Quick Takes: iTunes LP Submissions Ending, Free Apple Music With Select New Vehicles, and More

In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.

Tuesday, March 6

Apple confirms it will stop accepting new iTunes LP album submissions at the end of March: Apple says existing LP albums will not be removed and will remain available to download via iTunes on Mac or PC.

itunes lp
Commentary: iTunes LPs, introduced in 2009, are interactive albums with multimedia such as lyrics, liner notes, artist and band photos, performance videos, and more. A lot of this content can now be found in Apple Music, so it's no surprise that Apple is beginning to phase out this long-forgotten feature.

Get up to six months of free Apple Music with the purchase of a new Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, or Ram: The offer is available between May 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019. CarPlay is a standard feature in all of those vehicle brands, while some models include built-in BeatsAudio speakers.

fca apple music
Commentary: The six-month offer only applies to first-time Apple Music subscribers. If you've already taken advantage of Apple Music's standard three-month trial period, you'll only receive an additional three months of complimentary service. Volkswagen is also offering a similar deal in Europe.

Microsoft begins accepting pre-orders of new Surface Pro with LTE Advanced: The new Surface Pro gains cellular connectivity, with support for 20 LTE bands, but it's otherwise the same as the previous generation. The tablet-notebook hybrid starts at $1,149, but only a higher-end $1,449 model is available currently.

surface pro
Commentary: While the Surface Pro isn't part of Apple's ecosystem, the tablet has received favorable reviews from The Verge and CNET, and some customers may prefer its versatility over the cellular-enabled iPad Pro.

House near Apple Park smashes Sunnyvale real estate record: A two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Sunnyvale, near Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, recently sold for $2 million in cash. At $2,358 per square foot, it's reportedly the highest price per square foot for a home in Sunnyvale ever.

apple park
Commentary: Sunnyvale is situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, where companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook are headquartered. With these tech giants often offering six-figure salaries, it's no surprise that real estate prices continue to rise in the area. The previous record was $2,175 per square foot, according to the MLS.

For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.

Top Rated Comments

usersince86 Avatar
79 months ago
It would take more than 6 months of free Apple Music to get me to buy a new car (from Chrysler or any other company) :D
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keirasplace Avatar
79 months ago
I was making the equivalent of 160K now in 2000 in silicon valley and living in SFO in a small studio on telegraph hill for the equivalent of $2250 (in todays's money). If you don't have family, the valley is fantastic and you can easily get by. But, if you have any family and your not partnered with an engineer making as much as you do, it's nearly impossible to live decently, imagine spending 70-100K to rent a house... That's a whole engineer's worth of salary after taxes... Hopefully the second person can pay for everything else!!

I knew people working in marketing who had to share a house, or sleep the whole week in a camper and then go during the weekend went back to their houses in Richmond or Sacramento.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cuwickliffe Avatar
79 months ago
Get up to six months of free Apple Music with the purchase of a new Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, or Ram ('http://media.fcanorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=18916&mid='): The offer is available between May 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019. CarPlay is a standard feature in all of those vehicle brands, while some models include built-in BeatsAudio speakers.
Warning: If you purchase a Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, or Ram, you will then own a Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, or Ram.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calzon65 Avatar
79 months ago
Apple ridiculed the Surface Pro and mocked the "kick stand", but as someone who carries three devices when traveling (iPhone, iPad and Windows laptop) I think a laptop that can work well as a laptop and tablet will be the future. One less piece of equipment to carry/charge.

I'm not saying the Surface Pro is there yet, but I think the appeal of carrying a laptop and a phone, sans tablet, will be the popular.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPandian1 Avatar
79 months ago
Wow! Free Apple Music for six months if I cough up $30,000+ to an unreliable automaker! Where do I sign up?

How out of touch with reality is FIAT?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KazKam Avatar
79 months ago
iTunes is branded at bloated and 2007 era program, its probably time to move on from iTunes since we have Apple TV and Apple Music now
By "we", do you mean the paltry ~5% (30M/700M) [source: http://fortune.com/2017/03/06/apple-iphone-use-worldwide/] of Apple IDs that actually subscribe to AM? Because "we", the other ~95% still need a way to manage and sync our massive amounts of purchased media without being fleeced every month.

Edit: Math error and updated source.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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