music - page 12

Apple sends it off the high-dive in new iPhone 7 ad

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Taking your iPhone to the pool is no longer a risk.
Taking your iPhone to the pool is no longer a risk.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new ad for the iPhone 7 will have you missing the warmth of summer.

The funny new ad shows off the iPhone 7’s new stereo speakers and waterproofing in a scene that follows an old man at the pool. Titled “Dive.” the ad leads up to a dramatic conclusion when the old man reaches the high dive while blasting tunes.

Check out the new iPhone 7 ad, which debuted on Apple’s YouTube channel today:

Everything you can do with MacBook Pro’s new Touch Bar

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macbook pro touch bar
Want to try the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar without dropping a few grand?
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new Touch Bar looks like the most exciting new feature we’ve seen on the MacBook Pro in years.

Instead of fumbling to remember shortcuts, Touch Bar puts a handful of commands at your fingertips and dynamically adjusts to whatever app you’re in.

That sounds pretty magical, but what will that actually be good for? Developers will need to add support for their apps, so it might take a few months before Touch Bar really takes off. But if you’re doubting the usefulness of having a touch screen bar at the top of your keyboard, here are the cool things you can do on the Touch Bar.

AirPods won’t be ready for October launch

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AirPods-case
You'll have to wait a little longer to get AirPods.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s wireless future has been delayed.

The iPhone-maker revealed today that it is still not ready to start shipping AirPods, even though customers were told they would launch by the end of October.

HTC plans to copy iPhone 7’s most hated feature

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The HTC Bolt in silver.
The HTC Bolt in silver.
Photo: Evleaks

Apple isn’t the only smartphone maker that wants to kill headphone jacks.

Removing the 3.5mm audio port from the iPhone 7 was the most controversial design decision Apple has made in years. Now some leaked photos have revealed that HTC plans to copy the move on its next flagship device.

Apple gives early glimpse of redesigned Regent Street store

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Apple is the U.K.'s top tech employer.
Apple is the U.K.'s top tech employer.
Photo: Apple

An early preview of Apple’s redesigned London store reveals lots of new plants, simplified shelves and tables, as well as untethered iPhones and iPads that visitors can pick up and carry around the store.

Apple’s flagship Regent Street store, closed since June for the major remodel, is set to reopen Saturday. Early photos and a video tour show off the retail outlet’s uncluttered new look.

Amazon’s new music streaming service costs as little as $3.99 per month

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Screen Shot 2016-10-12 at 14.14.31
Guess who's got a brand new music service!
Photo: Amazon

Apple Music has a new competitor in the form of Amazon, which today launched music streaming service Amazon Music Unlimited.

The premium service carries the same $9.99 monthly fee as Apple Music for regular users, although Prime customers get a reduced $7.99 monthly charge — while owners of the Amazon Echo can use an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription through the standalone device for a mere $3.99 per month.

Jimmy Iovine gives a glimpse of Apple Music’s future

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Iovine
Apple Music wants to have a strong voice in the music world.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music remains a long way from being a finished product, according to Apple executive and Beats Electronics co-founder Jimmy Iovine.

In a new interview discussing the struggles of building a product that fuses the worlds of tech and music, Iovine revealed that the company wants to build a product that is more than just a utility for accessing your music or getting a weekly playlist.

Beats by Dre’s marketing guru bails on Apple

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Be cool. Stay in school.
Beats CMO is leaving the company.
Photo: Beats by Dre.

Omar Johnson, the Beats by Dre chief marketing officer that helped transform the headphone company from a gimmick to one of the most iconic brands in pop culture, is leaving the company next month.

During his time at Beats, Johnson and his marketing team created unique ads by collaborating with the world’s top athletes in every major sport to tell their real stories. Johnson didn’t give a reason for his departure, but Apple has confirmed he’s stepping down on November 1st.

Apple Music tops first JD Power music streaming rankings

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apple music app
Exclusives are keeping Apple Music subscribers loyal.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first ever J.D. Power music streaming satisfaction survey found that Apple Music is the most liked streaming service in the U.S.

Spotify didn’t even manage to crack the top 3 in the survey that polled over 4,000 subscribers to music streaming services to gauge how well each company performs when it comes to performance and reliability, ease of use, cost, content, communication and customer service.

Apple Music drives first serious music industry growth since 1999

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Apple Music
Apple Music is doing good in the eyes of record labels.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Music is having a big impact on the profitability of the music industry, according to a new report from the Recording Industry Association of America.

How big? Apple Music is one of the key players driving what looks to be the recording industry’s first back-to-back yearly growth since 1998-1999.

watchOS 3 is ready for your wrist

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With watchOS 3, Apple is promising pretty new features -- and an end to that depressing lag.
Apple Watch feels all-new thanks to watchOS 3.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch owners just got a big update today in the form of watchOS 3 that completely changes the way you use Apple’s wearable.

The huge new update comes after months of beta testing by developers and public testers, adding new features like a Breathe app, the ability to unlock your Mac, a new Dock for apps, faster performance and more.

iOS 10 is now available for everyone

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photos in ios 10
Photos gets a major upgrade with iOS 10.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The long wait for iOS 10 is finally over.

Apple’s big update for iPhones and iPads is now available to the pubic after months of beta testing, bringing a host of new features that include a huge revamp of Messages, an Apple Music redesign, third-party app support with Siri and so much more.

Griffin’s new adapter fixes iPhone 7’s most hated feature

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Griffin iTrip Clip adapter
Get ready to see more adapters like this.
Photo: Griffin

Apple is set to kill the century old headphone jack when it unveils the iPhone 7 during an event on September 7th, which is bad news for your favorite pair of wired headphones, but great news for accessory makers like Griffin.

The popular iPhone accessory maker is already prepared to cure your headphone jack woes this fall with the introduction of its newest adapter that gives your old headphones new Bluetooth 4.1 powers.

Sore Spotify says music exclusives are bad for everyone

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Spotify
Spotify wants Apple to quit with the exclusives.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

As Apple secures exclusive after exclusive with the hottest names in music, Spotify is beginning to feel the heat. According to Troy Carter, global head of creator services at Spotify, these deals are “bad for artists, bad for consumers, and bad for the whole industry.”

Apple Music is ruining Spotify’s negotiations with record labels

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Spotify
You won't have to listen to music you don't like.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Negotiations between music streaming service Spotify and all three major record labels have hit a snag lately and Apple Music is a big reason why.

Spotify’s licensing agreements with Sony, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group have reportedly been on a rolling month-by-month basis for much of 2016, yet the companies haven’t been able to hammer out long-term deals yet because Spotify isn’t willing to share as much revenue as Apple Music.

Apple is hiring a team of lyrics curators for Apple Music

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apple music app
iOS 10 brings lyrics to Apple Music.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new lyrics feature in Apple Music might not be powered by a third-party company, according to a new job posting found on Apple’s website.

It appears that Apple instead plans to do most of the work compiling lyrics all on its own by hiring “a team of lyrics curators with excellent writing skills, music knowledge, and attention to detail.”

Music Man Valentine is the only electric guitar you’ll need [Reviews]

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guitar in case
The Valentine is so versatile and addictive you'll want to take it everywhere.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

When this Valentine guitar arrived, I took a look at it, puffed out a quiet “Hmmph,” and carried on working. Even though I’d seen photos, I was still underwhelmed by the instrument’s appearance: pale, natural wood; a tortoise shell pickguard; and the kind of doughy, conservative shape that could make even an audience of meth-fueled Juggalos fall asleep.

Then I picked it up, and fell in love.

Alleged iPhone 7 headphone adapter spotted in the wild

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iPhone-Lightning
New regulations could force Apple to ditch Lightning cables in Europe.
Photo: Tinhte

Photos of an alleged iPhone 7 adapter that will allow owners to connect regular 3.5mm headphones to a Lightning port have surfaced out of Asia today.

The new dongle has been rumored for months and will supposedly be included in the new iPhone so that customers aren’t forced to buy new headphones. Images of the adapter look very similar to the style of Apple’s other adapters, and in a video it appears to only work on iOS 10 devices.

Have a look:

Apple Music finally gets audio fingerprints from iTunes Match

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apple music app
This fix might stop Apple Music from garbling your library.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Music’s matching software has a terrible history of replacing artists’ live songs with a studio version, but that will finally be a thing of the past, thanks the addition of audio fingerprints from iTunes Match.

A quiet rollout of the iTunes Match audio fingerprint to all Apple Music subscriber is currently underway, fixing the less accurate metadata version of iTunes Match that was currently used on Apple Music.

Why Apple should buy Tidal (and why it shouldn’t) [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Tidal could be Apple Music's biggest rival later.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

When you have the kind of cash Apple has, the easiest way to take down the competition is to just buy it. That’s exactly what the Cupertino company is planning to do with Apple Music rival Tidal, according to a recent report.

FNF-bugBut would a Tidal takeover be a good move? Would Apple be using its money solely to wipe out a rival, or will Tidal’s talent and connections to the music industry be great for Apple Music?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over the latest Apple acquisition rumor!

Spotify accuses Apple of blocking app update

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Rap Genius is partnering with Spotify.
Apple is making it harder for Spotify to compete on iOS.
Photo: Spotify

Apple is allegedly stopping Spotify from competing with Apple Music by blocking the streaming service’s latest iOS app update from the App Store.

Spotify sent Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell a letter this week claiming that Cupertino is inflicting great harm on its streaming music competitor (and Spotify’s customers) by not allowing Spotify to use its own billing system for subscriptions.