MacRumors

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

However, it's worth noting that there have been a few conflicting ‌iPad mini‌ rumors, including photos of a model with a redesigned antenna band and an earlier case with cutouts for four speakers and a pill-shaped opening appropriate for a rear camera with a LED flash positioned below it like the 9.7-inch iPad.

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.

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.

To find out more information on what might be announced during the March 25 event, check out our What To Expect guide.

Apple is rumored to be working on an Apple News subscription service that would provide access to magazines and paywalled news content for a monthly fee, and hints of that new subscription service have been spotted in macOS Mojave 10.14.4.

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith this morning shared some screenshots of the new subscription service pulled from the latest macOS 10.14.4 beta.

The screenshots show notifications from the ‌Apple News‌ subscription service, which will alert subscribers when new issues of their favorite magazines are available. Similar subscription information has also already been seen in iOS 12.2, with the subscription service called "‌Apple News‌ Magazines."

Apple's magazine subscription service is based on Texture, the digital magazine app that it purchased in 2018. Texture, which is still available via the App Store, provides access to over 200 popular magazines like People, The New Yorker, Time, National Geographic, Shape, Newsweek, and more, all for a $9.99 per month fee.

It's likely Apple's built-in ‌Apple News‌ magazine subscription service will be priced similarly, with customers able to sign up in the ‌Apple News‌ app and pay through standard iTunes billing.

Apple is also working on incorporating news subscription options into ‌Apple News‌, however, so pricing and full details on how the service works remain unclear. Apple is likely planning to offer paywalled news and magazine access for one monthly fee, though some news sites are not on board.

According to rumors, while magazine publishers have agreed to Apple's subscription plans, the Cupertino company has been clashing with news publishers over the planned revenue split. Apple wants to collect 50 percent of the subscription revenue from its ‌Apple News‌ service, which is unappealing to paywalled sites that already collect more money from their standalone subscription options.

We'll learn more about Apple's subscription plans for its news service on March 25, which is when Apple is holding an event to unveil both the news subscription service and its upcoming streaming TV service.

Apple is working on second-generation AirPods that are expected to be announced sometime soon, perhaps even during the month of March.

We know the AirPods 2 aren't out yet, but we're launching a new giveaway feature that will see us offering MacRumors readers a chance to win unannounced Apple products at launch, and we're starting with the AirPods.

We're hosting a giveaway in our AirPods 2 roundup, which you can access by clicking this link or by clicking on the image above. The links will take you right to the giveaway section of the roundup complete with entry form and rules, but make sure to check out the rest for all of the AirPods 2 rumors we've heard so far.

Rumors have suggested the next version of the AirPods will come with "Hey Siri" support for making hands-free Siri requests and a new wireless charging case for Qi-based wireless charging at a minimum, but there are a few other possible features rumored.

Apple is perhaps working on a black color for the second-generation AirPods, and the AirPods could also feature an updated coating that's more matte in color. If Apple does release white AirPods and black AirPods, you can pick whichever color you like best.

There have been some vague hints of other features like heart rate monitoring, but we're not convinced these rumors are accurate. Such a feature could come to the AirPods at some point, but most information has suggested the first AirPods refresh will be rather minor in scale.

Whatever AirPods are coming next from Apple is what our giveaway winner will be receiving at the conclusion of the giveaway.

We're going to be accepting giveaway entries in our AirPods roundup in the United States and Canada until the day that the AirPods are announced, at which point we'll pick a winner, ask for your color preference, and send a pair of fresh new AirPods your way. For full rules and details, make sure to check out the details over in our roundup.