Apple today launched a new offer that provides owners of the second-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and select Beats products with a six-month free subscription to Apple Music.
The offer is only valid for new Apple Music subscribers, and no new purchase is required, so this is open to any users who currently own an eligible product. Eligible products include the second-generation AirPods (with wired or wireless case), AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Beats Studio Buds, Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Solo Pro. Eligible users will see a prompt in the Apple Music app for their six-month free offer.
The offer must be claimed within 90 days from when users first connect their eligible AirPods or Beats product to an Apple device after September 20 to take up the offer.
Apple emphasizes that customers must be on the latest iOS and iPadOS versions to see the offer, which as of yesterday, is iOS and iPadOS 15. The new offer is a notable package from Apple, as it's not often the company has bundled the purchase of its AirPods or Beats products with its Apple Music service.
Update: This article has been updated to clarify that no new purchase of an AirPods or Beats product is required. Customers who previously purchased an eligible product are also able to take advantage of the offer.
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors.
Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report.
iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design
The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too.
2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple didn't update the...
Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years.
iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack)
At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
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.
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 iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.
The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM.
...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
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...
I’m not a fan of this kind of offer. 6 months isn’t a trial, it’s a substantial value. But only being available to new customers means it’s an effective price increase, or value decrease, for older customers. Reminds me of dodgy mobile phone companies who say screw our loyal customers here’s improved rates but only for new customers. Not a good look IMO.
Wait! What? How is Apple Music price increase? or value decrease? You can't play a song you used to play?
Because Apple Music 6 months is not free. The service cost is bundled with the hardware cost. Existing customers are now paying for Apple Music both as part of their subscription and as part of a hardware purchase.
YAPS (yet another pointless subscription) pushed down our throats by what can only be considered as unsolicited and annoying spam. If I was even remotely interested in wasting my money on subscriptions for utterly useless and worthless services I would have already done so. I hate how Apple keeps pushing its inferior services down our throats at every occasion. Keep your Music+, your AppleTV +, your iCloud+, and all your Junk+ services to yourself thank you.
Wait! What? How is Apple Music price increase? or value decrease? You can't play a song you used to play?
In terms of the ecosystem cost. They did a similar thing with Apple TV, 1 free year of TV+ when it was new, now no TV+. On the other hand at least TV+ subscriptions would stack not just lock out people who already had a trial.
The next step along this path would be Apple offering something like 1TB of free iCloud for a year for new iPhone users, but nothing if you’ve had an iPhone before. Again not technically a price increase but a clear value discrimination for different customers paying the same price.
For anyone interested, I had subbed to Apple Music about 3 years ago. When I logged in, I was offered two months to come back. This is despite having two eligible devices in the list. So it's for new subscribers only, not returning customers.
I was interested to try the spatial audio features.
