Apple Music - page 20

2017 was a pretty damn good year for the world’s most profitable tech company.

Apple did much more than rake in more cash than any company this year. Cupertino also pushed out its most impressive product lineup ever, laid the groundwork for the future of augmented reality, moved into a new spaceship campus, battled other tech giants and got tossed into the political spotlight.

Apple dominated the tech scene in 2017 more than any other company. Here’s a recap of some of the year’s most memorable Apple moments.

With its years old traditions and ability to make us feel like kids again, Christmas is a pretty nostalgic time of year. So why not create a festive ad that takes us back to the glory days of 2004, by using Gwen Stefani to try and sell us on Apple Music and her latest album?

Or, at least, that’s what we’re assuming was the rationale behind Apple’s latest holidays-themed ad. Check it out below:

One of Apple’s biggest competitors in the music streaming business is about to bite the dust.

Tidal, the music streaming service owned by Jay-Z, is allegedly facing some serious money problems. According to a new report, user growth has stalled too making the company’s cash problems even worse.

One of the most popular third-party apps on the App Store has officially been purchased by Apple.

London-based Shazam has long dominated the App Store charts with its ability to recognize any song, movie or TV show. Now Apple is bringing that tech in-house by purchasing the startup for nearly half a billion dollars.

Apple is adding another key weapon to its war chest in the battle against Spotify, based on a new report that claims the company plans to acquire the app Shazam.

The popular app helps users identify any song, TV show or movie in seconds just by listening to it via a smartphone’s microphone. iOS integrated Siri with Shazam a few years ago, but it appears that Apple’s looking to bring the entire operation in-house.

Canadian rocker Neil Young, an outspoken promoter of high-definition audio, calls out Apple in his latest diatribe about declining standards in the streaming music biz.

While ripping Apple Music for distributing what he calls “low-quality audio,” he throws down the gauntlet and challenges Apple to make music great again.

Taylor Swift’s new album is finally available for streaming through Apple Music. Reputation’s arrival comes three weeks after its initial debut on iTunes. It’s also showing up on Spotify and other streaming services.

Spotify is in for a rough future, according to Apple’s Jimmy Iovine, who is warning the music industry not to place too much faith in the tech industry.

Iovine sat down for a new interview where he discussed the future of the music industry. According to the Apple Music boss, record labels are “100 percent” overly optimistic about where things are headed with technology.

Apple plans to use Toronto rapper Drake to dominate an all-new domain: original video.

In a new interview, Drake revealed that he has several video projects in the works with both Apple and Netflix that he plans to tackle over the next year while taking a break from music.

Apple Music won’t be streaming Taylor Swift’s new Reputation album when it makes its official debut on November 10.

The Bad Blood singer has decided to hold back from all streaming services for at least a week. Sources claim Swift’s team are still negotiating a release date.

Apple surprised investors with its best Q4 earnings report ever today. The outrageous numbers dispelled doubts about the iPhone-maker’s strategy — and pushed Apple closer to becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company.

With the launch of the iPhone X just hours away, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a lot to be happy about during the earnings call with investors. Analysts quizzed Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri on everything from iPhone 8 sales to how Apple plans to monetize its augmented reality efforts.

Here’s what we found out:

Apple is set to unveil its last earnings report of 2017, and it’s expected to be one of the company’s biggest Q4 results ever.

Wall Street analysts are eager to see how many iPhones Apple sold during the quarter, which included a few days of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus sales at the end. Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will be hopping on the call with investors at 2 p.m. Pacific today. Naturally, we’ll be here live-blogging all the action.

Come join the fun:

Apple will give investors their first insight into iPhone 8 sales, right on the eve of the iPhone X launch.

The final Apple earnings call of 2017 takes place Thursday, November 2, at 2 p.m. Pacific. Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter ended right after the iPhone 8 started shipping. The results aren’t expected to be record-breaking, but this first glimpse should give us a better idea of how monstrous Apple’s holiday season will be.

This is what to watch for:

Album covers take center stage in the latest ad for Apple Music. The funky new video that was pushed to Apple’s YouTube channel this morning features an eclectic collection of quick art shots inspired by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Sia, Eminem, Drake, FKA Twigs and many more.

Check it out:

Apple has updated its Apple Watch Series 3 battery guidelines following the rollout of watchOS 4.1 on Tuesday.

The update adds big new features, such as Apple Music and Beats 1 streaming, that significantly impact the usage you’ll get in between charges.

Apple Watch Series 3 owners can now get all the features they were promised from Apple’s new wearable at launch, thanks to a new watchOS update that brings some big new additions.

After months of testing, watchOS 4.1 was released to the public this morning. The update adds a number of performance improvements and changes, including LTE streaming for Apple Music.

Apple is giving developers advance notice to get their apps ready for the HomePod experience.

Along with releasing new firmware for the unreleased HomePod smart speaker, Apple also notified developers that iOS 11.2 adds SiriKit for HomePod as a way to integrate voice-only experiences into the app.

Leaked release notes for the watchOS 4.1 golden master reveal big changes coming to Apple Watch. Alongside fixes for a whole bunch of bugs, Apple will finally add Apple Music streaming, the ability to listen to live radio on Beats 1, and GymKit.

Billboard is making big changes to the way it measures the hottest songs in the country — and that’s great news for Apple Music.

Streams from paid subscription services like Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited will gain influence on the charts starting in 2018, according to Billboard, which revealed its changes today.

Apple shared a new trailer for its upcoming documentary “Give Me Future” that follows the electronic group Major Lazer on their trip to Cuba to become the first major American act to play in the communist country.

The documentary shows Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire as they plan and execute their concert in Havana. What was expected to be a show with ten thousand or so people turned into a massive concert with a crowd of half a million fans.

Watch the trailer:

The wonderfully useful universal search function on Apple TV now supports a bunch of new services. Apple has added a number of popular providers in many countries, including BBC America, FX Now, and its own Apple Music.

Developers received a fresh new batch of beta updates today, just one week after Apple seeded the last set.

iOS 11.1 beta 3 is the biggest of the updates, bringing a bunch of new emojis to the iPhone and iPad along with some other refinements and improvements. Apple also released the third beta builds for watchOS 4.1 and tvOS 11.1.

Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue has confirmed that the company wants to bring its Apple Pay service to India. Apple also has plans to make big improvements to Maps and Apple Music in what Cue says is one of its most important markets.

Apple executives Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre got construction of their new academy at USC officially underway this week during a groundbreaking event on campus.

Following the continuing allegations about sexual harassment by Weinstein Company movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Apple has reportedly scrapped plans for an Elvis Presley biopic original series, which would have been produced by the Weinstein Company.