MacRumors

Facebook has begun notifying users who upload photos from their iOS devices that their synced albums will be deleted next month (via TechCrunch).

Facebook's iOS photo syncing feature was launched in 2012, and let users automatically upload all photos on their mobile devices to a private album called 'Synced' or 'Synced from Phone'.

The idea behind the feature was that copying the photos makes it easier to find and share pictures with friends on the social network.

Users are now being informed by email and via app notifications that these albums will cease to exist on July 7, and that they should either download the albums, or install the company's photo-centric Moments app to retain their uploaded status.

News of the change has seen the Moments app shoot up the App Store's Top Free Apps chart, where it currently ranks #2 ahead of Facebook's hugely popular Messenger app, which sits at #3.

The forced adoption of yet another Facebook app has caused consternation among a number of social media account holders, who were subject to a similar heavy-handed approach in early 2014.

I'm gonna delete @facebook from my phone before I install Messenger AND Moments! Facebook is the new MySpace. https://t.co/ewszcNBEGY

— Ray Ulrich (@ulrichray) June 2, 2016

On that occasion, the company pushed all users to download Facebook Messenger after it removed the chat feature from its flagship app. Messenger has remained among the App Store's top-ranking free apps ever since.

This month, the company also announced that it would be removing chat from its mobile web app too, leaving users with no other option but to download Messenger if they want to continue using the feature on their phones or tablets.

In related news, Facebook announced this week that it has begun rolling out a new 360-degree photo feature across the social network, which will let users view uploaded panoramic shots and 360-degree photos in a more immersive way.

Photos compatible with the 360 feature are identified by a compass icon on the right-hand side of the shot once it has been uploaded. Mobile users can explore a photo by tapping and dragging it or by moving their phone, while desktop users can click and drag it with their mouse or trackpad.

Moments is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Amazon is planning on launching a new standalone music streaming service that would compete against Apple Music and Spotify, reports Reuters. The new service will be priced similarly to rival services and will feature a "competitive catalog."

The service will be offered at $9.99 per month, in line with major rivals, and it will offer a competitive catalog of songs, the sources said. Amazon is finalizing licenses with labels for the service, which likely will be launched in late summer or early fall, the sources said.

Amazon currently offers Prime Music to Amazon Prime members as a perk, but the service only boasts a catalog of 1 million songs. Comparatively, both Apple Music and Spotify boast catalogs of over 30 million songs.

The online retailer is looking to launch a new streaming service because it "believes a comprehensive music service is important" in its effort to be a "one-stop shop for content and goods." Amazon Prime, in addition to free shipping options, currently offers subscribers access to the Prime Video streaming service, Prime Music, unlimited photo storage and the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, which includes 800,000 free ebooks.

Reuters suggests Amazon's music strategy will be two-pronged, with basic streaming for Prime users and a more robust alternative for an extra fee. Amazon recently debuted Amazon Prime Video as a standalone service, allowing users to subscribe for $8.99 a month without paying for the full $99 Amazon Prime bundle. The standalone Prime Video service is identical to the service offered with Amazon Prime.

Amazon Music with Prime Music, the company's current music app, is free on the App Store and allows users to play their digital music purchased from Amazon.com. The app also allows Prime members to listen to its catalog of a million songs ad-free as well as curated playlists and radio stations.

Earlier this year, rumors suggested Apple would expand Apple Pay to allow iOS users to make purchases from websites, and now Digital Trends says Apple will indeed introduce such a feature at WWDC.

Starting on Monday, Apple Pay will reportedly be able to be used to make purchases from select partner websites, serving as an alternative to PayPal. As with all Apple Pay transactions, purchases from websites will be confirmed using the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone.

It is not known if the feature will be limited to Safari and only available on iOS devices. We have heard rumors suggesting Apple plans to allow the iPhone to be used to unlock a password-protected Mac using Bluetooth, and if such a feature is implemented, it could also presumably be used to approve web-based purchases on a Mac.

Based on our source's information, it's unclear whether you will be able to use Apple Pay on the web from a device that does not have a fingerprint sensor, such as a MacBook or a PC. It's also unknown whether a specific browser will be required to make purchases with Apple Pay online.

At the current time, Apple Pay can be used to make purchases in brick and mortar stores and in third-party apps that support the service. An expansion of Apple Pay to the Safari browser will alleviate the need for customers to download a store's app to make a payment with Apple Pay, resulting in a payment service that is simpler to use and more accessible.

Apple Pay could potentially be a major focus at WWDC, with other rumors hinting at Apple Pay support in new countries and person-to-person Apple Pay payments.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Internet of Things platform Stringify to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Philips Hue white and color ambiance starter kit to use with the free Stringify app. [Direct Link]

Stringify is a pretty popular home automation app that's able to link together a long list of Internet-connected devices and apps, connecting products like the Nest Thermostat, Hue bulbs, and Fitbit with apps like Dropbox, Slack, Twitter, and Yelp.

Basically, Stringify is a centralized app for controlling all of your home products and automating a huge variety of actions. If you've ever used IFTTT, Stringify is similar to that, but it's more powerful because it can connect to a lot more devices. It's an app that tells your devices "when this happens, then do this."

Most people are probably familiar with the Philips Hue at this point, but if you're not, it's a line of Wi-Fi connected bulbs that are linked together via a HomeKit-enabled hub. The starter kit we're giving away includes a hub and three color bulbs, which can turn any color or any shade of white.

Stringify uses "flows" to link devices together to perform specific tasks. With Stringify and the Philips Hue, it's possible to set up complex flows involving timers and location that aren't available with the regular Hue app. Flows can also be used to get the Philips Hue to work with other connected home products, like the Nest. Some examples:

• On weekday evenings at 11 and location is at home, turn bedroom Hue lights on, set a timer, and fade off both lights.
• Every weekday between 5pm and 7pm, turn on Hue lights when leaving work.
• At 5:30 a.m. on weekdays, turn on Bedroom Hue lights, send a message with a weather report, and set the Nest thermostat to 62 degrees.

Creating flows between home products and apps is done through a simple drag and drop interface that makes it easy to set up the desired effect. With the Hue lights, there are a huge number of triggers that can be used for actions in Stringify, based on parameters like time, weather, location, and more.

Want to set a trigger to turn on the lights whenever a new story is posted on MacRumors? That's possible. Want the lights to turn blue whenever rain is forecasted? That's also possible. There are a near endless series of triggers and events you can set up with the Hue, and there's even more you can do if you own multiple Stringify-compatible products.

Stringify can be downloaded immediately and used with the products you already own, but Stringify also has a Philips Hue Starter Kit to give to one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize.

You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.

Apple is planning to introduce new versions of tvOS and watchOS at the Worldwide Developers Conference, but unlike iOS 10 and OS X 10.12, we haven't heard any details on new features that could be bundled into the releases.

A lack of rumors hasn't stopped our forum members from dreaming up a list of most-wanted features in the two operating systems, so we took a look at some tvOS and watchOS wishlists to get an idea of the kinds of improvements people are hoping to see in the updates.

watchOS

One of the most desired features for the Apple Watch, unsurprisingly, is a better variety of watch faces to choose from. New digital faces and square watch faces like the Hermès Apple Watch face are high on the wishlist.

MacRumors reader mavis wants to see faces that include an optional second count, and moxxham outlined a feature for dynamic complications on watch faces that sounds useful.

It would be great to set up time dependant complications and notifications. In the morning once your alarm is turned off, that complication disappears and is replaced by the activity complication. If your watch is charged over night, when you put the Apple Watch on, the battery complication will disappear and be replaced by weather. Just simple things like this would be great. It would really stop you from changing different faces all the time to suit your needs. The watch would predict based on your usage which complications would suit you and at what time.

Sleep tracking is a feature some readers would like to see, but it's unlikely to be introduced in the current Apple Watch due to battery life concerns. The ability to reassign the side button to access something other than a contact list is another interesting feature request from anthonymoody.

Other watchOS 3 wants:

• More workout options and controls
• Reminders app
• Ability to scroll through Glances with Digital Crown
• Speed/efficiency improvements
• Ability to control Apple TV with Apple Watch Digital Crown and Siri
• Option to disable Time Travel
• Watch Face activated at all times
• Glance for checking iPhone/Watch battery

Read more about the features people are hoping for in watchOS in the dedicated watchOS 3.0 wishlist thread on the forums.

tvOS

There are two threads our forum members have created covering tvOS features they'd like to see, one that was started shortly after the Apple TV launched and another that started up in April.

Both have some interesting feature requests like a dark mode for the user interface, an Apple Music-style "For You" iTunes section for movie and TV suggestions, and unsurprisingly, support for games that only use a controller. Right now, tvOS apps with controller support are also required to support for the Apple TV remote, limiting controller functionality.

Other feature requests:

• Picture-in-picture and/or Split View
• Cloud backup and storage
• iCloud syncing for multiple Apple TVs
• VPN support
• Better parental controls
• Easier switching between accounts
• Remote installation of tvOS apps from iOS devices
• Always-on Hey Siri
• Slow motion playback
• Continuity and Notifications

The new versions of watchOS and tvOS will be unveiled alongside iOS 10 and OS X 10.12 on Monday, June 13 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. The event is set to kick off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

While Niantic and The Pokémon Company's much-anticipated iOS and Android game Pokémon Go is still a few months from launch, TechCrunch recently got to go hands-on with the app to discover how it plays in a real-world scenario. Walking around San Francisco, TechCrunch's Greg Kumparak particularly liked the game's endearing ability to encourage hometown exploration, alongside its more intense, cooperative aspects.

Kumparak notes pausing at the base of the Bay Bridge when his phone vibrated to notify him that a virtual cache was hiding nearby. When opened, some historic details about the bridge were shared, alongside a few Poké Balls and one Pokémon Egg. Later, when he and the Niantic team arrived at a major San Francisco landmark -- Cupid's Span -- his phone notified him again, this time that a Pokémon was lurking nearby.

After catching a Horsea near the shore of the Bay, Niantic encouraged Kumparak to engage in a battle in the nearby "Gym," located at Cupids' Span. Previous news surrounding the game detailed a user's ability to choose the yellow, blue or red team, who would all be in constant battle over gyms scattered throughout the real world.

As Kumparak battled within the Gym, Niantic divulged information on the cooperative elements required by players who take on Gyms with more than just one or two simple, low-level Pokémon.

To take over a gym, you have to boot out the Pokémon that are already there. You and your friends can work together to take them on; if you win, you get to leave some Pokémon there to defend it. Battles are fairly simple (it seems mostly about tapping the screen quickly vs. the strategy of the original games.) As more players join, gyms get more and more powerful, capable of holding more Pokémon, and thus harder to take over.

“So might it ever reach a point where you’ll need, say, dozens of people to gather together in one place to take over a gym?”, I ask.

“Oh, absolutely”, one of the devs responds. “That’s what’s supposed to happen.”

Overall, Kumparak came away largely pleased with Pokémon Go, saying that the experience made him want to "walk around San Francisco aimlessly" to discover new Pokémon and find a few new items for his character. A release date has yet to be set for the augmented reality game, but Niantic has said it aims to launch the game by the end of 2016.

Check out TechCrunch's full hands-on report of Pokémon Go for more details on the game and how it plays.

After Apple announced a handful of new changes heading to the App Store under Phil Schiller's reign -- including a new revenue split for subscriptions and ads in search results -- Spotify recently commented its opinion on the announcements. Speaking with The Verge, Jonathan Prince, Spotify's head of corporate communications and global policy, said simply, "It's a nice gesture, but doesn't get to the core of the problem."

One of Spotify's major hangups centers around the fact that the new rules still prohibit apps from offering "special offers or discounts," because price flexibility is prohibited. The Cupertino company's policy makes sure that it's a constant presence between the customer and developer, "which means developers will continue to lack visibility into why customers churn."

"Unless Apple changes its rules, price flexibility is prohibited, which is why we can never provide special offers or discounts, and means we won't have the ability to share any savings with our customers," Prince continued. "Apple still insists on inserting itself between developers and their customers, which means developers will continue to lack visibility into why customers churn — or who even qualifies as a long-term subscriber."

Prince also said that the rules make it hard to even determine which customers could be considered as a long-term subscriber - an important factor to take into account now that Apple will take only a 15 percent cut if a user stays subscribed to a service for more than a year. Apple currently takes 30 percent of a subscription fee when users sign up to a service on the App Store.

Spotify's concerns follow an uptick in subscriber activity in the year since Apple's rival subscription music service, Apple Music, launched to the public. While the latter platform is on track to gain 15 million subscribers for its one-year anniversary in late June, Spotify has grown from 20 million paid users last June, to 30 million in May of 2016. The company noted that since Apple Music launched it has "been growing quicker and adding more users than before."