iTunes - page 10

How to downgrade iOS 10 to iOS 9.3.2

By

iOS 10

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

As soon as it was released, I rushed to install the new iOS 10 beta on my iPhone. The only problem is, new betas can be buggy. Really buggy.

If you made the same mistake and want to return to the stable and reliable iOS 9.3.2, there is a solution. In this week’s Quick Tips, I’m going to show you how to downgrade from iOS 10 to iOS 9.3.2. Check out the 60-second video below!

Trent Reznor shreds YouTube and Spotify for ripping off artists

By

iOS 10 gives Apple Music a makeover.
iOS 10 gives Apple Music a makeover.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music will receive a much-needed makeover as one of the big new features in iOS 10, but according to Apple’s music guru Jimmy Iovine, it’s going to take some time before the streaming service reaches its full potential.

The Beats co-founder sat down for a post-WWDC interview with Apple execs Eddy Cue and Robert Kondrk to talk about the progress of Apple Music. Nine Inch Nails frontman and Apple employee, Trent Reznor, was also in the interview and took some shots at rivals, saying any free-tiered service is not fair to artists.

Everything to expect from Apple’s jam-packed WWDC 2016 keynote

By

WWDC's opening keynote will be at San Francisco's cavernous Bill Graham Auditorium.
WWDC's opening keynote will be at San Francisco's cavernous Bill Graham Auditorium.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s keynote to kick off this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference is going to be huge. So huge, in fact, that Apple already revealed some stuff early because Tim Cook and his Cupertino cronies won’t have time to cover everything during the jam-packed, two-hour event.

While WWDC might seem like a bit of a snoozefest for Apple fans who don’t know anything about Xcode and Swift, the 2016 edition of the annual developer conference should bring lots of new stuff even normals can get hyped about. The WWDC keynote will give us a peek inside the ever-evolving Apple ecosystem — and thus our clearest picture of the future of all Apple products.

This year, all of Apple’s platforms are set to get major updates, as are some of the company’s most popular services, like Siri and Apple Music. Here’s what to watch for during Apple’s keynote, which will kick off WWDC 2016 next Monday morning in San Francisco.

Apple rumored to be phasing out iTunes music downloads

By

Apple Music is awesome -- but can it replace the iTunes Store?
Apple Music could be the death knell for iTunes music downloads.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

With a major Apple Music refresh likely to be arriving at WWDC, there’s no doubting that Apple sees subscription-based streaming music as the way of the future. But where does this leave iTunes music downloads?

Despite Apple’s denials, according to “sources with close knowledge of the company’s plans,” the company continues to plan to “phase out” music downloads in a “just a few years” — depending on how this whole streaming music thing does, of course!

DJ Khaled is the major key to Apple Music’s new ads

By

Ray Liotta and DJ Khaled getting their nails did.
Ray Liotta and DJ Khaled getting their nails did.
Photo: Apple

Snapchat philosopher and hip-hop producer DJ Khaled is the latest celebrity to endorse Apple Music in a new series of ads that show Khaled living the life while introducing Naomi Campbell and Ray Liotta to Apple Music.

Along with dropping some major keys in the new ad, Khaled also dropped a fresh new song featuring Drake called “For Free” that’s available for free on Apple Music. The song is so hot it’s already the top song on iTunes.

Check out the funny new ads below:

Apple scores win in long $533 million patent battle

By

Apple
Apple's legal problems just got a bit better.
Photo: Milo Kahney

Apple took a major step this week toward getting out of its $533 million payment to the patent troll Smartflash LLC after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that two of three patents owned by Smartflash are invalid.

The patent agency ruled that the two of the patents shouldn’t have even been issues in the first place because they are abstract concepts and not specific inventions. The USPTO made a similar ruling against one of Smartflash’s patents in March, which could help Apple get the case dismissed.

How silly songs about the iPhone sparked a music career

By

When the Moog strikes, Parry Gripp writes funny songs about anything.
When the Moog strikes, Parry Gripp writes funny songs about anything.
Photo: Dana E. Ross

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugParry Gripp was the lead vocalist of a promising pop punk band that had a record deal and stardom just around the corner.

Success never came and just as Parry Gripp was set to give up, a new career in music rose from the ashes — by accident — thanks to the iPhone and Apple.

The technology company was not only fodder for Gripp’s brand of absurd novelty music he was creating but, through iTunes, Apple provided a way for him to publish his music and start to make a living.

Apple reveals why its Irish data center is so important

By

Ireland
A mock up of Apple's proposed data center in Ireland.
Photo: Apple

Concerns about the effect Apple’s massive Irish data center will have on badger and bat populations may have momentarily suspended the company’s plans, but Apple representatives have assured locals the $950 million project will be largely invisible.

Robert Sharpe, Apple’s senior director of global data center services appeared at a hearing in Galway County this week to address concerns about the 500 acre data center and revealed why it’s so important to Apple’s expansion plans in Europe.

Grandfather scammed out of $50,000 in iTunes scam

By

money
Police say they want to stop others being scammed in the same way.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

An almost 90-year-old grandfather was recently scammed out of $50,000 in iTunes vouchers, police detectives have revealed.

Calling the scam artists “the lowest of the low,” Detective Mike Oakley says that the victim received a call on May 3 from a person pretending to be his grandson and saying they had been involved in a serious car accident during a vacation in Florida.

Asked for iTunes gift cards to pay IRS bill? Yep, that’s a scam

By

iTunes
Crazily enough, you can't pay your taxes in iTunes gift cards.
Photo: Apple

Florida police in Port St. Lucie are warning people of a new scam that asks for iTunes vouchers as payment for money apparently owed to the Internal Revenue Service.

While such a thing sounds like something no-one would fall for, it has already apparently duped one unfortunate man into buying an iTunes card worth $2,300 at his local Target store.

Should Apple kill off iTunes music downloads? [Friday Night Fights]

By

fnf
Are you ready for a world without music downloads?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iTunes music downloads still rake in millions of dollars every quarter for Apple, but they’re falling fast.

FNF-bugAccording to sources who claim to be actively working with the company, it is already mulling the idea of chopping music sales completely in as little as two years, and instead placing an even greater focus on Apple Music.

Is it a good idea for Apple to boot such a popular service in the same way it massacred floppy discs and FireWire, forcing users to stream all their music? Or should it keep iTunes alive until downloads die out naturally?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over the future of the world’s most popular music store.

Apple might pull the plug on iTunes music downloads

By

Apple might start signing artists to contracts, in order to compete with the likes of Spotify. Photo: iTunes/Apple
Are iTunes Store's days numbered?
Photo: Apple

Update: Apple is denying a report that it plans to stop selling downloads within the next few years. “Not true,” Apple rep Tom Neumayr told Re/code Wednesday afternoon without elaborating.

Apple is planning to give iTunes music downloads the boot in as little as two years, according to sources currently working with the company.

With sales already falling, Apple will instead focus its efforts on persuading fans to stream tracks and albums through Apple Music.

Does Apple Music really need a major revamp? [Friday Night Fights]

By

fnf2_720
Is it really so bad?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

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.

FNF-bugBut 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!

App Store search is completely busted

By

iPhone SE next gen
The App Store is broken.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

It’s not just you. Finding major apps in the App Store has become practically impossible this morning for iPhone and iPad users, according to numerous reports on Twitter.

Apple has acknowledged that there is currently an problem with the App Store for all users. The glitch replaces search results for apps like Twitter, Instagram and Spotify with third-party apps from the same category.

How to turn text into a spoken iTunes track

By

Text to Audio
Save text as an audio file with this handy tip!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

I find myself using the text to speech function on Mac OS X far too much. Having my Mac read articles and emails out loud to me allows me to multitask and do other things — like edit awesome videos for Cult of Mac — without ignoring important messages.

But did you know you can even save those text to speech recording for listening at a later time?

In this week’s Quick Tips video, I’m going to show you how to turn text into a spoken track and save it into iTunes, allowing you to find save your favourite articles and listen to on your iPhone.

Drake airs his Views on Apple Music and iTunes

By

Drake talks Apple Music at WWDC.
Drake rocking a vintage Apple jacket at WWDC.
Photo: Apple

Whether it’s hosting a show on Beats 1, sporting a vintage Apple jacket, or having his music tirelessly promoted in Apple Music ads, Drake’s about as established a part of Cupertino these days as Eddy Cue’s collection of Hawaiian shirts.

No surprise then that everyone’s favorite Canadian Degrassi actor-turned-bad-boy-rapper just chose iTunes and Apple Music as the place to debut his new, fourth studio album Views.

Apple could get shut out of China

By

China iPhone sales
Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Apple Store employees in China.
Photo: Apple

The closing of the iBook Store and iTunes movies in China might be the country’s first steps toward shutting Apple out, according to a leading expert on global political risks for corporations. 

China has already become the second largest market for Apple in terms of sales, but the iPhone-maker could find itself banned from the country just like Facebook due to its privacy strategy that has already come under fire from government regulators.

Beyoncé’s sixth album, Lemonade, squeezes onto iTunes

By

Lemonade
Queen B is back!
Photo: Parkwood Entertainment

Released on Friday as a short-lived Tidal exclusive, Beyoncé’s latest album, entitled Lemonade, is now available to download via iTunes — comprising 12 music tracks, a one-hour film produced for HBO, and a “digital booklet.”

The $17.99 Lemonade has so far received strong critical reviews, although we’ll have to wait and see whether it can come close to achieving her last album’s record-breaking sales feat, which became the fastest-selling album in iTunes history.

Prince reigns on iTunes just hours after his passing

By

Prince
There's a lot of singing along with Prince going on today.
Photo: Jimi Hughes/Wikipedia CC

Just hours after the great musician’s passing, Prince reigns supreme on the top albums, songs and music videos on iTunes.

You may not be able to stream his incredible volume of hits on Apple Music or Spotify, but it seems as if his fans don’t care, with iTunes purchases rocking Prince’s tunes to the top of the charts.