Beats - page 7

Apple Music’s existing interface is quaking in its boots. In just one month, it could be given its marching orders as Apple looks to make way for a fancy new design that hopes to attract even more subscribers to its streaming service.

But does Apple Music really need a major revamp?

Some say its user interface is already familiar if you’re a long time iOS user — and even if you’re not, it’s arguably still prettier than those offered by rival streaming services. But others say it’s just not friendly enough, and too tricky to learn.

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over Apple Music’s rumored redesign!

Apple is planning to make a big advertising push during the 2016 UEFA European Championship football tournament, and Raheem Sterling could be the star of the company’s ads.

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is reportedly close to signing a deal with Apple to become its first ever global sports ambassador from England, but the entire deal hinges on whether the 21-year-old phenom actually makes the team.

Apple could get back in the stereo game with a speaker system capable of finding the “sweet spot” in a particular room and modifying its sound accordingly.

Apple is losing one of the chief designers of the new Apple TV just months after the product launched to the public.

Designer Ben Keighran revealed that he is leaving the company after joining Apple four years ago when his company Chomp was purchased by Apple to inject fresh talent into Apple’s streaming box.

If you’re still subscribed to Beats Music instead of Apple Music, your days are numbered. Until January 19, you have the opportunity to save all of your playlists and migrate your account data over to Apple Music if you wish to do so. But after that, Apple will discard of your current data.

Apple is trying to boost sales of its Beats by Dre accessories going into the holiday season by offering $60 Apple Music/iTunes Gift Card vouchers for a variety of headphones and speakers.

If Apple is really planning to kill the iPhone headphone jack in the model it reveals next year, it’s ditching 60 years of history.

Rumors that the next iPhone could do away with the industry-standard 3.5mm port in Apple’s relentless pursuit of thinness have been around for a while, but they’re seeing a resurgence thanks to a post on a Japanese blog. The article cites “a reliable source” that claims the Cupertino company will shave 1mm off the phone’s thickness by dropping the just-way-too-fat jack in favor of proprietary Lightning connectors.

But if Apple actually does this, it’s kind of a huge deal.

The Apple-owned Beats brand has become the second company (after Fox Studios) to sponsor a Snapchat lens, with a one-day-only Black Friday deal that lets you animate your face bopping along in time to rapper Drake’s new song “Big Rings.”

It’s here: the biggest, stress-inducing flood of sales at stores around the country. Save yourself the headache and time of waiting in line with the Black Friday sales going on across all of Cult of Mac, including this premium pair of Beats earbuds and portable speaker by Logitech. Enter the coupon code ‘BLACKFRIDAY’ at checkout to save an extra 15%.

Beats, like their creator Dr. Dre, have become synonymous with big sounds and big personality. They’re also known for coming at a premium price, which has kept a lot of people from properly pleasing their ears with Beats’ premium sound. Right now you can get in on the fun with a set of white refurbished, warranty-backed Beats Solo HD Headphones for just $99.99.

Apple has confirmed that it will shut down its Beats Music streaming service on November 30. The news comes just days after Apple Music finally arrived on Android, and users are being encouraged to switch over to its new platform.

Apple’s latest app for Android is a bitter, ahem, Pill+ for Fandroids to swallow — with numerous one-star reviews already hitting the Google Play Store.

Arriving yesterday, the app lets users control and manage their newly-launched Beats Pill+ speaker, including allowing multiple users to take control of the music playing from a speaker, or configuring two speakers to achieve a higher volume level.

But, of course, it’s made by Apple. So by the ancient laws of Android it must be punished!

The latest entry to the Beats line of speakers and the first one under Apple’s supervision, the Beats Pill+ is now available. At $229, it’s $30 more expensive than its predecessor, the Beats Pill 2.0, but it has much more to offer. This Bluetooth speaker apparently has improved sound quality, a tweaked design, and unsurprisingly charges via Lightning cable.

The Beats Pill+ is on its way and equipped with that Apple lovin’. The successor of the Beats Pill takes a somewhat different design approach from the Beats Pill and comes with some terrific improvements to sound and battery life. Most interestingly, the speaker is the first the company released since Apple’s acquisition last year.

If you’ve got a phone, you’ve got to have a good set of headphones. We’re all looking for something different from the music makers we put into our ears, whether it’s studio quality sound, wireless convenience, or something that can survive a daily workout regimen. No matter what your needs, we’ve got you and your budget covered with these four deals on top notch earbuds.

In a new interview, Beats President Luke Wood — the man in charge of hardware for the Apple-owned brand — talks life after the Apple acquisition, and answers long-standing criticisms about the bass-heavy quality of Beats headphones.

With the purchase of Beats Electronics and the subsequent launch of Apple Music, Jimmy Iovine quickly became Apple’s best hope for saving the music industry. But in a new interview, the Beats co-founder says it’s just not cool to be into music anymore.

To help ignite the scene, Iovine and Dre created an Academy for Arts Technology and the Business of Innovation at USC, and while the music and tech mogul says the program has already become ultra-competitive to get into, it might not be enough to change young people’s minds from wanting to become the next Larry Page instead of the next Jimmy Page.

Dr. Dre’s long-awaited third album, Compton, was streamed a massive 25 million times on Apple Music, and had half a million iTunes downloads in its first week, according to new figures released by Apple.

Apple has launched its “Back to School” promotion for 2015, and this year’s is… kinda “meh” to be honest.

Instead of the gift cards Apple offered in 2014 and 2013, this year students who buy a new Mac will be eligible to receive a pair of Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones or Beats Solo2 Wireless On-Ear Headphones for their trouble.

A teardown of a set of Beats headphones, which sell for hundreds of dollars at retail, revealed that the hardware contains less than $18 in components. And that sounds like the ‘phones are an insane ripoff, but that’s not even the most interesting thing we learned from the examination.

We’re used to hearing about how our expensive gadgets “only cost” whatever amount, but of course you’re not just paying for the parts when you pick something up. That price includes labor and manufacturing, as well as the research that went into designing it and future iterations, post-purchase support, and a bunch of other invisible costs like the non-specific luxury and status values of the product.

Cheap materials aside, Beats contain a bunch of very cool design decisions that also help keep the real costs down for their makers.

Apple is accused of corporate bullying after reportedly booting rival headphone maker Monster from its “Made for iPhone” accessory program.

Monster claims the move is in retaliation for an ongoing lawsuit against Beats, which is now owned by Apple. Monster was the original contract manufacturer of Beats-branded headphones. The move could seriously impact Monster’s headphone business.

Considering the headphone market is a $2 billion industry in the United States, there’s plenty of money to be lost without Apple’s support.

With the Worldwide Developers Conference less than a week away, we’ve already got a pretty good idea about what Apple will reveal at this year’s conference.

The company focuses on developer-related products at the conference, but there are plenty of goodies that normals will go crazy for too, like the bevy of improvements coming to iOS 9, a new Apple TV and maybe even a new music streaming service.

Here’s what to expect from WWDC 2015, which runs June 8 to 12 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. (Cult of Mac will be liveblogging the Apple keynote, which starts at 10 a.m. Pacific next Monday, so be sure to check back then for news and instant analysis.)

Apple is expected to announce its long-awaited music streaming service during the WWDC keynote later today, and despite tough competition from the likes of Spotify, the company has incredibly ambitious plans to sign up 100 million subscribers.

Apple is planning to use WWDC to spotlight the new streaming music service its been working on for year. It could be Apple’s biggest play in the music industry since the launch of iTunes, but according to a new report, Apple is still struggling to ink its deal with record labels.

Beats Pill XL owners should return their speakers for a refund because the batteries could overheat and pose a fire safety risk. Apple recalled the product Wednesday, saying people who return the potentially dangerous Bluetooth speakers will receive a full refund of $325 as an Apple Store gift card or electronic payment.