Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Beats Music to Be Bundled Into iOS Early Next Year, Will Remain Paid Subscription Service
As part of Apple's revamp of its recently acquired Beats Music streaming service, the company plans to bundle Beats directly into iOS, reports Financial Times.
Apple will bundle the subscription music service it acquired from Beats into its iOS operating system early next year, instantly making it available on hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads – and ramping up pressure on Spotify, the market leader in music streaming.
The inclusion of the paid-for Beats service in an iOS software update could happen as early as March, according to people familiar with the situation.
The report notes that Beats will continue to be a paid service and will likely be rebranded under the iTunes umbrella. The move could come alongside the launch of the Apple Watch, with users able to push Beats music from their iPhones to the wearable device.
While Apple has praised the Beats Music model, highlighting the curation aspect of the service as a major reason for acquiring the company, Beats has struggled to gain subscribers. Estimates put Beats' subscriber base at just 110,000, dwarfed by several other services such as Spotify that offer both free and paid options. Apple's acquisition of Beats has been seen as major avenue to boost interest in the service, but so far cross-promotion has been fairly limited. A revamp of Beats under the iTunes banner and including access directly in iOS may, however, substantially improve customer interest.
Still, Apple has struggled with streaming music in its first foray with the ad-supported iTunes Radio. The service is still available only in the United States and Australia despite rumors of a significant international expansion for early 2014, and the service has reportedly underperformed Apple's goals of driving listeners to purchase tracks from the iTunes Store. But with a three-pronged strategy of traditional iTunes Store purchases, ad-supported iTunes Radio streaming and a subscription Beats service all integrated on iOS, Apple may finally be in a position to satisfy many music listeners.
Tags: ft.com, Apple Music Guide
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60 months ago
Please no. Please stop forcing more bundled apps with iOS.
At the very least, Apple should include a delete function for stock apps we don't want/need. Then this becomes a non-issue, and the people who want Beats can be happy, while the people who don't want it are not affected.
At the very least, Apple should include a delete function for stock apps we don't want/need. Then this becomes a non-issue, and the people who want Beats can be happy, while the people who don't want it are not affected.
60 months ago
apple is turning into Microsoft with their forced bundling!
lol what's next apple? Stickers on your iPhone saying A8 chip inside?!
lol what's next apple? Stickers on your iPhone saying A8 chip inside?!
60 months ago
Beats, meet Newstand and Health. you guys gonna have fun in my "Not Using" folder on the last page of my Home Screen just created for it..
60 months ago
This would be worse than having Newsstand, iBooks or the Podcast app on my iPhone, cause I am living outside of US and Beats Music isn't available in my country.
60 months ago
Oh good
Another App that I never use and can't delete.
I mean I don't mind if apple includes things with iOS. I'm sure it's great for those that want it, but I'm not interested in a paid subscription music service. I just want the ability to delete or at least hide apps that I never use. Sure I can puit it is a folder but it's still clutter.
Another App that I never use and can't delete.
I mean I don't mind if apple includes things with iOS. I'm sure it's great for those that want it, but I'm not interested in a paid subscription music service. I just want the ability to delete or at least hide apps that I never use. Sure I can puit it is a folder but it's still clutter.
60 months ago
If you can download this App from the App store, I would assume it would be deletable if you didn't want it. Just like the iLife apps that are "bundled", you can delete those.
Seriously, the amount of whining on these threads anytime Apple does or doesn't do something (or is "rumored" to do something) is appalling.
Seriously, the amount of whining on these threads anytime Apple does or doesn't do something (or is "rumored" to do something) is appalling.
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