Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple Acquired Talent and Technology From Cloud-Based Music Provider Omnifone in August
Apple recently acquired technology from cloud-based music platform Omnifone and has hired more than a dozen former Omnifone employees, reports TechCrunch. Apple's interest in Omnifone was first shared by MacRumors back in July, but could not be confirmed at the time.
At least 16 Omnifone employees now work for Apple according to various LinkedIn profiles, and a source that spoke to TechCrunch says Apple bought "select technology" from Omnifone. The purchase is not considered a full acquisition, however, and according to our original source, it did not involve Omnifone's patent portfolio.
Omnifone, for example, powered Samsung's now-defunct Milk music service in certain locations and it was licensed by PonoMusic to power the PonoMusic Store.
Many of the former Omnifone employees are now working as software engineers at Apple, presumably focusing on areas like iTunes and Apple Music. It isn't clear what technology Apple purchased from Omnifone, but TechCrunch's source believes some of what was purchased has already been incorporated into Apple Music and iTunes.
At least 16 Omnifone employees now work for Apple according to various LinkedIn profiles, and a source that spoke to TechCrunch says Apple bought "select technology" from Omnifone. The purchase is not considered a full acquisition, however, and according to our original source, it did not involve Omnifone's patent portfolio.
There was actually speculation that Apple "bought out" or "likely acquired" key assets from Omnifone in July of this year, after a report from Omnifone's bankruptcy administrators noted that it had found a buyer for parts of the company for $10 million. The rumor at the time was that buyer was Apple. Those acquisition reports, however, were discredited fairly swiftly.Omnifone operated a cloud platform powering its own MusicStation service and serving as the backbone for several music services launched through partnerships with mobile carriers like LG, Samsung, Vodafone, BlackBerry, Sony, and more.
But fast forward just one month later, and it looks like at least parts of it was true.
Omnifone, for example, powered Samsung's now-defunct Milk music service in certain locations and it was licensed by PonoMusic to power the PonoMusic Store.
Many of the former Omnifone employees are now working as software engineers at Apple, presumably focusing on areas like iTunes and Apple Music. It isn't clear what technology Apple purchased from Omnifone, but TechCrunch's source believes some of what was purchased has already been incorporated into Apple Music and iTunes.
Tags: Apple acquisition, Omnifone
[ 22 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
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35 months ago
I must admit. iTunes is pretty bad.. it's just way to confusing not thought out.. it's like they want to revamp it and make it look good but leave certain things out.. and you have to click around to find those "things"..
What gets me every time is looking at the "store".. and not being able to add that album in the store to my Apple Music collection. I have to go search for it or "find" the Apple Music search to add. That's one of the most annoying things
What gets me every time is looking at the "store".. and not being able to add that album in the store to my Apple Music collection. I have to go search for it or "find" the Apple Music search to add. That's one of the most annoying things
35 months ago
I hope they improve iTunes. It has long been Apple's weak spot, and not a good advert for those considering moving over from the other side.
35 months ago
Am I the only one who read that 2nd to last paragraph has saying "PornoMusic Store"?
35 months ago
Hah! Beats could have bought Omnifone for $15 million and then sold it to Tim Cook for $3 Billion, as they did with MOG.
MOG was a lot better than Omnifone, though.
Heck, MOG was ruined by Beats and it was better than the current Apple Music incarnation, which is based on MOG....
MOG was a lot better than Omnifone, though.
Heck, MOG was ruined by Beats and it was better than the current Apple Music incarnation, which is based on MOG....
35 months ago
All new employees are trained in sign language for the deaf as Apple products are all moving towards no headphone jack while replacement technologies lag. Apple considers their decisions "cutting edge" while most consider their decisions "cutting off".
[doublepost=1478565160][/doublepost]
Yes, it is one thing to have simplicity and elegance, but altogether something else when basic functionality becomes lost in a maze of poor GUI decisions and lack of common sense.
[doublepost=1478565160][/doublepost]
I must admit. iTunes is pretty bad.. it's just way to confusing not thought out.. it's like they want to revamp it and make it look good but leave certain things out.. and you have to click around to find those "things"..
What gets me every time is looking at the "store".. and not being able to add that album in the store to my Apple Music collection. I have to go search for it or "find" the Apple Music search to add. That's one of the most annoying things
Yes, it is one thing to have simplicity and elegance, but altogether something else when basic functionality becomes lost in a maze of poor GUI decisions and lack of common sense.
35 months ago
No, it's because Pono went out of business
It's mind boggling that people invested in Pono in first place, it was destined to fail.
[doublepost=1478582405][/doublepost]
If you can't innovate anymore, buy
Do you have the slightest idea about how many companies buy others all the time?
[doublepost=1478582439][/doublepost]
Yeah ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/neil-youngs-catalog-returns-to-apple-music-after-he-said-streaming-has-worst-quality-in-history.2012529/'), once again after a 16mos hiatus.
But Neil is also looking for a new partner for his PonoMusic HiRes music download service.
And it will fail again.
35 months ago
.....And it will fail again.
Perhaps, but I give the man credit ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/neil-youngs-catalog-returns-to-apple-music-after-he-said-streaming-has-worst-quality-in-history.2012529/page-2#post-23862498') for the effort.
35 months ago
Why the hell should we buy Sun Microsystems, let's buy some serious talent and technology instead...
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