RTL Group, the largest broadcasting and production company in Europe, has confirmed a potential content partnership with Apple.
"Discussions with new OTT platforms such as Apple are also being held," said RTL Group CEO Bert Habets, speaking on the company's earnings call today, according to Deadline. OTT is short for over-the-top media services and presumably refers to Apple's widely expected streaming video service.
RTL Group owns Fremantle, which co-produces reality series and game shows such as American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Price is Right, and Family Feud in the United States. It is unclear if any of these series would be distributed on Apple's video service or if a partnership would focus solely on original content.
Apple is expected to unveil its video platform at its March 25 event at Steve Jobs Theater. The company already has dozens of original TV shows and movies lined up for the service, including an unnamed morning show drama starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell.
Multiple reports indicate that Apple plans to launch the video service by April or May, with a rollout to more than 100 countries expected by the end of the year. A subscription format is expected, but pricing remains a question mark.
Flexible PCB firms Flexium Interconnect and Zhen Ding Technology are gearing up for mass production for Apple's next-generation iPad devices, while Compeq Manufacturing and Unitech PCB supply rigid-flex boards for the forthcoming AirPods, according to industry sources.
The report says that both updates are expected to come at Apple's March 25 event, although reliable sources have indicated the event will focus on Apple's upcoming news and video services with no hardware announcements planned.
Minor hardware updates could come silently alongside the event or via press release around the same time, as DigiTimes's insights via the supply chain are likely limited to production timing rather than event specifics.
Hints of an updated low-cost iPad have been growing, with new iPad models appearing in a regulatory database back in January. Rumors have suggested the entry-level iPad could see its display grow from 9.7 inches to around 10.2 inches thanks to slimmer bezels, but we're not expecting to see Face ID and removal of the home button with this update.
As for AirPods, we've been hearing about an imminent update for many months now, with Apple's plans seemingly delayed as the company continues work on its AirPower charging mat. Updated AirPods would include a wireless charging case to work with the AirPower mat, as well as other upgrades including "Hey Siri" support and possibly new health monitoring features, a "grippy" texture, and maybe even a new black color option.
LG recently introduced a 17-inch ultralight laptop, which we thought would be interesting to take a look at in light of rumors suggesting Apple may be planning to introduce a 16 to 16.5-inch MacBook Pro in the future.
We compared the LG Gram to a 15-inch MacBook Pro, but we also thought it might be fun to take a look at Apple's old 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro at the same time, as it was the last larger-display notebook Apple released.
Priced at $1,700, the 17-inch LG Gram features a 2560 x 1600 display with a slim and light enclosure. It has a full keyboard and a decent-sized trackpad, with speakers built into the bottom of the device.
The bezels at the top and the sides are super slim, and bezel size reduction is one of the ways Apple could expand the size of its current MacBook Pro lineup without making the enclosure larger.
The 17-inch LG Gram weighs just under three pounds, making it a pound lighter than the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The LG Gram is an impressive demonstration of how far technology has come over the course of the last eight years, as compared to Apple's 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro, it's so much lighter, thinner, and sleeker.
Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro weighs a whopping 6.6 pounds, but back in the day, components were larger and Apple also packed an entire SuperDrive for CDs and DVDs inside. The elimination of large components like this is a major reason why notebook computers today are so much thinner than they were in the early 2010s. The larger size of components in 2011 is also the reason why Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro has so much more open space than the LG Gram around the trackpad.
The LG Gram offers three USB-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a micro SD card slot, an HDMI port, and a USB-C port, which is a better variety of ports than we're likely to get in a future MacBook Pro, even if it is larger. Apple has transitioned to all USB-C ports on its notebooks, which we don't expect will change.
Apple's MacBook Pro used a 1920 x 1200 panel, so while it's not quite as nice as the 2560 x 1600 display in the LG Gram, it's not too bad. The current 15-inch MacBook Pro uses a 2880 x 1800 display, and we expect Apple will use a similar pixel density expanded to the new 16 to 16.5-inch size.
We loved the larger size of the 17-inch LG Gram, and we're hoping those rumors of a 16 to 16.5-inch MacBook Pro are accurate. Apple probably isn't going to significantly increase the size of the MacBook Pro, but may instead cut down on bezel size to provide more available display area in a slim package. We wouldn't mind having a super large display in a bigger body, though.
What do you think of the 17-inch LG Gram? Are you hoping Apple releases a similar machine that's closer in size to its original 17-inch MacBook Pro? Let us know in the comments.
Apple Music is Apple's streaming music service, comparable to similar streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited, Google Play Music, Tidal, and others, though it has a leg up over many of its competitors with high-quality lossless audio and Spatial Audio support.
Apple Music boasts access to more than 75 million songs. Content can be streamed or downloaded for offline play, and there are also song and genre-based radio stations available along with the curated Beats 1 radio station.
Apple Music integrates with your existing iCloud Music Library, so you can combine Apple Music songs with songs that you have previously purchased on iTunes all in one unified location.
Apple Music's Standout Features
Apple Music supports Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio, two features that are being provided to Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost. Both of these features significantly improve the Apple Music listening experience by offering higher-quality music and a surround sound-like experience.
Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos provides an immersive, multi-dimensional audio experience that allows artists to mix music in a way that makes it sound like the notes are coming from all around you. Apple Music automatically plays Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as do the built-in speakers of the newest iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Support for Spatial Audio is also available in the Apple Music app for Android.
Apple adds new Dolby Atmos tracks on a regular basis and provides a curated selection of Dolby Atmos playlists. At launch, there were thousands of Spatial Audio songs available across a wide range of genres. Apple is working with Dolby to make it easy for musicians, producers, and mix engineers to create songs in Dolby Atmos.
Apple in June 2021 upgraded its entire music catalog to Lossless Audio with the ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) that preserves the details in the original audio file. Apple Music subscribers will be able to hear songs exactly as the artists recorded them in the studio.
The standard Lossless tier starts at CD quality, which is 16-bit at 44.1 kHz, and it goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz. There's also a Hi-Res Lossless tier available at 24 bit 192 kHz, but Hi-Res Lossless requires an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
All of the streaming services have differences, and with Apple Music, Apple has focused on human curation. While there are some algorithmically created playlists, a lot of the content highlighted on Apple Music is done by Apple Music editors.
Apple offers regularly updated personalized playlists in a "For You" tab, including a favorites mix, a chill mix, a friends mix, and a new music mix, along with other playlist options that are updated on a daily basis.
Apple Music also often has exclusive album releases, documentaries, and music videos that aren't available on other platforms as a way to lure subscribers.
Beats 1, Apple Music's 24/7 live radio station, is also one of the service's unique features. It features songs curated by DJs along with a multitude of special shows, sometimes created by artists.
Live Radio Stations
Apple in iOS 13 added support for more than 100,000 live radio stations from around the world to Apple Music, so you can ask Siri to play your favorite local radio station.
What's Included in a Subscription
Unlimited access to Apple Music songs on demand
Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos at no extra cost
Lossless audio on supported devices at no extra cost
Personalized algorithmic playlists
Curated playlists
Mood-based playlists
User-created playlists
Beats 1 Radio
Access to other radio stations
Offline song playback
Existing music matched to iTunes catalog and added to iCloud Music Library
Music and playlist syncing across all Apple Music-compatible devices
Apple Music Availability
Apple Music is available in over 100 countries and regions, with a full list of countries available on Apple's website.
Classical Music
Apple in August 2021 acquired classical music service Primephonic, and Primephonic's offerings are being baked into the Apple Music app.
Apple is creating a dedicated Primephonic experience in Apple Music, which is aimed at classical music fans. The Apple Music app will offer playlists and audio content from Primephonic, along with improved browsing and search capabilities by composer and repertoire, better classical music metadata, and more.
In the future, Apple plans to create a dedicated classical music app that combines Primephonic's classical music user interface with added features.
Apple Music Voice Plan
Apple in December 2021 introduced the Apple Music Voice Plan, a $4.99 Apple Music option that allows for content to be accessed solely by Siri command on supported devices like HomePod, iPad, iPhone, and Mac.
The $4.99 per month Apple Music Voice Plan is entirely separate from the $9.99 per month full Apple Music subscription, which already includes all of the features of the Apple Music Voice Plan. If you already subscribe to Apple Music, you have full Siri access and won't also need the Apple Music Voice Plan.
Apple designed the Apple Music Voice Plan as a more limited version of the standard Apple Music subscription. It's primarily designed to allow you to ask for songs and albums from the Apple Music catalog by Siri request rather than through the Apple Music app interface.
So to find music, you'd just go ahead and ask Siri to play something instead of looking it up in the Apple Music app. You do need to have Siri enabled on your devices, and Apple Music Voice works well on all devices that support Siri. It's particularly useful with CarPlay in the car and on the HomePod where the natural inclination is to use voice control.
Apple Music Voice Plan has a limited interface in the Apple Music app, but it does offer full access to Apple's song catalog and radio stations, as well as playlist suggestions. You can actually search for artists, albums, and songs using the Apple Music app, and you can listen to previews of songs, but not the full song. If you find a song in Apple Music that you want to play after hearing the preview from tapping it, you'll need to ask Siri to play the full version.
With the Apple Music Voice Plan, there is no option to add songs or albums to the Library, nor can you create playlists or save music for offline listening. Apple Music Voice does not support viewing lyrics, watching music videos, seeing what friends or listening to, nor does it off Spatial Audio or Lossless Audio.If you want those features, you need to upgrade to the full Apple Music subscription.
Device Compatibility
Apple Music works on all of Apple's devices, including iPhone (CarPlay included), iPad, Apple Watch (with no iPhone on LTE models), Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, and HomePod mini.
It's also available on non-Apple devices, so you don't need to be an Apple user to get it. It works on on PCs with the PC version of iTunes, on Android devices with the Android Apple Music app, on Sonos devices, and on Amazon-branded Echo devices.
Cost
Unlike Spotify, Apple Music does not offer a free ad-supported music tier. A paid subscription is required for all Apple Music content.
A standard Apple Music subscription costs $9.99 per month in the United States. With UNiDAYS verification, college students can sign up for a discounted Apple Music subscription that costs $4.99 per month. The Apple Music Voice Plan is $4.99 per month.
A family plan is available for $14.99 per month, and it allows up to six people to listen to Apple Music. A family subscription requires Family Sharing to be set up, which requires all people in the family to use the same credit card for iTunes billing purposes.
Apple Music can also be combined with other Apple services as part of an Apple One bundle to save money compared over subscribing to the services individually.
Pricing for Apple Music does vary by country, but is generally similar to the U.S. pricing.
In the United States, Verizon subscribers with Beyond Unlimited or Above Unlimited data plans can access Apple Music for free.
Free Trial
Apple offers free three-month free trials for Apple Music, and in some cases, has been known to offer additional trial months to encourage listeners to sign up for a paid subscription.
Trying to decide between Apple Music and another service? Make sure to check out our guides comparing Apple Music with other streaming music options that are out there.
In a nutshell, Apple Music is the ideal choice if you're in the Apple ecosystem, have a HomePod, prefer human-based curation, and already have an existing iTunes music collection.
Music Quality
Apple Music uses 256kb/s AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) files for standard playback, but Apple Music also has a lossless tier.
Apple Music lossless in the ALAC format starts at CD quality, which is 16-bit at 44.1 kHz (kilohertz) and goes up to 24-bit at 48 kHz for native playback on supported Apple devices. Apple Music is also available in a Hi-Resolution lossless tier that goes to 24-bit at 192kHz, but a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is required.
Music quality can be adjusted in the Apple Music app by going to Settings > Music > Audio Quality, and music types can be picked for different connections and playback methods, including cellular, WiFi, and download.
DRM
You can download songs from Apple Music for offline playback, but the content that you download is protected by DRM (digital rights management), much like other streaming music services.
If you cancel your Apple Music subscription, the Apple Music songs that you've downloaded will no longer work. Apple Music songs also can't be transferred to other devices, downloaded, burned to CD, or used off-device in any way.
Note that with iCloud Music Library enabled, all of your Apple Music content will be available on all of your Apple Music-compatible devices.
Guide Feedback
Have an Apple Music question or tip that you don't see available in our guide? Email us at tips@macrumors.com.
Apple last year acquired Laserlike, a machine learning startup located in Silicon Valley, reports The Information. Apple's purchase of the four-year-old company was confirmed by an Apple spokesperson with a standard acquisition statement: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
Laserlike's website says that its core mission is to deliver "high quality information and diverse perspectives on any topic from the entire web to you."
The company built a search app that used discovery and personalization machine learning techniques to build a Laserlike app described as an "interest search engine" that provided news, web, video, and local content relevant to each user. The Laserlike app is no longer available following the acquisition, but the company's website continues to cover what it was focused on:
We live in a world of information abundance, where the main problem is sifting through the noise and discovering the stuff you actually care about. For instance, if you care about knowing when the next SpaceX livestream launch is because you like to watch it with your kids, or if the car you bought two years ago has had a recall, or if a company you're interested in announces it's opening a new office where you live, or if there's a music festival coming to your town, you don't know when to look for these things, and there's no product that informs you automatically.
This is one of the things we want to fix on the Internet. Laserlike's core mission is to deliver high quality information and diverse perspectives on any topic from the entire web. We are passionate about helping people follow their interests and engage with new perspectives.
The Information suggests that Apple will use the Laserlike acquisition to strengthen its artificial intelligence efforts, including Siri. The Laserlike team has joined the Apple AI group led by new Apple AI chief John Giannandrea, who came to Apple from Google last year.
Giannandrea has been tasked with improving Apple's machine learning initiatives and bolstering Siri, the company's voice assistant. Laserlike's technology could potentially allow Siri to learn more about Apple users to provide more tailored, personalized content.
Eve Systems, formerly known as Elgato, has been making its Eve line of HomeKit products since HomeKit was first announced, and it was in fact one of the first companies to come out with HomeKit devices.
Eve recently expanded into lighting, launching the Eve Flare and the Eve Light Strip. I tested the Eve Light Strip earlier this year, and now that its sister product the Eve Flare has come to the United States, I thought I'd take a look at it to see how it measures up to other available HomeKit lighting options.
Design
The Eve Flare is a sphere-shaped LED lamp that reminds me a lot of the white FADO lamps from Ikea. I've used Ikea's lamps for years with my Hue bulbs, so I expected the Eve Flare's sphere-shaped form factor to look great with colored and white light alike and I was not disappointed.
Ikea's FADO lamps are made of glass with a plastic base, but the Eve Flare assembly is all plastic because it's meant to be portable. A plastic design makes it lighter weight and safer to move around than glass. There is a seam that I can feel at the top of the Flare where the two halves come together, but it's not very visible when the light is in use.
There's one flat side on the base of the Eve Flare that allows it to sit flat on a table and charge on its included charging base. You can use the Eve Flare while it's on the base, but you can also pick it up and take it with you outside, in the bath, next to the pool, in the kitchen, or wherever else you might want portable mood lighting. It's kind of similar to the Hue Go in regard to portability, though the Flare is larger and not as bright.
The Eve Flare has impressive battery life. Eve says that it will last for up to six hours, but I assume that's at maximum brightness. I set the brightness to about 40 percent and the Eve Flare lasted well over 24 hours. I took it off the charger at 9:40 a.m. and when I got up the next morning, it was still on. It didn't die until the next day at 6pm. Battery level can be checked in the Eve app.
Eve designed the Eve Flare to be IP65 water resistant, which means it's able to hold up to multi-directional low-pressure water jets for at least 15 minutes. This basically means that it can be used in the rain, poolside, near the bathtub, and in other areas where it might get splashed or a bit wet, but you're not going to want to submerge it.
I don't necessarily recommend it, but I took the Eve Flare in the shower to test it a few times, and it had no problem with the moisture and splashes in there.
The Eve Flare is on the larger size, which make it a little inconvenient to carry, but at the base, there's a little metal handle you can use for both carrying and hanging the light up on a hook if you want. The handle isn't particularly comfortable to hold because it's metal, but it's sturdy when hung up on something like one of those 3M adhesive hooks.
There are two physical control buttons at the bottom of the Eve Flare. One for cycling through the colors you have set as favorites in the Eve app and a second for turning the power on and off. There are no options for setting up color palettes and automatically shifting between colors, unfortunately.
Setup and Reliability
While Eve's other lighting product, the Eve Light Strip, connects to HomeKit using WiFi, the Eve Flare uses a Bluetooth connection. Connecting it to HomeKit was a matter of opening up the Eve app, making sure the lamp was turned on using the power button at the bottom, and then scanning the code. The connection is quick with no WiFi steps since it's Bluetooth.
Amazon today expanded its Apple Music integration to the Amazon Fire TV, allowing Fire TV owners to ask Alexa to play songs from the Apple Music service.
According to CNBC, Apple Music on the Amazon Fire TV is available starting today.
The expansion comes three months after Apple allowed Apple Music to be streamed on Amazon Echo speakers using the Alexa voice assistant.
On the Fire TV, users can use commands like "Alexa, play music by Stevie Nicks," or "Alexa, play a Fleetwood Mac album" to play content directly from Apple Music.
It can be enabled by going to the Alexa app on an Android or iOS device and activating the Apple Music skill. Those who have already set up Apple Music with Alexa for Echo devices will not need to repeat the steps.
Right now, Apple Music is limited to the Fire TV and Amazon Echo speakers, though it may be expanded to third-party Alexa devices in the future.
Apple's effort to allow Apple Music to be streamed on third-party platforms is part of a deeper push to grow services revenue. Apple is also planning to expand iTunes to Samsung Smart TVs in the form of an iTunes app, and AirPlay 2 functionality is being built into recent smart TV sets from a number of manufacturers like Sony and LG.
Today only, B&H Photo is discounting Apple's 12-inch MacBook (1.3 GHz, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) to $999.00, down from its original price of $1,599.00 ($600 off). B&H Photo's sale is the lowest we've tracked for this version of the MacBook among the major Apple resellers. The same configuration is selling for $1,299 at Amazon and $1,599 at Apple.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Today's sale comes one week after B&H discounted the 256GB version of this MacBook, which also hit an all-time-low price.
The new sale is for the latest version of the 12-inch MacBook, which was last updated nearly two years ago in the summer of 2017. The MacBook features a 12-inch Retina display, USB-C, and a revamped trackpad. The June 2017 refresh introduced Intel's Kaby Lake processors, new GPUs, an updated keyboard, and much faster SSDs.
Rose Gold - $999.00, down from $1,599.00 ($600 off)
Head to our full Deals Roundup for more information on this week's best sales. Notable ongoing sales include Apple's Leather Folio cases at Amazon, Anker and Aukey's latest promo codes, and a free Philips Hue bridge offer when purchasing Hue Play or Hue Lightstrip Plus.
In the iOS 12.2 beta, Apple has improved the quality of the audio messages sent in the Messages app after switching to a new Opus codec at 24000 Hz, up from the previously used AMR codec at 8000 Hz.
Details on the improvement in audio quality were shared on Twitter this morning, and we confirmed the change on our own devices. Apple previously used the .AMR file format for its audio messages, but in the beta, has swapped over to .CAF.
New audio file in iOS 12.2, old audio file in iOS 12.1.4
On iOS devices running iOS 12.2 or macOS 10.14.4, .CAF files sound much crisper, clearer, and louder, marking a significant improvement over the previous audio quality.
Right now, to hear the improved audio quality, audio messages need to be sent from a device running iOS 12.2 to a device running iOS 12.2 (or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.14.4). An audio message sent to a device running iOS 12.1.4 uses the original .AMR file format and not the improved .CAF file format. The Twitter user who first shared the news has a comparison on Twitter:
The new 24000 Hz Opus codec appears to result in larger file sizes, but that shouldn't be much of an issue as Messages defaults to deleting audio content after just a few minutes.
All iOS users can expect to see significant improvements in audio message quality in the Messages app upon updating to iOS 12.2. We're expecting to see iOS 12.2 released shortly after Apple's March 25 event, as it will also allow Apple to enable the new Apple News subscription service that's set to be introduced.
Throwing a wrench into rumors, the previously accurate Twitter account CoinX today claimed that Apple plans to release not only a 10.2-inch seventh-generation iPad, but also an entirely new 10.5-inch iPad without Pro branding. The tablets will not be released simultaneously, according to the tweet.
Both iPad 7 (10.2”) and the “new” iPad (10.5”, non-Pro) are coming. But not at the same time.
— CoinX (@coiiiiiiiin) March 13, 2019
If accurate, Apple could perhaps be planning to release a slightly scaled back version of the existing 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which could allow it to fill a price point between the $329 lower-end iPad and the $799 and up 2018 iPad Pro models.
CoinX has an accurate track record, having previously tweeted the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR names of the 2018 iPhones before anyone else, in addition to the 2018 iPad Pro being 5.9mm thick and a few minor details about other Apple products. It is unclear where the information is sourced from.
The 10.2-inch iPad should end up being a larger-screen version of the existing 9.7-inch iPad, and it will likely be released within the next few weeks alongside minor refreshes to the iPad mini and iPod touch. It's unclear if any of the products will be unveiled at Apple's services-focused March 25 event.
The 10.5-inch non-pro iPad could be released later this year, perhaps alongside the next iPad Pro lineup.
Rumors suggest that a new iPad mini is on the horizon, and a supposed case for the tablet shared by Indian blog 91Mobiles today points towards few outward design changes beyond a center-positioned rear microphone. The blog attributes the photos to Slashleaks contributor Sudhanshu Ambhore.
Beyond the centered microphone, the case is consistent with the iPad mini 4 design, including two speakers and a Lightning connector along the bottom, a headphone jack and power button along the top, volume buttons along the right side, and what appears to be a circular, single-lens rear camera.
The case, if accurate, corroborates information shared by OnLeaks and Japanese blog Mac Otakara, both of which heard that the so-called iPad mini 5 will look virtually identical to the iPad mini 4. In other words, this could amount to a mere spec bump, including an upgraded processor per analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple is set to host a media event on March 25 at Steve Jobs Theater, but BuzzFeed News reported that a new iPad mini and next-generation AirPods are "unlikely to make an appearance" during the keynote. Instead, Apple is widely expected to introduce subscription-based video and news services.
If the new iPad mini is not unveiled during the event, it could be announced via press release, which would be fitting if it is merely a spec bump. Rumors also point towards minor refreshes to the 9.7-inch iPad and iPod touch.
The iPad mini 4 was released in September 2015 and remains available for purchase starting at $399 in the United States.
In the wake of reports that claimed DirecTV Now was planning to raise prices for its customers again, the streaming service today posted a new FAQ page confirming that all existing customers will see a $10/month price hike effective April 12, 2019 (via Variety). This means that if you are currently subscribed to DirecTV Now's Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, Gotta Have It, or Todo y Más packages, you will pay $10/month more than you are now.
At the same time, DirecTV Now has confirmed that it is raising the price of its premium channel add-ons, but only for legacy subscribers who are now adding these channels onto their plans. This means that HBO is increasing from a $5/month add-on to $15/month, Cinemax is increasing from $5/month to $11/month, and Starz is increasing from $8/month to $11/month. This change takes effect today, March 13.
If you subscribe to Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, Gotta Have It, or Todo y Más packages and had a premium channel add-on prior to these changes, you will keep your current lower price as long as the premium remains added on your account. So, these new premium channel prices are aimed at legacy DirecTV Now customers who subscribe to one of the five original packages, and decide to add HBO, Cinemax, or Starz onto their account as of today.
Cheap premium channel add-ons have been a major selling point for DirecTV Now, but now that the subscription tier line-up will be slimmed down and HBO will be added directly into the new DirecTV Now Plus and DirecTV Now Max plans, it appears that the company has decided to do away with this selling point. This is likely due to the new assets that AT&T gained from the Time Warner acquisition, including the HBO family of channels.
We broke down all of these changes below:
DirecTV Now Price Hike
(Affects all existing customers from April 12, 2019)
Live a Little: from $40/month to $50/month
Just Right: from $55/month to $65/month
Go Big: from $65/month to $75/month
Gotta Have It: from $75/month to $85/month
Todo y Más: from $45/month to $55/month
DirecTV Now Premium Channel Price Hike
(Affects existing customers who add a premium channel from March 13, 2019)
HBO add-on: from $5/month to $15/month
Cinemax add-on: from $5/month to $11/month
Starz add-on: from $8/month to $11/month
Customers who keep paying for the service on one of these packages will not see any changes to their channel lineups. For new customers, DirecTV Now will have two new plans: DirecTV Now Plus ($50/month, 40+ channels) and DirecTV Now Max ($70/month, 50+ channels). Both of these plans include HBO, as well as cable channels from WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox, but they exclude channels from A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Discovery, and Viacom.
As these new packages launch, new customers will no longer be able to sign up for Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, Gotta Have It, or Todo y Más packages, and will only see Plus and Max as options on DirecTV Now's sign up page. The company is already promoting Plus and Max on its website, and giving one month for free to new customers signing up with the promo code MARCH2019.
As a point of comparison, DirecTV Now's cheapest plans ($50/month for both Live a Little and Plus) do not compare very favorably to rival services. PlayStation Vue starts at $44.99/month, YouTube TV starts at $40/month, FuboTV starts at $39.99/month, Hulu With Live TV costs $44.99/month, and SlingTV's Orange & Blue plan is priced at $40/month (just $25/month right now). That's not to mention services which have launched to offer ultra-stripped down packages, like Philo's no-sports service that starts at $16/month.
Last summer's DirecTV Now price hike from $35/month to $40/month was in an effort to align the service with the rest of the market and "compare favorably with our competitors," according to the company. Now, DirecTV Now will have the most expensive entry-level price on the market among the main streaming TV services.
Apple this week announced an increased commitment to coding and education in Southeast Asia through the expansion of its App Development with Swift curriculum at partner schools in Singapore. The company also announced the opening of Indonesia's second Apple Developer Academy in Surabaya.
In Singapore, the Singapore University of Technology and Design and RMIT Online have each launched app development courses using Apple's curriculum for adult learners. Singapore's first autism-focused school, Pathlight School, will also offer a Swift Accelerator program that builds on the same program available to all schools.
“At Apple, we believe education is one of the most powerful tools we have to make the world a better place,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We're thrilled that students of all ages in Singapore will now be able to tap into the language of coding, gaining the skills they need to grow and succeed in the app economy and beyond.”
The Singapore University of Technology and Design designed a new app development course that targets working adults who are looking to learn new skills while balancing a full-time job. According to the president of SUTD, Professor Chong Tow Chong, "SUTD looks forward to continuing our close collaboration with Apple in helping our working adults to embrace digital transformation for enhanced employability."
In Indonesia, Apple marked the first graduation of students from its Developer Academy in Jakarta, which has expanded from 75 to 200 students. Later in 2019, Apple plans to open the second Academy in Indonesia, this one in Surabaya.
Apple is well-known for its interest in teaching coding to people of all ages and skill levels, launching the "Everyone Can Code" initiative back in 2016 with the goal of introducing coding curriculum to students around the world. This plan was spearheaded by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who always speaks passionately about the importance of teaching coding to kids at a young age.
Spotify has filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission, accusing the iPhone maker of enforcing App Store rules that "purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience" and "acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers."
In a blog post, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek took particular issue with Apple charging a 30 percent "tax" on App Store purchases. This results in Spotify charging existing subscribers $12.99 per month for its Premium plan via the App Store just to collect nearly the $9.99 per month it charges normally.
Ek believes this gives Apple an "unfair advantage," since Spotify is unable to fairly compete with Apple Music's standard $9.99 per month price within the App Store. This is a big deal given there are over a billion active iOS devices.
As an alternative, if Spotify chooses not to collect payments via the App Store, Ek notes that Apple "applies a series of technical and experience-limiting restrictions" on the company. Over time, this has also included "locking Spotify and other competitors out of Apple services such as Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch."
Ek stresses that this is "not a Spotify-versus-Apple issue" and simply about seeking "the same fair rules for companies young and old, large and small."
Apps like Uber and Deliveroo, for example, are allowed to collect payments directly from customers since they offer "goods or services that will be consumed outside of the app," according to Apple's App Store guidelines. Unlike Spotify, this allows these apps to bypass Apple's 30 percent commission.
Ek summarized what he is asking for into three points:
"First, apps should be able to compete fairly on the merits, and not based on who owns the App Store. We should all be subject to the same fair set of rules and restrictions—including Apple Music."
"Second, consumers should have a real choice of payment systems, and not be 'locked in' or forced to use systems with discriminatory tariffs such as Apple's."
"Finally, app stores should not be allowed to control the communications between services and users, including placing unfair restrictions on marketing and promotions that benefit consumers."
Ek notes that Spotify tried "unsuccessfully" to resolve the issues directly with Apple, leading to its carefully considered complaint with the European Commission. Spotify is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Spotify has launched a "Time To Play Fair" website and shared a companion video to inform customers about its complaint.
Apple has already invited members of the press to an event on March 25, where it's believed the company will reveal its TV streaming service and Apple News subscription service. Today, Bloomberg has shared a few new details about the upcoming event, suggesting that Apple may preview new Apple Pay features and that most of Apple's original TV shows will miss the streaming service's launch window.
Additionally, Apple is said to be "racing" to secure movies and TV shows from partner companies ahead of the event. According to people familiar with the matter, Apple is offering concessions to partners in order to get deals done by a Friday deadline. These include HBO, Showtime, and Starz.
"At least a couple deals" are expected to close by Friday, but it's unclear if Apple will get all the programming from outside media companies that it wants for its streaming service.
Today's report claims that most of the shows and movies on the streaming service at launch will be from outside partners, not Apple's own shows, so the company is attempting to ensure that there is plenty of content to entice customers to check the service out.
At an all-hands meeting with employees in January after announcing disappointing holiday sales, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told employees how critical services are to the company’s future. This trio of new services will be the first major addition to the portfolio for consumers since the company launched Apple Pay in 2014 and Apple Music a year later.
The idea of an Apple services bundle is also brought up again in today's report, with Bloomberg's sources stating that Apple could offer the TV service and Apple News service at a discount for anyone who subscribes to both.
Lastly, Apple might take time to detail the company's iPhone-connected credit card, built in partnership with Goldman Sachs. Code named "Project Cookie", Goldman Sachs is said to have nearly 40 people working on the Apple deal, while Apple's side is being led by the Apple Pay team.
Back in 2008, we wrote about Rolando, a platform-style puzzle game that was one of the first games back when the iPhone and the App Store were both new. At the time, our sister site TouchArcade said it was among "the best games the App Store has to offer."
The original Rolando game is no longer on the App Store because of the 2017 crackdown on 32-bit apps, but Rolando developer HandCircus today announced that a remastered version of the game is coming on April 3rd, which will be good news to fans of the Rolando series.
Rolando: Royal Edition is an overhauled version of the original Rolando game from 2008, with updated graphics, redesigned levels, and new mechanics. HandCircus says that the entire game has been updated with new content.
The award-winning iPhone classic is back and better than ever! This brand-new 'Royal Edition' is a completely remastered Rolando - every interaction, every course, flower, trampoline, bomb, catapult and squirrel has been given a thorough scrub, buff and shine, making this the most gorgeous version yet!
In Rolando, the goal of the game is to guide a gang of Rolandos through traps and puzzles on a quest to save the sages from the Shadow Creatures. With the exception of new mechanics and updates to the design, the original Rolando gameplay appears to be intact.
Rolando: Royal Edition can be pre-ordered from the App Store for $1.99, a 1/3 discount off of the planned launch price. [Direct Link]
Apple today shared additional new videos that are part of its ongoing iPhone Tips series called "iPhone Can Do What?" that was launched last week. The series is designed to highlight features that are available on the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.
The new videos cover sending and receiving money through iMessage using Apple Pay Cash, finding a missing Apple device using the Find My iPhone app, using dual-SIM functionality to have two phone numbers on an iPhone at once, and the A12 Bionic chip.
Each video's description links to Apple's full iPhone tips website, which includes additional short tutorial videos and tips on available iPhone features. Apple has uploaded quite a few videos in this tutorial series so far.
Google today released Chrome 73, the newest stable version of its Chrome browser for Mac and Windows. Chrome 73 has been in beta testing since February, with several new features included.
On macOS Mojave, Chrome 73 introduces support for Dark Mode. The browser window will display the darker colored theme automatically whenever Dark Mode on Mojave is enabled. Dark Mode in Chrome looks similar to the darker toolbar available when using Chrome in Incognito Mode.
Other new features in Google Chrome include tab grouping for better organizing multiple tabs, support for keyboard media keys, and an automatic picture in picture option enabled when swapping away from an active video.
There's a new Sync and Google Services section under Settings to make it easier to control data collection settings and other options, spell checking improvements, and a new badge API that will let web app icons include a visual indicator for things like unread item counts.
There are a number of changes for developers in Chrome 73, including signed HTTP exchanges, constructable style sheets, and support for Progressive Web Apps on Mac.
Multiple security fixes have been addressed in Chrome 73, with Google outlining security updates in a blog post. Chrome 73 can be downloaded using the update button in Chrome if you already have it installed or through the Chrome website.
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