Kanye West is reportedly distancing himself from Jay Z’s Tidal music service and set to launch his next album — his seventh solo studio album — on Apple’s refreshed Beats Music service, rumored to arrive at this year’s WWDC in June.
Called SWISH, Kanye’s album currently has no official release date, although Wikipedia (for what it’s worth) claims it will drop on June 1. WWDC kicks off one week later on June 8 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
Apple is expected to unveil its huge overhaul of Beats Music in just a few weeks at WWDC but Spotify is firing shots first in the battle for music streaming dominance with a huge update for its iPhone app.
Spotify took the wraps off its new music experience at a keynote this morning, revealing a new Now start page for music discovery to go along with additions such as podcasts, video clips, original content, and an awesome new feature for joggers that matches songs to your running tempo.
Here’s a rundown of the new features:
Rumors surrounding Apple’s plans for TV have been picking up considerably as its Worldwide Developers Conference draws near in June.
But the idea of a standalone Apple TV set (not the little hockey puck that exists already) eventually becoming a reality is starting to look pretty bleak. Not everyone has given up hope, though. As the biggest proponent of the Apple HDTV rumor throws in the towel, one of the world’s most powerful investors remains convinced that it will happen.
There have been plenty of rumors about the refreshed Apple TV set to arrive at WWDC, but two of the biggest concern the fact that it will feature a revolutionary gesture-based user interface and a new focus on gaming.
Possibly tying into that is a newly-published patent from Apple, which describes a pattern projector which would use laser beams to map the 3D space between the device and a user — thereby allowing a person to carry out motions as a way of interacting with specific apps.
And, yes, that includes games.
As it turns out, not only is Apple not pursuing an entry into the UltraHD TV market, but it stopped development on the project last year.
That’s not to say that it won’t ever grace your living room (even more than it already is), but maybe don’t chuck out your old TV just yet.
Ever since the release of the iPhone 4s Apple has launched its annual smartphone updates in September, but according to supply chain sources, the production of iPhone 6s components is going so well, Apple might be able to launch the device sooner than expected.
In an open letter to Tim Cook, billionaire investor Carl Icahn says Apple’s stock is still incredibly undervalued, and that now is the time for a much larger stock buyback.
Icahn’s firm believes that Apple shares are really worth $240 today, despite trading around $130.26 this morning, an increase over his previous estimate of $216. According to his letter, Icahn believes Apple is poised to dominate two new markets – television and the automobile.
It’s been nearly a year since Apple unveiled the HomeKit platform, and we’re still waiting on an official launch. A report earlier today claimed that Apple is delaying the launch of its home-automation platform until August or September, but an Apple spokesperson has refuted the report, saying everything is ontrack for the June launch.
Apple announced its HomeKit platform at last year’s WWDC, but fans hoping to get a closer glimpse of Apple’s home automation platform will have to keep on waiting, as a new report claims Apple is delaying the launch of HomeKit until August or September.
The days of free music streaming could be over if Apple gets its way, and its ready to make the transition smoother with Soundcloud-like free samples to go with its new streaming service.
Negotiations between Apple and music labels are still on-going for the new service that could launch as soon as WWDC, but according to a new report, Apple plans to offer listeners several ways to still play some music without paying for it.