MacRumors

Apple today seeded the seventh beta of a new tvOS 12 operating system to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the sixth beta and two months after introducing the new software at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the tvOS 12 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV using a profile that's installed through the Xcode software. Subsequent betas can be downloaded via the software update mechanism on the Apple TV.

tvOS 12 introduces support for Dolby Atmos sound, which was activated in the second beta. Apple says that when tvOS 12 launches this fall, iTunes will be home to the largest collection of Dolby Atmos-supported movies. Customers that have previously purchased movies that gain Dolby Atmos support will see free upgrades to their titles, much like the rollout of 4K support.

Building on single sign-on, a new zero sign-on feature will further simplify the cable authentication process. With zero sign-on, the Apple TV can detect a user's broadband network and automatically sign them into supported apps they receive through their accompanying cable subscription.

Zero sign-on will be available for Charter Communications customers this fall and will expand to additional cable providers in the future.

Aerial screensavers now include location information and there are new screensavers captured in collaboration with the International Space Station.

Other improvements tvOS-related improvements include AutoFill passwords from iPhone, an Apple TV Remote automatically added to Control Center on the iPhone or iPad, and Apple TV support on Home control systems like Control4, Crestron, and Savant.

tvOS 12 is available for developers and public beta testers to work out bugs and other issues ahead of a fall public launch.

Update: Apple has released a new beta of tvOS 12 for public beta testers.

Apple today seeded the seventh beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, one week after releasing the sixth beta and two months after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

To get the beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.

To install the update, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone. It's best to install the beta on a secondary device instead of a primary device as betas have bugs to be worked out.

watchOS 5 is a major update to the watchOS operating system, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier to start and stop workouts if you forget.

Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps through Siri Shortcuts, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.

watchOS 5 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers (because there's no way to downgrade Apple Watch software), so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.

The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation "Series 0" Apple Watch models.

Costco today kicked off a new "5 Days of Deals" event just for its members, and one of the discounts is for Apple's AirPods. Today only Costco members can purchase the headphones for $139.99, down from $159.99 -- one of the best deals online for a new pair when compared to retailers like Adorama and Best Buy. Free shipping is also available.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Costco has a few other sales going on this week, with a members-only savings event that includes the 2018 9.7-inch iPad (128GB) for $359.99, down from $399.99. There are also savings on the Google Home mini, LG TV sets, and more, so be sure to visit Costco to check out all of the discounts before the sale ends.

In other deals, Target this week has App Store and iTunes gift cards on sale with its traditional buy one, get one 20 percent off discount. While not as good as the more common 15 percent discounts for a single card, this is one of the only online iTunes gift card sales going on right now, so it could be a good opportunity to add some credit to your iTunes account.

The offer is valid on $15, $25, $50, and $100 iTunes cards, which will be delivered via email. The 20 percent discount will be applied to the lower priced item, so multiple price tiers can be added at once, and after two cards are placed in your cart you'll notice the discount. As usual, Target REDcard members can save an additional 5 percent in the sale.

We've rounded up a few examples of the savings you can net with Target's new offer below:

• 2x $15 iTunes gift cards: $27, down from $30
• 2x $25 iTunes gift cards: $45, down from $50
• 2x $50 iTunes gift cards: $90, down from $100

Anker has a one-day-sale of its own today on Amazon, with up to 30 percent off car chargers, Lightning cables, and portable battery packs. Check out all of the items on sale in the list below (no codes are needed), and if you're interested make sure to get your purchase in before the day ends:

• PowerCore Slim 5000 Portable Charger (All 3 Colors) - $22.49, down from $29.99

• PowerCore Speed 20000 with Quick Charge 3.0 - $41.99, down from $55.99

• Powerline+ Lightning Cable 10ft (White) - $13.49, down from $17.99

• Powerline+ USB C to A 3.0 Cable 3ft (Red) - $7.99, down from $10.99

• Powerline Micro Cable (5-pack)- $9.68, down from $12.99

• Quick Charge 3.0 39W Dual USB Wall Charger - $17.99, down from $23.99

• 39W Dual USB Car Charger - $18.19, down from $25.99

Over at Best Buy, the company is celebrating its anniversary with an all-new savings event that includes markdowns on 4K TV sets, Bluetooth headphones, video games, and more. The new event isn't particularly focused on Apple products, but Best Buy is providing up to $300 in savings on select iPhone X activations. Check out this deal and more in the list below:

• iPhone X - Save $100 or $300 with eligible trade-in and qualified activation with Verizon
• BeatsX (Black) - $99.99, down from $149.99
• Arlo Security Cameras - Save up to $150
• Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II - $299.99, down from $349.99
• WD easystore 2TB External USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - $59.99, down from $129.99
• Tile 4-pack - $44.99, down from $59.99
• Philips Hue - Get 2 free Amazon Echo Dot speakers when purchasing a Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 LED starter kit

Head over to our full Deals Roundup for more sales and bargains going on this week.

The latest offering for users looking to add mesh networking to their homes has been revealed by Samsung today, called the SmartThings Wi-Fi (via The Verge). The router includes mesh networking technology from Plume, which itself recently revealed its "SuperPod" mesh router along with a $60/year subscription.

Samsung's SmartThings Wi-Fi isn't subscription-based, and in addition to the usual mesh networking features, the device also acts as a smart home hub for any SmartThings accessories. Similar to Apple TV and HomePod acting as a hub for HomeKit, SmartThings Wi-Fi will allow customers to set up and manage SmartThings-compatible plugs, switches, lights, cameras, and doorbells from Philips, Ring, Arlo, Kwikset, and much more.

With Plume's technology, SmartThings Wi-Fi learns the environment to optimize performance for consistent coverage throughout the home. The system is sold on Samsung's website in a 1-pack for $119.99 (covering 1,500 square feet) or a 3-pack for $279.99 (up to 4,500 square feet).

The company today also revealed a new standalone SmartThings Hub priced at $69.99, for those users who already have a router but still want to implement SmartThings products into their home. As an upgrade to the previous hub, the new device does not need to be plugged directly into your router and can instead work wirelessly anywhere in your home.

There are a few other SmartThings announcements that happened today, including upgrades to the platform's Motion Sensor, Multipurpose Sensor, and Water Leak Sensor. There's also a new SmartThings Outlet for $34.99 and a SmartThings Button for $14.99, all available to purchase on Samsung.com beginning today.

The SmartThings product launches today follow last week's Galaxy Note 9 reveal event, during which Samsung showcased its latest flagship smartphone. The company also detailed a new Galaxy Watch, Wireless Charger Duo, and Galaxy Home Smart Speaker.

Spotify today announced that listeners across the globe can now tune into the BBC's podcast catalog directly within the Spotify app, including "hundreds of programs across thousands of episodes." In the announcement, the company focuses on podcast listeners in the United Kingdom, but it appears that BBC podcasts on Spotify are also appearing for users in the United States and elsewhere outside of the U.K.

The BBC podcasts on Spotify include shows from iPlayer Radio and BBC Sounds, covering numerous genres, which listeners can find in the Browse tab on Spotify. Podcast categories include Comedy, News and Politics, Educational, Sport and Recreation, Lifestyle and Health, Business and Technology, and Kids and Family.

The company also recommended a few podcasts for users, including "Short Cuts," which centers on themes like "fear" and "magical realism" through the presentation of poetry, short stories, documentaries, and more. There's also "Desert Island Discs," in which host Kirsty Young asks guests to list the items they would take if they were stranded on an island.

Prior to BBC, Spotify in May added NPR's catalog of podcasts to its app. The streaming company has been making a stronger push into podcasts since July 2017, when a report from Bloomberg claimed that Spotify was "coming after" Apple Podcasts. The company started by commissioning original podcasts about music in early 2017, and has now shifted to partnering with existing podcast creators to bolster its catalog of shows.

With the addition of these content creators, Spotify's head of podcast partnerships for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, James Cator, says that users "can now be assured of finding the perfect podcast for every moment and mood on Spotify."

“The BBC is one of the largest content creators in the UK, and have worked with the biggest and best audio talent in the world,” explains James Cator, Spotify’s Head of Podcast Partnerships, EMEA. “To have a comprehensive audio catalogue in the UK, the BBC are essential, so adding the BBC to our rapidly-expanding catalogue of podcasts was a natural partnership.” To that end, Spotify has added podcasts from iPlayer Radio and BBC Sounds to the platform, making hundreds of BBC podcasts available to Spotify users in the UK from today.

Apple rebranded iTunes Podcasts to "Apple Podcasts" in April 2017, and then at WWDC 2017 announced an overhauled podcasts app for iOS 11 that introduced changes for both listeners and podcasters. In iOS 12 this year, Apple Podcasts isn't expected to see much of a change, with beta discoveries so far limited to the introduction of custom durations for the Forward and Back options in the app.

At the time of Bloomberg's article revealing Spotify's new podcast initiative, weekly podcast newsletter author Nick Quah wrote that Apple had the majority share of the podcast market at about 55 percent. Quah then pointed out that Spotify's large user base of free and paid users (now 180 million globally) presents it with "an opportunity to steal share from Apple."

Firefox received an update on iOS today that brings a new dark theme and a handful of new tab functions to the popular web browser.

For some time now, Mozilla's mobile browser has had a "Night Mode" option, which inverts the colors of web pages except for images and certain other elements, similar to the way Apple's Smart Invert works for the iOS interface.

Version 13 of the app, released today, adds a new Dark display theme that essentially augments the Night Mode by darkening the interface. Used in tandem, Firefox offers users probably the best night-time browsing experience currently available on iOS.

To activate the night-time options, tap the Menu button (the three-line icon at the lower right of the interface) and enable the Night Mode using the toggle button. Then select Settings -> Display, and choose the Dark theme.

In addition to the above, version 13 of Firefox adds a couple of useful functions for users who tend to have a lot of tabs open at the same time. There's now a search bar in the open tabs screen to help you find tabs containing specific content, and individual tabs can now be dragged to rearrange them.

Firefox web browser is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Ever since iOS 7, Apple has provided a Text Message Forwarding service that can push SMS messages received through your iPhone's cellular network to your other Apple devices.

Using the same network, the forwarding service also allows you to send messages from your iPad or Mac to other phone numbers, even if they don't support Apple's iMessages platform (dumbphones and Android devices, for example).

For whatever reason, the Text Message Forwarding feature may not be enabled on your iPhone, so if you tend to miss standard text messages coming through to your phone when you're engaged with something on your Mac or iPad, it's definitely worth enabling.

Once activated, those messages will show up on all your devices in the Messages app as green chat bubbles, allowing you to distinguish them from regular blue iMessages. Keep reading to learn how to activate the feature in iOS 11.

How to Activate Text Message Forwarding in iOS 11

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Messages.
3. Tap Send & Receive.
4. Tap Use your Apple ID for iMessage.
   
   

5. Tap Sign in to use your Apple ID for iMessage, or tap Select Other Apple ID and then enter the login credentials for the account you want to use.
6. Wait for a moment while iMessage activates. Click OK in any dialog boxes that confirm your Apple ID is now being used for iMessage on your other devices.
7. Tap back to Settings -> Messages, and tap the new Text Message Forwarding option in the menu.
   
   

8. Use the toggle buttons next to the devices in the list to include or exclude them from the Text Message Forwarding service. Note that only devices logged into the same iCloud account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network will appear in the list.
9. A security code may appear on the devices that you enable – make sure to type the code into your iPhone to activate them for the service.

If you followed the steps above but the Text Message Forwarding option doesn't appear in your iPhone's settings app, check that your device is connected to Wi-Fi and the internet connection is good.

Another solution is to turn off and then restart iMessages via Settings -> Messages -> iMessage. You can also try signing out of iMessage and signing in again: Select Settings -> Messages -> Send & Receive, tap your Apple ID at the top, and then tap Sign Out.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with ColorWare to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a set of custom-painted AirPods that have been designed to look like a classic Macintosh.

The AirPods Retro case has been painted a soft beige shade that matches the design of Apple's earliest computers, with gray lines representing faux vents. There's also a rainbow colored button at the back that mimics the classic rainbow-colored Apple logo, and an all-over matte finish.

ColorWare has painted the AirPods themselves a nice matching beige color, for an overall look that's sleek and a throwback to the early Apple design language all at once.

AirPods Retro, priced at $399, aren't cheap, but you're not going to find AirPods that look like this anywhere else. These are also a limited edition from ColorWare and won't be available to purchase for long.

ColorWare has been offering custom-painted electronic accessories for years now and has established itself as a company that offers impeccable quality thanks to years of experience perfecting the painting process.

ColorWare uses a coating process that includes a primer, an application of a proprietary color formula, and an X2 liquid plastic coating that protects the new color for all of its AirPod paint jobs, and speaking of other paint jobs, ColorWare also offers custom AirPod painting in a range of colors. Pricing for a custom paint job starts at $299, and ColorWare is now one of the only companies offering custom AirPod painting.

Because ColorWare is using traditional AirPods for the Retro AirPods paint job, full AirPods functionality is intact, with a W1 chip for easy pairing, a long battery life, a built-in accelerometer for ear detection, iCloud support for quick device switching, and support for gestures.

We have one set of AirPods Retro to give away to a MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (August 10) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on August 17. The winner will be chosen randomly on August 17 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

Apple Music this week began rolling out a new section in Browse curated by Deutsche Grammophon, known as one of the biggest classical musical labels in the world. In this section, classical music fans will find featured playlists of specific composers, highlighted radio stations, and all-new visual albums stocked with the "full-length performance" of select operas (via Engadget).

Specifically, one of the three visual albums is a staging of composer Charles-François Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, which was held at the 2008 Salzburg Music and Drama Festival. The visual album includes 32 tracks, which can be played all at once and runs for 2 hours and 33 minutes.

The other operatic visual albums were also staged during the Salzburg Festival, including a Mozart Gala from 2006 and Giacomo Puccini's La bohème opera from 2012, staged at the Grosses Festspielhaus opera house. Of course, Apple Music has launched non-opera visual albums in the past, including Frank Ocean's Endless, but as Engadget notes this is the first time the service has debuted a full-length opera as a visual album.

From the Apple Music editors:

Deutsche Grammophon has been home to the world's greatest musicians ever since gramophone inventor Emile Berliner founded the label in 1898. For decades, legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan epitomized the style and elegance of The Yellow Label - so called for its striking cartouche emblem.

Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein joined him, and now Andris Nelsons and Yannick Nézet-Séguin continue DG's tradition of working with the finest conductors. Among pianists, Daniil Trifonov follows where Wilhelm Kempff and Maurizio Pollini led, while the current roster also stars violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and soprano Anna Netrebko. Enjoy the best of these artists and more with playlists, albums, and videos.

According to Deutsche Grammophon, its new Apple Music section will be "regularly updated," so fans of classical music can expect to see more of the label's recordings and potentially more visual albums in the future.

Apple Music has seen a few slight updates over the summer, beginning with a new "Coming Soon" section for all users that highlights albums launching in the near future. Earlier this week, the service also began rolling out a "Friends Mix" weekly playlist, which curates a list of 25 songs that your friends have been listening to recently.

Over the summer, a few new and upcoming Philips Hue light fixtures leaked online, including an Outdoor Light Strip and White Ambience Adore Vanity Mirror. This week, the company has announced prices and confirmed an August 20 launch date for most of these products, as well as revealed a collection of new Hue lights. As usual, all of the new Hue lights are compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform.

To start off, the previously seen Outdoor Lightstrip is designed specifically for all-weather use with a diffused coating that ensures the Lightstrip can be used as both a direct or indirect light source. Users can easily bend and shape the Lightstrip for all yard designs, or apply it to fences and railways using included clips and screws.

The White and Color Ambiance Outdoor Lightstrip will cost $159.99 in a 16 ft. model and $89.99 in a 7 ft. model. Pre-orders will go up on August 20, and then the product will launch in early October.

The White Ambiance Adore Collection consists of the Adore Vanity Mirror and a flushmount ceiling fixture, which are both Damp rated to ensure bathroom moisture won't degrade them over time. Each Adore light includes a ringed outer-edge area that "prevents unwanted shadows" from appearing in a bathroom, with four pre-set light recipes for morning and nighttime routines.

The Adore Vanity Mirror will cost $249.99 and the flushmount Adore Ceiling Light will cost $179.99, and both will be available starting August 20.

A new kitchen and dining area light has also been announced in the form of the White Ambiance Being Pendant. This fixture is a brushed aluminum light that complements the company's existing Being flush ceiling fixture and aims to give users the "right shade of white light" for dinners and relaxing.

The Being Pendant will run for $249.99 and launches on August 20.

Also aimed at kitchen use is the White and Color Ambiance Enchant Pendant Light, a slim hanging fixture that the company says is designed to place over a kitchen or dining table, island, or bar. The light includes one Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 bulb.

The Enchant Pendant Light will be priced at $99.99 and also launches on August 20.

Lastly, the White and Color Ambiance Ascend Collection includes a Pendant Light, Floor Light, Wall Light, and Table Lamp, all designed for everyday lightning needs. Each fixture has a 360-degree open glass design for optimal light output, and the floor, wall, and table lamps have a movable head so you can point the light directly where you need it.

The Floor Lamp and Pendant Lamp come with a White and Color Ambiance A19 bulb, and the Wall Light and Table Lamp include a White and Color Ambiance E12 candle bulb. The prices on the Ascend Collection are as follows: $99.99 (Wall Light), $129.99 (Table Lamp), $149.99 (Pendant Light), and $179.99 (Floor Lamp). Every fixture in the Ascend Collection launches in early October.

On the software side of things, Philips Hue has received a few updates over the past few months for both its iOS and macOS apps. In May, the company debuted a revamped 3.0 update to the iOS app, bringing improved navigation, brightness controls and light visualization for individual lights and not just grouped-together rooms, and new color pickers for a better overview and grouping of lights in a room.

A few days later, the company launched a "Philips Hue Sync" macOS and PC app, allowing users to sync their Hue lights to any film, song, and game that they have on their computer.

For the new lights, it appears that some have yet to propagate on the company's website, but they should all begin appearing within the next few days, ahead of the launch/pre-order date on August 20.

Nearly one year after Qualcomm received a $773 million fine by Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission regarding how the company prices smartphone chips and patents, Qualcomm this week reached a settlement agreement with the Taiwanese regulators that "reverses most" of the $773 million fine.

In the settlement, Qualcomm will invest $700 million over the next five years to "boost research activities in Taiwan." The company will also stop paying fines and retains the right to charge manufacturers royalties on its technology. The Taiwanese regulators will keep around $89 million in fines already paid by Qualcomm and "waive the rest."

“Both parties felt the FTC’s fines were controversial. And we feel, if we continue with the lawsuit, it will take too long should we take Taiwan’s industry progress into consideration,” FTC Commissioner Hong Tsai-Lung told reporters. A lengthy legal process “will have a very negative impact on Taiwan’s development, so that is why our stand has changed following an internal collective decision.”

Despite Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission lifting the pressure off Qualcomm, the company still faces numerous lawsuits and fines, including from Apple. Qualcomm and Apple have been embroiled in an escalating legal battle since the beginning of 2017 after the FTC complained that Qualcomm engaged in anticompetitive licensing practices. Shortly after, Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion and accused the company of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and failing to pay for quarterly rebates.

Also in the United States, Qualcomm is facing an FTC lawsuit for using anticompetitive tactics to remain the dominant supplier of baseband processors for smartphones. In Europe, regulators fined Qualcomm $1.2 billion at the beginning of 2018 for paying Apple to use its LTE chips in iOS devices to further ensure Qualcomm's monopoly in the market.

According to Bloomberg, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf has said that the company plans to maintain its record of "prevailing in court" for all of the legal challenges it faces. For this year's iPhones, it's expected that Apple will avoid Qualcomm and "solely" use Intel's modems in the smartphones.

Spotify has begun a test for select users in Australia, allowing free tier listeners to skip "any" audio and video ads that they come across "as often as they want," according to a new report by Ad Age. Currently, users who don't pay for a Spotify Premium subscription ($9.99/month) have to listen to ads and can't skip them.

Spotify's head of partner solutions, Danielle Lee, explained that unlimited ad skipping is something the company is interested in because it will allow users to hear or watch only the ads they are interested in. As such, Spotify will know which ads each user lets play to the end, "informing Spotify about their preferences in the process" and tailoring the ads to their liking.

The company calls this "Active Media," and ensures advertisers won't have to pay for any ads that are skipped, suggesting Spotify is confident it will learn and create enough compelling ads that free tier users won't want to skip. According to Lee, Spotify's hope is to debut Active Media on a global scale, but at this time the Australia-based testing is only one month old.

"Our hypothesis is if we can use this to fuel our streaming intelligence, and deliver a more personalized experience and a more engaging audience to our advertisers, it will improve the outcomes that we can deliver for brands," Lee says. "Just as we create these personalized experiences like Discover Weekly, and the magic that brings to our consumers, we want to inject that concept into the advertising experience."

In comparison, Apple Music doesn't offer a free tier for its service, instead gifting new subscribers a three month free trial of the streaming service. In an interview from May 2017, former Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine stated that if Apple Music did have a free tier it "would have 400 million people on it" and easily eclipse Spotify, but that's not what the company wanted for the service.

Instead, Apple built Apple Music as a "special experience" for "people who are paying," with no ads anywhere on the service. Apple Music and Spotify have been rivals since the former service debuted in 2015, and in a more recent interview Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he "worries about the humanity being drained out of music," alluding to Spotify's more algorithmic approach to suggesting new music to its users.

For Spotify, the company is now trying to boost free tier users in a number of ways, and eventually convince those users to pay for Spotify Premium. The company expanded the free tier with on-demand playlists in the spring, letting those listeners pick and choose which music they want to listen to as long as the tracks appear in one of 15 curated discovery playlists. This is an upgrade from the previous way free tier listeners heard music, which was simply shuffling songs at random.

Secondly, in a major announcement during Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 presentation yesterday, it was revealed that the Spotify app will now come pre-installed on all Samsung smartphones. Because of this, many Android users will now find it easier to jump into Spotify and begin streaming their music on that service, instead of searching for the Android-based Apple Music app.

As of the last count in July 2018, Spotify has 83 million paid subscribers globally and 180 million total monthly active users if you count the free tier. Apple Music was last counted to have about 40 million subscribers, although Apple's service could have more paid users than Spotify in the United States.