. The two-story retail location features an entrance on the first floor of the new World Trade Center mall.

Ahrendts was on the store floor when it opened, but her presence was quickly noticed by the first customers. After posing for a few photos with fans and employees, she exited via the store's elevator.

The Apple Store at World Trade Center is located within the $4 billion Oculus structure that resides in the shadow of One World Trade Center. The new retail mall also serves as a connection between the underground station for New York City subways and the PATH trains that arrive from New Jersey.

Rather than Apple's typical Saturday grand opening, the new retail location opened at noon local time on Tuesday, celebrating the public debut of the rest of the mall.

Apple now has seven retail locations in Manhattan alone, with the World Trade Center store joined by the iconic Fifth Avenue cube, a Grand Central Terminal location, as well as stores in SoHo, the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and the Meatpacking District.

Three other New York City stores are also available: On Staten Island, in the Queens Center Mall, and in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood. The Brooklyn store opened just a few weeks ago, becoming the first in the city's most populous borough.

The timing of the new Brooklyn and World Trade Center stores is particularly important, as Apple is rumored to be gearing up to debut its next-generation iPhone in just a few weeks, on Sept. 7. If the company sticks to its usual launch pattern, as is expected, it's likely that the so-called "iPhone 7" will debut in mid-to-late September.