Google Facing Difficulties Getting iTunes Competitor Off The Ground
All Things Digital reports that Google is having difficulties as it works to develop its own iTunes competitor, describing the company's talks with major record labels as "going backwards". Google has been
working since last year to roll out a music service that would also integrate with the company's Android platform in an attempt to rival the iTunes-iOS mobile media combination and move into cloud-based storage.
Google's negotiations with the big music labels are "broken," says a source familiar with the search giant's thinking: "There's definitely a problem with the Google music conversations." Another industry source says Google's top executives are reconsidering their music plans altogether. "They've gone backwards," I'm told.
Some label sources have suggested that Google is continuing to negotiate and that things are moving forward, but there appears to be growing discontentment at other labels due in part to Google potentially changing its demands at the last minute and label concerns over Amazon's new cloud-based storage service and music player launched late last month.
Apple of course is widely rumored to be working on a revamp of its MobileMe services that would allow users to store their media in the cloud and access it from any Internet-connected Apple device. The company has been said to be talking with record labels for many months now, working to get labels on board for the service that they have repeatedly said is not a permitted usage under current distribution contracts.
Popular Stories
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect.
As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes.
The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps.
In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner.
In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro in a new Sky Blue color, the same color that debuted on the latest M4 MacBook Air models Apple released in March. That's according to the leaker Majin Bu.
Concept mockup from Majin Bu
Writing on his website, Bu claims that "sources close to the supply chain confirm that several iPhone 17 Pro prototypes have been made in various colors, with Sky Blue...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
