The operating system that powers the iPhone has undergone radical changes since Apple launched the device 10 years ago.
As part of Cult of Mac’s collaboration with Wired UK to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, we took a look at the evolution of iOS, from a simple touchscreen operating system lacking key features into a true computing behemoth with more tools than any one user could possibly need.
Apple Music and chill, anyone? Apple has started rolling out a new Apple Music feature called “My Chill Mix,” designed to select music from the songs and genres you dig and present them to you in a calming playlist.
Tesla is considering launching its own streaming music service, and it’s already in talks with players in the music industry about doing so.
According to a new report, Tesla has held conversations with all the major music labels about launching its service — which would come bundled with its cars, as opposed to being a standalone service like Apple Music.
Negotiations for new Apple Music deals are currently underway with record labels and this time around Apple wants to come away with a much bigger cut of the revenue after overpaying for the last two years.
The company is likely to get its wish too, according to a new report that reveals the labels are supposedly open to the possibility of taking a smaller share as long as Apple Music is able to continue growing.
In its quest to turn a profit, Spotify is searching for new revenue streams and it may have just found a winner: sponsored songs.
The streaming service began testing its new Sponsored Songs feature, which lets record labels promote tracks by automatically adding them to listeners’ playlists, this week. The feature is supposed to only affect users of Spotify’s free tier, but some paying subscribers report that it’s happening to them too.
Apple is finally ready to give music fans a killer deal on the Apple Music streaming service with an all-new option that lets you pay for a full year’s subscription at a discounted rate.
Jay Z will release his new 4:44 album at the end of this month, but if Apple Music is the only streaming service you subscribe to, you’re going to miss out.
As part of its renewed focus on original programming, Apple has hired two Sony Pictures Television presidents, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, for positions overseeing worldwide video-related work for the company.
“Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television,” said Eddy Cue, who the two new recruits will report to. “We have exciting plans in store for customers and can’t wait for them to bring their expertise to Apple — there is much more to come.”
Access to free music continues to make Spotify a much more popular platform than Apple Music. The company now boasts more than 140 million active users worldwide, with its free, ad-support tier growing more than 50 percent year-over-year.
Apple has dropped the second trailer for its latest hip-hop documentary, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story.
The documentary chronicles Sean P. Combs (a.k.a. P Diddy’s) rise to become one of the most notable record producers of the 1990s, as well as detailing the challenges he faced staging last year’s 20th anniversary Bad Boy reunion show. It will debut on Apple Music on June 25.
The debut of Apple’s first original TV series, Planet of the Apps is getting off to a rocky start. Early reviews have been profoundly negative and the show’s ad campaign certainly isn’t winning over any new fans.
Apple’s Twitter account for Planet of the Apps sent out a new ad today that caused an uproar among fans who slammed it for being anti-family and promoting workaholism. The ad features one of the show’s app developers bragging about how he rarely sees his kids. It was quickly pulled but not before someone snapped a screenshot.
Take a look at the tone-deaf ad:
This story has been updated to include comments from Bozoma Saint John.
Bozoma Saint John, one of Apple’s most entertaining keynote presenters, is leaving the company to work for Uber as the ride-sharing startup’s chief brand officer.
Her task? Fixing Uber’s tarnished image in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and other recent turmoil
Bozoma Saint John, head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music, may be on her way out of Apple, a recent report claims.
Saint John is probably best known to Apple watchers as the person who took the stage at last year’s WWDC event to show off Apple Music’s then-new user interface — which included attempting to get the crowd to somewhat awkwardly clap along to The Sugarhill Gang’s song “Rapper’s Delight.”
The internet is furious at Apple Music boss Eddy Cue after the exec was supposedly spotted heckling singer Rihanna last night during Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, California.
Video of Cue at the game appears to show the Apple VP telling Rihanna to sit down. Rihanna had been doing a bit of heckling herself during the game, yelling at Warriors superstar Kevin Durant. Twitter immediately went in on Cue for going at Rihanna, but most people thought he was just your average court-side rich white guy.
As Apple’s longest-running annual keynote event, it’s no surprise that WWDC has played host to some absolutely enormous announcements over the years.
From strategies that changed the company’s course to the debut of astonishing new products, here are our picks for the most important ones. Check out the list below.
Apple Music subscribers will finally be able to watch the company’s first TV show, ‘Carpool Karaoke’ later this summer, according to a tweet from Apple media boss Eddy Cue.
Jay Z’s struggling Tidal music streaming service is saying goodbye to its third CEO in two years.
The company reportedly parted way with top executive Jeff Toig, though no replacement has been named. Tidal has had a revolving door of CEOs during its troubled history. Toig took over the reigns of Tidal just 18 months ago.
Apple has begun transition App Store currencies from the U.S. dollar and euro to local alternatives in nine new countries. The change brings small savings for customers in certain markets.
Apple has begun charging a fee for its Apple Music trials in some countries.
New users could previously enjoy the service for three months before having to hand over any cash, but those in Australia, Spain and Switzerland must now pay 99 cents.
Jimmy Iovine wants people to pay for music again and he’s got a plan that just might work: make free music streaming suck.
The Apple exec and music industry legend sat down for a new wide-ranging interview, during which Iovine lamanted that artists aren’t getting paid enough for their music anymore. And it’s mostly Spotify and YouTube’s fault.
Apple Music may soon get exclusive streaming rights to an unreleased Prince concert that was performed as a surprise in Minneapolis just before the release of his iconic Purple Rain soundtrack.
If Apple does land the rights, the company may owe a big ‘thank you’ to its rival Spotify, which employs the executive negotiating the deal.
Snap Inc apparently wants in on the hottest new trend among tech companies: TV shows.
Following the lead of Amazon and Twitter, Snapchat reportedly plans to start showing vertical short films in its app. Only instead of doing all the work on its own, the company is inking deals with some of the biggest names in media.
Apple’s Q2 earnings report for 2017 just barely beat Wall Street’s expectations when the numbers were revealed this afternoon, but there are plenty of reasons to still be optimistic about AAPL.
During the company’s call with investors today, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed some of the struggles the company experienced last quarter, from slumping iPhone sales to economic headwinds in China.
Here are the biggest takeaways:
Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 this afternoon. And according to analysts, the numbers won’t be nearly as impressive as last quarter’s record-shattering results.
Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will run through all the numbers with investors today at 2 p.m. Pacific. As usual, Cult of Mac will be liveblogging the action with all the analysis and snark we can muster.
Come join the fun:
Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 next Tuesday, and based on early estimates from analysts, Tim Cook might not have much to boast about.
Wall Street has been in love with Apple stock the last few months, sending it to all-time highs since the last earnings report came out. But with the holiday shopping season over and a lack of new products to boost sales, Apple’s numbers may look a bit flat.
These are the key areas to watch for: