Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' iPhone Event: Follow along with our live blog.
According to Fortune, the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington D.C. is expected to rule on Thursday about a request by the National Music Publishers' Association to increase royalty rates for downloads from online music stores such as iTunes. The request asks for an increase in rates from 9 cents to 15 cents a track. It should be noted that this group represents the copyright holders of songs and is distinct from the record companies themselves.
Understandably, Apple is opposed to the rate increase and, in a statement submitted to the board, even suggested that Apple might close iTunes altogether:
"If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the ... royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all," Cue wrote. "Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."
Apple claims that the market would not accept an increase in the per-track price and that overall sales would decrease. The Fortune article writer doubts that Apple would take such drastic measures as closing the iTunes Store as Apple has used it to leverage hardware sales of iPods and now iPhones.
Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:24 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's biggest event of the year is almost here, and all eyes are on Cupertino. With the first foldable iPhone expected to headline Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the rumor mill has been running full throttle, fuelled by the biggest single design change in the life of the iPhone.
To get you up to speed, here's a quick reference...
Monday September 7, 2026 5:01 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to unveil new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models on Wednesday, September 9, and the devices are expected to feature a design that's largely similar to the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a peppering of enhancements inside. Major changes are not expected until next year, when Apple is expected to introduce a radically redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone.
If you're thinking of...
Monday September 7, 2026 6:01 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has announced that it will be holding an event on Wednesday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company widely expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, its first-ever foldable iPhone Ultra, and more.
Now that we know the event date, we can make an educated guess about when iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders will begin, but there is a bit of a wrinkle this year....
