Quick Takes: Spotify for Apple Watch and StreamKit for watchOS 5 to Debut at WWDC 2018?

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.

Monday, March 26

Highlights

1. Spotify for Apple Watch to debut at WWDC? An anonymous and unverified tipster has informed MacRumors that Spotify will unveil an official Apple Watch app at WWDC 2018 in June, based on personal involvement with the project.

apple watch snowy

Third-party Spotify app Snowy, which was never released, as its developer Andrew Chang was hired by Spotify to help build their official Apple Watch app

The app will supposedly be a lead example of Apple's tentatively named StreamKit framework that will enable cellular Apple Watch models to receive push notifications from third-party apps like Facebook and Twitter, completely independent from a paired iPhone, on watchOS 5.

2. Are corporations that use Wikipedia giving back? Wikimedia's revenue chief Lisa Gruwell expresses some concerns about seemingly one-sided relationships with companies that utilize its information.

"I don't mean to sound like the Lorax here," said Gruwell. "If you overuse something and you don’t give back to it, you can harm it. In the case of Alexa and Siri, our content gets intermediated. Wikipedia works because people can contribute to it, people can edit it. Also, once a year, when we ask people can donate. When they get their information not from us — but Wikipedia content through something like Siri or something like Alexa — that opportunity to either contribute back as an editor is broken, and that opportunity to contribute, to donate is also broken."

Gruwell said Wikimedia's relationship with Google is by far the best, both in terms of how much they contribute to the organization—more than $1 million in the 2017 fiscal year—and how the companies work together.

By comparison, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft all contributed around $50,000 through their employee donation matching programs, while Amazon wasn't named on Wikimedia's list of donors in 2017 whatsoever.

microled

An illustration of the size difference between traditional LEDs and Micro-LEDs via CNET

3. MicroLED is the first new screen tech in a decade. Can it beat OLED? CNET's Geoffrey Morrison provides a detailed explanation of the advantages and technology behind microLED displays. Apple is reportedly developing its own microLED displays, but we're likely at least a few years away from seeing them in an Apple Watch or iPhone.

Other Links

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.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

appleguy123 Avatar
79 months ago
Spotify for Apple Watch being debuted at WWDC would be one of the biggest Apple news stories in years. Not sure why it’s being forced into a recap like this.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
prasand Avatar
79 months ago
Apple really should contribute more to Wikipedia, and also add better parsing ability to Siri.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cambookpro Avatar
79 months ago
As much as I'd love to personally see a Spotify watchOS app, I can't see Apple actively promoting the closest competitor to Apple Music at their own event.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
79 months ago
Oh right. The watch does apps. I almost forgot cuz it’s so SLOW
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
79 months ago
Oh right. The watch does apps. I almost forgot cuz it’s so SLOW
Perhaps for the first generation Apple Watch, but for Series 3, there’s hardly anything slow on that Apple Watch with the faster dual core processor.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamneer Avatar
79 months ago
I'm going to be so pissed if Spotify puts out an Apple Watch app before an Apple TV app. And I own both.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...