Apple's Streaming Music Service and Revamped iTunes Radio Launching in Several Countries in Late June
While Apple is still working to get key deals in place for its upcoming streaming music service, the company remains committed to announcing the service at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), likely during the opening keynote on June 8, according to 9to5Mac.
Apple's streaming music service will reportedly launch alongside a revamped iTunes Radio in a "long list" of countries in late June as part of iOS 8.4 and iTunes 12.2. New Apple TV and Mac apps that will integrate the service remain under development at Apple.
The redesigned Music app in iOS 8.4 beta, seeded to developers in April, will reportedly have different options and tabs geared towards Apple's streaming music service by time the software version reaches the public. Meanwhile, the all-new version of iTunes Radio will reportedly offer unlimited skipping as a paid option, and become available in additional countries beyond the United States and Australia.
"The beta version of iOS 8.4 in the hands of developers is only a taste of the new design, according to sources, and the different options and tabs across the application will be tweaked to better feature streaming music over music stored offline. Sources said earlier this year that the new Beats-based application will include porting of existing Beats accounts, curated playlists, and the ability to save tracks for offline listening. While Apple initially hoped to charge $8/month for the service, roadblocks from the record labels have reportedly pushed the price back to the existing $10/month."
The report also reveals a few details about iOS 9 "Monarch," also expected to be announced at WWDC in June. The next major version of the iPhone and iPad operating system is said to have a redesigned Siri interface that resembles the colorful design of Siri on Apple Watch, and will also contain several security improvements and bug fixes.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...