MacRumors

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 53 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for Service Workers, WebRTC, Loading, Rendering, Media, Accessibility, CSS, Web API, and Web Inspector.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

Apple Music and iCloud Music Library sometimes face slight delays when syncing your music between devices like a Mac and iPhone, but since the launch of iOS 11.3 reports about these delays have grown much more frequent. On the MacRumors forums, in Apple's support communities, and throughout numerous Reddit posts, users have mentioned that when they add new music on their Mac or iPad, it no longer appears on their iPhone.

Some users have said that toggling iCloud Music Library on/off works to kickstart the sync and force a refresh of albums on their iPhone, but that has the potential to cause further problems like deleted music and the removal of some song downloads. Fortunately, one user on the Apple support communities website has shared a helpful temporary fix for the issue, which MacRumors has been able to successfully perform more than five times.

To manually refresh your iPhone's music library, simply create a new, blank playlist by navigating to the Library tab in the iOS Music app, tap Playlists, tap New Playlist, and tap Done. Once the refresh is done, jump to the bottom of the Playlists page and 3D Touch to delete the empty playlist. Note that this will also update songs added and removed within playlists.

There is no fix for this, but there is a work around until Apple fixes this: just create a blank playlist on the iOS device. This forces a read/write with the library stored in iCloud, then all your changes will suddenly get pulled down. You have to do this every time, it's essentially a manual refresh now.

Unfortunately, the reverse method doesn't appear to work as consistently in iTunes on Mac, but desktop users also have another potential easy solution to refresh their library: simply rate a song by loving/disliking it. Afterwards, the Recently Added tab in iTunes should refresh with the addition or removal of content that you made on any other devices connected to the same iCloud account.

On both macOS and iOS, you can also add any other new song, album, or playlist to your library to manually refresh and force the content not syncing across devices to appear. Then, you can delete the new songs after everything else has been updated.

Multiple Apple Music subscribers have opened up support cases on the bug, and Apple support in most instances have said that it's not a known issue. However, support staff told one user that they will start an investigation after he "rebooted, changed password, signed out of iCloud, switched iCloud music library off," and more.

Apple Pay has officially launched in Brazil today through an exclusive partnership with Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco.

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple Pay would be launching in Brazil during the company's first quarter earnings call, and today the "coming soon" label was removed from Apple's website. A number of Brazilian users have been able to set up Apple Pay as of this morning, according to social media posts.

Apple Pay can be set up in the Wallet app and is accepted at a wide range of locations in Brazil, including Bullguer, Starbucks, Taco Bell, The Fifties, and Track&Field. The service is currently limited to Visa and Mastercard credit cards from Itaú Unibanco, but it will likely expand to additional banks soon.

Apple Pay works with the iPhone 6 or later and any Apple Watch. Apple Pay in apps and on the web is also available on iPads with Touch ID, including the low-cost iPad, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4, and iPad Pro models.

Since 2014, Apple Pay has expanded to more than a dozen countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, France, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Several TV and music services and other apps offer free trials through the App Store that automatically renew to become paid subscriptions after the trial period ends.

If you want to prevent an ‌App Store‌ subscription from running beyond the trial period or cancel a subscription you're currently paying for, then read on. This article explains how to cancel any ‌App Store‌ subscription on iOS, Mac, and Apple TV.

How to Cancel App Store Subscriptions on iOS

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the page.
   
3. Tap Subscriptions.
4. Tap on the subscription in the list that you wish to cancel.
   
5. Tap Cancel Subscription at the bottom.

How to Cancel App Store Subscriptions on Mac

1. Launch the ‌App Store‌ application.
2. At the bottom left corner, click on your name to load your account and previous purchases.
   
3. Near the top right of the window, click View Information. Enter your ‌Apple ID‌ credentials if required.
   
4. Scroll down to the Manage section and on the Subscriptions line, click Manage.
   
5. In the Active section, click Edit next to the subscription that you want to cancel.
   
6. Click the Cancel Subscription button.
   

How to Cancel Subscriptions on Apple TV

1. Open Settings on your ‌Apple TV‌.
2. Select Users and Accounts.
   
3. Select the user you wish to manage subscriptions for.
   
4. Scroll down and select Subscriptions. Enter your ‌Apple ID‌ credentials if requested.
   
5. Choose the subscription that you want to end.
   
6. Select Cancel Subscription.
   
7. Confirm that you want to cancel.

How to Change a Subscription or Re-subscribe to a Canceled Service

Apple keeps a record of your subscription history, which makes it easy to re-subscribe to a service you previously canceled. (Note that after re-subscribing to a service, your subscription will automatically renew until you cancel it again.) You can also change an existing subscription from the same screens. The following steps relate to iOS and are largely similar to the ones for canceling a subscription.

1. Open Settings on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
2. Tap your ‌Apple ID‌ at the top of the page.
3. Tap Subscriptions.
4. Under the Expired section, tap on the service that you wish to re-subscribe to, or tap an active subscription to change it.
   
5. Tap the in-app purchase payment method you want to use to purchase the new subscription and authorize with Touch ID or Face ID.

How to Change or Re-subscribe to a Service on Mac

1. Launch the ‌App Store‌ application.
2. At the bottom left corner, click on your name to load your account and previous purchases.
3. Near the top right of the window, click View Information. Enter your ‌Apple ID‌ credentials if required.
4. Scroll down to the Manage section and on the Subscriptions line, click Manage.
5. In the Expired section, click Edit next to the service that you want to re-subscribe to, or click Edit next to an active subscription to change it.
   
6. Select your desired subscription option.
   
7. Click the Done button at the bottom of the page and authorize with your credentials or ‌Touch ID‌.
   

One of the TV shows Apple has in the works, a "morning show drama" starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, is getting a new showrunner, reports Variety.

The original showrunner and creator, Jay Carson, had planned to work with Apple on the series, but he has departed over creative differences. Kerry Ehrin, known for "Bates Motel," is instead set to take over and is close to inking a deal with Apple.

Ehrin was the co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner of "Bates Motel."

Apple has signed a deal for two seasons of the as-of-yet untitled morning show drama, each with 10 episodes. The show, based on the 2013 book "Top of the Morning" by Brian Stelter, takes a look inside the cutthroat world of morning television. Stelter's book was based on the rivalry between NBC's "Today" and ABC's "Good Morning America."

Apple has multiple TV shows in the works, all of which are outlined in the original content section of our Apple TV roundup. Rumors have suggested the first of Apple's TV shows could debut in 2019.

Apple today shared a new "Groceries" ad that's designed to highlight the ease of using Apple Pay with Face ID on the iPhone X.

In the short 12 second spot, which will likely be shown on TV, YouTube, and social media networks, a woman shopping for produce at the grocery store uses an iPhone X and Apple Pay to make her purchases.

The fruit she buys is then crafted into an elaborate sea scene with a shark made from watermelon, banana dolphins, watermelon waves, pineapple palm trees, and more.

Apple in recent weeks has shared several videos focusing on Apple Pay features on the iPhone X. "Fly Market," published in late March, for example, featured a man dancing through an open air market making purchases with just a glance, while a second spot with the same actor demonstrated Apple Pay Cash.

Update: Apple has uploaded several additional short iPhone X videos, all of which feature Apple Pay on iPhone X. "Coffee" and "Kicks" highlight a traditional in-store Apple Pay purchases, while "Grooming" features an in-app Apple Pay purchase.

Male employees who work for Apple in the United Kingdom earn five percent more on average than women, according to a UK Gender Pay Gap report released today by Apple [PDF]. The median hourly pay gap was two percent in favor of women, however.

According to Apple, the average pay gap is due to more men holding senior positions at the company, and when factoring in "similar roles, markets, and performance" it has achieved pay equity. Apple has more than 6,000 employees in the UK.

Apple believes strongly that equal work deserves equal pay. Every year, we examine the compensation employees receive and make adjustments where necessary to ensure we maintain pay equity. And we have achieved this in every country -- women at our company earn the same as men when you factor in similar roles, markets and performance.

As part of our commitment to eliminating pay disparities from the first day at Apple, later this year we'll also stop asking candidates about their salary history.

Apple says that 30 percent of its UK employees are women, and 36 percent of new employees last year were women. 40 percent of the companies "leaders under the age of 30" are also women.

92 percent of men received a bonus including vested stock, while 88 percent of women received the same bonus. Additional detail on the wage gap in the UK is available in Apple's full report.

Apple published this information because of a new UK law that requires companies with more than 250 employees to publish the average total pay received by men relative to that received by women.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Spotify, Apple Music's main competitor, this morning opened on the New York Stock Exchange at $165.90 per share, valuing the company at $29.5 billion.

When Spotify filed to go public in February, CNBC estimated the company's valuation at ~$23 billion based on private trades that had reached as high as $132.50. Spotify used the $132 per share figure as its reference price, which would have given the company a $23.5 billion valuation.

As noted by TechCrunch, Spotify is not selling its shares on the stock market and is not raising money today. Its direct listing is instead a collection of transactions from existing shareholders selling shares to stock market investors.

Spotify employees are allowed to sell their shares right away, unlike with a traditional IPO, which could lead to volatility in the coming weeks.

As of December 31, 2017, Spotify had 159 million active monthly users and 71 million premium subscribers, which Spotify says is "double the scale" of Apple Music. Apple as of February boasted 36 million paying subscribers.

In an appearance on CBS This Morning, Spotify cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek today discussed the company's public offering and a recent report from The Wall Street Journal suggesting Apple Music is on track to overtake Spotify in U.S. subscribers.

In response, Ek said that because Spotify is twice the size as Apple Music, the company "still has some room." Ek said that he's "very happy" with the growth that Spotify is seeing. The music industry, he says, is too big for Spotify alone.

"What we've found is that when we've got competition, it actually grows the market because more people are now talking about streaming. It's easy to forget that just three years ago, even in the U.S., streaming wasn't a thing," he said.

Update: Spotify closed at $149.60, giving it a market cap of $26.5 billion.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4 update to its public beta testing group, one day after providing the beta to developers and a little under a week after releasing tvOS 11.3, a minor update that introduced a few smaller features.

The tvOS 11.4 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.

tvOS 11.4 and iOS 11.4 reintroduce AirPlay 2 features that were included in early iOS 11.3 and tvOS 11.3 betas but were pulled from the update ahead of its release.

AirPlay 2 is designed to let you play the same audio content on multiple devices throughout your home, full a whole-home audio experience. AirPlay 2 works with the Apple TV, the HomePod, and it will work with future speakers that implement AirPlay 2 support.

Following the installation of iOS 11.4 and tvOS 11.4, the Apple TV will once again be listed in the Home app, as it was when AirPlay 2 features were available in iOS and tvOS 11.3 betas.

No other major feature changes were discovered in the tvOS 11.4 beta that was provided to developers.

The Weeknd's new single "Call Out My Name" was streamed 6 million times in its first 24 hours of release on Apple Music last Friday, March 30. As a comparison, Apple Music's streams of the song nearly doubled Spotify's 3.5 million streams in the same 24-hour period.

As reported by The Verge today, Apple Music's numbers on the new song are impressive given the context of Spotify's advertising push for The Weeknd's new album "My Dear Melancholy." On Friday, Spotify debuted two exclusive videos from the album, one of which was for "Call Out My Name." The Weeknd also tagged Spotify in multiple Instagram posts focusing on the new videos after the album dropped.

Still, Apple Music beat out Spotify for the single's streams on Friday, and in total Apple's service managed over 26 million streams for the full My Dear Melancholy album.

Apple Music has seemingly cracked the streaming formula when it comes to hip-hop and R&B, despite a sizable disadvantage in users compared to Spotify. While Apple Music isn’t the dominant service when it comes to subscribers, it’s quickly becoming the leader when it comes to engagement — at least when it comes to the world’s biggest genre — and that can’t be overlooked.

In March 2017, Drake's "More Life" album streamed 29 million more times on Apple Music than on Spotify in its first 24 hours of launch. Later in the fall, Post Malone dropped his single "Rockstar" and quickly broke Apple Music records with over 25 million streams in one week, grabbing 56 percent of the first week streams of the song in the United States.

At the time, Apple Music head of artist curation Carl Chery said that the company repeatedly wins the streaming game on songs like "Rockstar" because it's "ahead of the curve on them."

“A lot of times on those records where we outperform is because we’re ahead of the curve on them, Chery says.” Chery told me he heard "Rockstar" before it was released and knew immediately that it would be a hit, allowing Apple to move fast and add it to the relevant playlists in the first week. “And to a point, Apple Music becomes the destination where people want to hear that particular record,” Chery said.

In terms of paying subscribers, Apple Music had 38 million worldwide as of March 2018, and Spotify had 71 million as of February 2018. Spotify also has a free, ad-supported tier, giving it over 159 million listeners overall around the world.

The latest addition to Apple Music launched last week in the form of an overhauled music videos section, where subscribers can stream continuous video playlists, watch exclusive videos, and browse a deep back catalog of video content.

Update: Spotify now claims that streams of "Call Out My Name" reached 7.5 million in its first 24 hours of release, while the full "My Dear Melancholy" album was streamed 29 million times, surpassing Apple Music on both counts. The Verge asked The Weeknd's label, Republic Records, for the single's streaming numbers again, but instead of the previous 3.5 million number, the label said it was streamed 6.5 million times on Friday, which is still one million less than Spotify's claims. It remains unclear which number is accurate.