iOS 8.4 in Development With Possible Support for New Music Service

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Along with iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3, both of which have been seeded to developers in beta form, Apple is also said to be working on an iOS 8.4 update. According to 9to5Mac, the beta is codenamed "Copper," and set to be released later this year at some point after the Apple Watch becomes available for purchase in April.

Given the release timing after iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3, it's possible that iOS 8.4 will be the update that introduces Apple's new streaming music service. Recent rumors have suggested that Apple's existing Beats music service will be rebranded, revamped with a lower price tag, and integrated into iOS and OS X. A timeline is unclear, but Apple could be aiming for a June launch, sometime around its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

iOS 8.4 began appearing in MacRumors site logs towards the end of January, with usage spiking up at the beginning of February. The number of visits from devices running iOS 8.4 from both Apple IPs and non-Apple IPs remains relatively low, however, suggesting that development on iOS 8.4 is in the very early stages.

ios_8_4_apple

Visitors to MacRumors.com via Apple's networks from devices running iOS 8.4

ios_8_4_all

Overall visitors to MacRumors.com from devices running iOS 8.4

iOS 8.2 has been in developer testing since November, and iOS 8.3, with wireless CarPlay support, a new emoji picker, and Apple Pay for China was just seeded to developers this morning. Along with its iOS 8 projects, Apple is also working on iOS 9, an update that may heavily focus on stability and optimization.

Tags: 9to5mac.com, iOS 8.4, Apple Music Guide
Related Forum: iOS 8

Top Rated Comments

macduke Avatar
macduke
85 months ago
So much iOS news today. So would 8.4 come out around WWDC, with iOS 9 in September? They could show the new music service and have it immediately available.

----------

probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.

I doubt that would happen, because that would drop support for the iPhone 5, and in doing so they would drop support for the 4S and the 5. Usually they would only drop support for one generation. iOS 10 (X?) will be all 64-bit.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacsRgr8 Avatar
MacsRgr8
85 months ago
Eh... iOS-news day...?

iOS 8.2 beta
iOS 8.3 beta
iOS 8.4 beta
iOS 9 beta

Never seen that before! :eek:
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
longofest Avatar
longofest
85 months ago
Jeeze... iOS 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 9.0 all in simultaneous development...

I feel bad for the guy who gets to do the code merges.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
farewelwilliams
85 months ago
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RebornProphet Avatar
RebornProphet
85 months ago
I would think the streaming service would be the logical flagship feature of iOS9. Why release it as iOS8.4?
Judging by the earlier story, iOS 9 is going to be the "Snow Leopard" of iOS, focusing on under the hood optimisations and performance tweaks rather than features.

About time too if you ask me. Long overdue.

Although I find the fact iOS 8.2 is in beta 5, iOS 8.3 is in beta 1, and iOS 8.4 is under development to be utterly confusing and sums up iOS 8 in its entirety: a mess.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zxxv Avatar
Zxxv
85 months ago
Baked into ios and OS X and for a lower fee?

I better be able to delete it as I'm not paying to be advertised to.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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