MacRumors

Apple's suppliers have already begun providing it with parts for an upcoming 13-inch "MacBook" update, according to a paywalled report from China's Commercial Times summarized by DigiTimes.

Notebook hinge maker Jarllytec reportedly started shipping metal injection mold-made (MiM) hinges to Apple in May, said to be destined for a 13-inch MacBook. The MacBook in question is likely to be a future revamped 13-inch MacBook Pro, which past rumors suggest will use MiM hinges.

Metal injection molding is a technique used to create small, intricate metal parts. Apple is rumored to be using hinges crafted this way to save space, as the next-generation MacBook Pro models are said to be ultra-thin.

The same report suggests Jarllytec will begin shipping hinges for 15-inch MacBook models in the third quarter of 2016, raising the possibility that Apple will stagger the releases of the redesigned MacBook Pro, first introducing a 13-inch model and following it up later with a 15-inch model. If Apple already has hinges in hand for a 13-inch MacBook Pro, it would perhaps be ready to debut in the next couple of months. We've already seen a chassis said to be for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, supporting the notion that it is perhaps already in production.

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We are not expecting to see MacBook Pro announcements at WWDC, but rumors have suggested Apple will debut its next-generation MacBook Pro machines during the fourth quarter of 2016. Should Apple be planning to stagger the releases, a 13-inch model could come in September and a 15-inch model could follow in October or November should it not be ready to launch at the same time.

Predicting Apple's plans for the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro is difficult because there are a lot of confusing rumors about the two machines. Many of the rumors about the devices have referred to them as simply "MacBooks," and that ambiguous naming is further confused by a report from Ming-Chi Kuo suggesting Apple is also working on a 13-inch MacBook that would be sold alongside the 12-inch MacBook.

Distilling the rumors down, it's clear there are new MacBook Pro machines in the works, but figuring out a more concrete release date won't be possible until we have more information to work with.

In addition to being ultra thin with a MacBook-style design, Apple's next-generation MacBook Pros are expected to include an OLED touch panel that will replace the function keys on the existing MacBook Pro. Touch ID may be included, and rumors suggest the bar will be dynamic, changing the available keys based on the app in use. This touch panel will need to be deeply integrated into OS X, so additional hints on the upcoming MacBook Pro may be found in OS X 10.12, releasing to developers next week.

Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.6 beta to public beta testers, one day after releasing the second OS X 10.11.6 beta to developers. OS X 10.11.6 has been in testing since May 23 and the second beta comes three weeks after the public release of OS X 10.11.5, the fifth update to the El Capitan operating system.

Beta 2 is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who are enrolled in Apple's beta testing program. Mac users who want to join the program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website.

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OS X 10.11.6, like most of the previous updates to the El Capitan operating system, appears to be minor in scale, focusing mainly on bug fixes and security improvements that are not immediately obvious to testers and developers. No outward-facing changes or major bug fixes were discovered in the first two developer betas.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3.3 update to public beta testers, one day after seeding the second iOS 9.3.3 beta to developers. iOS 9.3.3 has been in testing since May 23 and comes three weeks after the release of iOS 9.3.2, an update focusing primarily on bug fixes.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 9.3.3 update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.

Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas.

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As another minor 9.x.x update, iOS 9.3.3 includes under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues that have been discovered since the release of iOS 9.3.2. No outward-facing changes or immediately apparently bug fixes have been discovered in the first two developer betas of iOS 9.3.3.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Apple-Pay-250x434 (1) copyApple Pay will expand to Switzerland on Monday, June 13, marking the seventh country where the mobile payments service is available, according to German-language financial website Finews (via iPhone-Ticker).

Swiss private bank Cornèr Bank will purportedly be one of the first participating issuers in Switzerland, but the report did not specify if the country's two "big banks" UBS and Credit Suisse will also support Apple Pay upon launch.

Apple Pay's arrival in Switzerland has been expected since Apple filed a trademark for the service with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in February. The U.K. is currently the only other European country with Apple Pay.

Apple is "working rapidly" to expand the service to additional regions, including Hong Kong and Spain, and possibly France, Brazil, and Japan, in partnership with American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and other payment processors. Apple Pay has also expanded to ANZ in Australia, five large banks in Singapore, and Canada's big five banks BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust.

(Thanks, Nicolas!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Microsoft recently announced that it will be holding an afterparty at WWDC this year, taking place next week on Monday, June 13 following Apple's State of the Union keynote (via WinBeta). In partnership with its software-focused company Xamarin, Microsoft's party is centered around "The Future of Apps," and is confirmed to last from 5 PM to 8:30 PM PDT, located in Twitter's headquarters near the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

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Any iOS and OS X developer is welcome to attend Microsoft's party, even if you aren't directly attending WWDC, and the company is also giving anyone who checks in a chance to win either an Apple Watch Sport or Xbox One every hour. Microsoft hopes to discuss the latest iOS apps and updates created by the company at the event -- everything from Outlook to Excel and SwiftKey apps for iPhone and iPad devices -- including their future on the platform.

Likewise, Xamarin's inclusion in the afterparty will generate some talk surrounding its Test Cloud platform, which lets developers run and test every feature of their apps "on more than a thousand devices," without having to worry about inconsistencies fragmenting data due to different smartphone designs and OS interfaces. The company's tools in the past have helped developers design apps for iOS, Android, and Windows platforms.

Xamarin Test Cloud lets teams test every feature on more than a thousand devices and on every commit. Catching bugs before release shortens development cycles and allows more time for innovation. We'll also be offering exclusive one-on-one time with a Xamarin Test Cloud Engineer to walk you through the best way to automate testing on your apps.

Any developer interested in attending Microsoft and Xamarin's WWDC afterparty can RSVP to the event here.

Smartphone maker and display manufacturer Samsung is believed to launch a pair of smartphones in early 2017, each with a bendable OLED display. According to people familiar with the smartphones' development (via Bloomberg), the two devices could be unveiled as early as Q1 2017 -- potentially at Mobile World Congress in February -- and come in two different sizes, similar to that of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

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Bendable smartphone mockup by Samsung

One phone would have a 5-inch screen when used in a normal handset fashion, and could then be opened to a tablet size that's "as large as 8 inches." The smaller alternative is estimated to be sized around a traditional modern 5-inch smartphone, but users would have the ability to fold it in half "like a cosmetic compact" to easily fit it into bags and pockets.

“This product could be a game-changer if Samsung successfully comes up with a user interface suitable for bendable screens,” said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co. in Seoul. “Next year is a probable scenario. Their biggest obstacle was related to making transparent plastics and making them durable, which seems resolved by now.”

Codenamed "Project Valley," the bendable smartphones won't be Samsung's new flagship devices, and are believed to be angled more as an experiment by the company to test the waters of user response to bendable screens. Because of this, the two new handhelds also won't fall under the Galaxy S line of phones currently running by Samsung, but will be newly named entries in its collection of smartphones.


While not bendable, Apple's 2017 iPhone is expected to pack in a curved OLED display with an edge-to-edge, bezel-free design, similar to that of Samsung's Galaxy S7 smartphone. Overall, Apple's "iPhone 8" is expected to be a huge update year for the company's smartphone, following 2016's internals-focused upgrade, so it'll be interesting to see how the the two handhelds fare against each other when they launch.

Tag: Samsung

Last week, The Guardian published a negative-sounding article by Ken Segall with the title "How Apple lost its way: Steve Jobs' love of simplicity is gone".

Ken Segall worked with Steve Jobs as his ad agency creative director for 12 years. In that time he led the team behind Apple's famous 'Think Different' campaign, and helped Apple create its 'i-brand' with the naming of the iMac, therefore Segall's overall evaluation of how the company has evolved since Jobs' death is likely to be a point of interest to many.

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Interestingly however, yesterday Segall criticized The Guardian for its choice of headline, which he says misrepresents his views and the subject matter of the article. Segall has now published the complete article on his own website with the original title, "Has Apple lost its simplicity?", which he says is a question, not a conclusion, followed by thoughtful opinion.

Segall notes in the article that Apple's product naming used to be extremely simple – computers were Macs and consumer products were i-devices. But now "the consumer products are offered as i-things and Apple-things (Apple Watch, Apple Pay, Apple Music)," writes Segall, who claims that "the i is obviously on its last legs, and a transition like this doesn’t happen overnight".

The article also covers a number of other topics related to the idea of simplicity, including the differences between Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook, who "certainly knows how to make Apple run efficiently" but recognizes he "doesn't have Steve's many talents" and relies on the expertise of others in areas of product design and marketing.

Segall also compares simplicity versus complexity in Apple product lines, the challenge of finding simplicity in software (he calls Apple Music "bewildering" to use), the evolution of Apple's marketing group (which has "changed dramatically" since Jobs' leadership), and how he thinks the company currently fares in these areas.

Segall is the author of the books Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success and Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity.

Apple-BondsConfirming rumors reported last week, Apple on Monday issued a U.S. dollar bond in Taiwan that is estimated to raise between $1 billion and $1.2 billion (via Reuters).

The yield on the 30-year bond compares with a range between 4.2 percent and 4.3 percent ahead of its pricing, according to people familiar with the matter.

That yield comes in significantly lower than recent bonds by blue-chip multinationals such as Intel and Anheuser Busch InBev, but it is only the first issue of debt by Apple on the island, which is home to a number of the company's partners in the supply chain.

The total amount raised by the bond, which is callable after the second year, has yet to be finalized, said sources who spoke to Reuters and could not be named.

Cathay Financial Holding, the parent company of Taiwan's biggest life insurer, has reportedly bought a "small part" of the bond, since the yield is lower than others issued by Apple outside of Taiwan.

Apple has a large offshore cash pile and the company clearly sees debt markets as a viable way of financing its capital return program, which was recently increased to $250 billion following a $50 billion expansion in April. Apple is also said to be issuing bonds in Australia, and possibly Japan and Singapore, as part of broader plans to raise up to $4 billion in debt in the Asia-Pacific region.

Tag: Taiwan

Microsoft has announced it is rolling out a new project management and collaboration app called Planner to certain Office 365 subscribers for free from today.

Similar to Trello in concept, Planner enables users to organize projects into "buckets", or collections of tasks that can then be dragged and dropped between buckets in the project interface.

Planner has a marked emphasis on team collaboration: tasks can be assigned to individual team members and users can get a visual overview of task responsibilities, progress, and upcoming deadlines.


The company has been trialling the app through a select few customers since September, but the planned rollout "over the next several weeks" marks the app's official entrance into the standard Office suite of apps. It is available for eligible users with certain Office 365 Enterprise, Business Essentials, Premium, and Education subscriptions.

Existing Office users needn't do anything to access the app, as the tile should appear in the Office 365 launcher as soon as it becomes available.

In recent months Apple has been including a subscription option for Microsoft Office 365 in all iPad ordering processes on its website, a move that initially raised a few eyebrows, since Apple usually positions its iWork suite as a better alternative to Microsoft's Office apps.

Update: This article has been updated to note only certain subscription plans not including the Home subscription will receive access to the Planner app.

Apple was granted patents today that include a concept for water-resistant iPhone speakers and a bone conduction technology that could bring advanced noise cancellation to future earbuds (via AppleInsider).

The first application granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is titled "Liquid resistant acoustic device" and details a protected acoustic port that uses a special mesh "umbrella" inserted between apertures in a device's housing, similar to the design of the mesh-covered loudspeaker found in current iPhones.

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If liquid enters through the housing apertures it immediately comes into contact with the umbrella and is directed away from the internals, although in some versions a small amount of liquid is allowed to pass through if the handset is under significant pressure, to avoid structural damage.

Apple's invention also includes a second line of liquid defense, in the form of a "hydrophobic" coating applied to the outer surface of the iPhone housing and mesh umbrella, while a "hydrophilic" coating applied to the inside of the mesh works to draw liquid out.

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As with all patents, whether or not Apple decides to use the invention in any future product remains unclear, although AppleInsider notes that a similar port design can already be found on the current Apple Watch.

Several rumors claim that the upcoming iPhone 7 could be properly waterproof, but it's not obvious that the invention described above would meet the requirements of such a specification.

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Another Apple patent was awarded today, called "System and method of mixing accelerometer and microphone signals to improve voice quality in a mobile device". This one describes a headset that uses bone conduction technology to effectively filter out ambient noise.

The invention works by using accelerometers that detect vocal chord vibrations which reverberate through the user's skull. Coupled with an onboard microphone, the system is able to measure output signals and effectively parse out ambient noise vibrations.

Output from both systems are processed through a noise cancellation unit which then outputs a clean signal for transmission.

Tag: Patent
Related Forum: iPhone

Apple has created a new "Apple Music Fashion" channel available to Apple Music subscribers, which features three new Apple Music playlists curated by fashion designer Alexander Wang, among other curated selections from Vogue, Burberry, and more.

As shared by Vogue, Wang's playlists, entitled Chill, Hype, and Vibe, feature a mix of R&B slow jams to hardcore rap to "dance-floor ready tracks." Each playlist includes between 15 and 20 songs.

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"Chill is my go-to playlist when I get home, when I need to decompress, or when I'm having a night in," Wang told Vogue.com of a playlist that includes Rihanna, Drake, and Juicy J. [...]

"Hype--those songs are mostly derived from playlists that I've played in a party bus or en route to a festival or going out. They are songs that kick up the energy," he says of a grouping that features Diplo, M.I.A., and Lil Jon. "Vibe is more a playlist that's in between, with songs that have high energy and also are great classics. It's good for having people over, drinks; it's kind of pregame music." There you'll find A$AP Rocky, Rich Homie Quan, and Meek Mill.

Wang plans to update the playlists throughout the year with new content so his selections are always up to date. The launch of his playlists are accompanied by a new Apple Music video.


Wang's playlists and the Apple Music Fashion channel can be accessed by all Apple Music subscribers on iOS devices, Macs, and Android devices through this link.

There's been some speculation that the dark theme of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference website and WWDC app are hinting at a potential dark mode set to be released as part of iOS 10, and a new set of concept images from iHelpBR imagines what a dark mode setting could look like on iOS devices.

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A system-wide dark mode is depicted in the images, offering up an example of what darker backgrounds would look like in Messages, Mail, Contacts, News, and more. iHelpBR speculates that such a feature could be set to come on automatically when the sun sets, darkening the entire operating system as is currently done in the Maps app.

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The site images a dark mode that would extend to built-in Apple apps and system menus, as well as third-party apps using a potential dark mode API.

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iHelpBR's concept also features split-screen multitasking and picture-in-picture support, bringing the iPad feature to the iPhone when used in landscape mode. It's not clear if Apple would consider bringing split-screen multitasking to the iPhone given the small amount of screen real estate compared to an iPad, but some users would likely welcome the feature.

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OS X has had a dark mode since the 2014 launch of OS X Yosemite, with a darker menu bar, dock, and system menus, and since then, it's been a highly desired feature for iOS. Despite the darker look of Apple's WWDC app and WWDC website, there is no concrete evidence a dark mode is coming, but it's a possibility. A dark mode was also featured in the iOS 10 wish list concept video created by MacStories.

iOS 10 will debut next week alongside OS X 10.12 and new versions of watchOS and tvOS. Apple is expected to show off the new operating systems at the WWDC keynote event, set to take place on June 13 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Following the keynote event, Apple will likely provide beta versions of new software to developers.

Related Forum: iOS 10

A minor Instagram update released this morning lists only bug fixes in the description, but has quietly added a long overdue feature - a share sheet extension. With the new version of Instagram, it's possible to use the "share" feature in Photos or another app that supports share extensions to upload content directly to Instagram without needing to open the Instagram app.

When viewing images in Photos, selecting an image and then tapping on "share" now brings up Instagram alongside other sharing options like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. Selecting Instagram will allow users to write a caption before sending the image to Instagram.

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As MacStories points out, Instagram's share extension is limited. Adding a caption to a photo is the only option, with no available photo adjustment tools or options for adding locations and people tags.

Instagram can be added to the share sheet through the Photos app by tapping on share, selecting the "More" button, and choosing to toggle on the Instagram option. Once that's done, Instagram will always be available in the share sheet of any app with share functionality.

Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple today uploaded eight new "Shot on iPhone" videos to its YouTube channel, showcasing the video capturing capabilities of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus through videos taken by actual iPhone users around the world.

Each video clip lasts for 16 seconds and is accompanied by music. Video content ranges from a rain storm in Los Angeles to penguins in Antarctica to a hippopotamus in Botswana.


Several of the videos showcase iPhone 6s video features like Slo-Mo, while others are played in reverse or are sped up.


Apple's "Shot on iPhone" campaign began in early 2015 following the launch of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, sharing photos of iPhone 6 images in ads and on billboards across the globe. Later in 2015, Shot on iPhone expanded to encompass video imagery collected in a World Gallery. Apple re-launched the "Shot on iPhone" campaign in early 2016 to focus on the camera improvements in the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus.

Related Forum: iPhone

For the last several months, well-known luxury brand Coach has been quietly working on a set of designer Apple Watch bands created to match Coach handbags, and now those bands are set to debut on June 12.

Haute Écriture's David Boglin de Bautista has been sharing details on the design of the bands gleaned from sales representatives and over the weekend, he learned Coach retail stores will be receiving the bands starting next week.

Coach is planning to release the bands in three styles: Leather Strap with Charms, Wild Beast Camo, and Tea Rose Appliqué, with each style available in three colors for a total of nine bands. High-quality photos of each style were shared by de Bautista.

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Coach salespeople are readily sharing information on the bands with customers, and a redditor was able to snap a photo of a product guide that depicts all of the new bands and their color options. Leather Strap comes in black, white, and saddle brown, while the Wild Beast Camo band is available in denim, military green, and saddle brown. The Tea Rose band will be available in black, white, and tawny orange. All bands are listed as women's bands and will be priced at $150.

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Coach has reportedly made the Apple Watch bands in small quantities and one sales representative told de Bautista that she expects them to sell out quickly. The bands will be available in select stores in California, Nevada, and New York, and will not initially be available online.

It was originally unclear if Coach was teaming up with Apple on the bands or releasing them independently, but it appears the bands will not be sold by Apple. Apple offers its own line of Apple Watch models and luxury bands through a partnership with Hermès.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Tag: Coach
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

safariiconIn recent months, 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro owners have been complaining of a bug that causes Safari to completely freeze up, requiring a full system restart. Apple addressed the problem in a new support document that was released on Friday.

Complaints about Safari freezing issue started popping up in March, following the launch of OS X 10.11.4, but the bug was also present during the beta testing period. 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro users appear to be primarily affected, but on the Apple Support Communities and the MacRumors forums, some users with other machines have experienced similar issues.

Luckily, Apple's solution is a simple one, instructing customers to update to the latest version of OS X and upgrade to the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player web plug-in. The newest version of OS X is OS X 10.11.5, which includes a fix for the bug. OS X 10.11.5 was released to the public on May 16.

On the MacRumors forums, a number of users have confirmed that the OS X 10.11.5 update fixes the freezing problem.

Apple this weekend debuted new ads for Apple Music, featuring record producer, label executive, and musician DJ Khaled. The ads, which aired following the Apple Music launch of DJ Khaled and Drake's new track "For Free," feature DJ Khaled with Naomi Campbell and Ray Liotta.

The first of the two ads, filmed with Naomi Campbell, was shared by DJ Khaled on Twitter. In the spot, DJ Khaled drives Campbell down the Pacific Coast Highway in a Rolls Royce while listening to his new track.


The second ad, featuring Ray Liotta, was shared on the Beats 1 YouTube channel yesterday. In this spot, Liotta and Khaled are in a nail salon getting pedicures while talking about the perks of Apple Music.


DJ Khaled first began partnering up with Apple in February, when he launched his We the Best Radio Show on Beats 1 Music. DJ Khaled's "For Free" single is from his upcoming album Major Key, which is also expected to debut on Apple Music.

Apple has been heavily promoting Apple Music in recent months, and has featured a series of videos starring Taylor Swift.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere today hosted an Un-carrier 11 event, where he announced T-Mobile's latest customer perks, which include a new app that offers weekly freebies, customer stock options, and free in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic flights.

T-Mobile is releasing a new T-Mobile Tuesdays app, available now, with freebies available every Tuesday. Starting tomorrow, T-Mobile customers can get perks like food, movie tickets, ride-sharing credits, and more. Some of T-Mobile's partners include Domino's Pizza and Wendy's.


Tomorrow, all T-Mobile customers will be able to get free frosties and a ticket to the upcoming movie Warcraft. T-Mobile Tuesdays will also include weekly giveaways for trips, with tomorrow's raffle consisting of a Warcraft viewing party with a party bus that can accommodate 40 friends. Extra rewards come from sharing on social networks.

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T-Mobile is also giving a share of T-Mobile stock to every primary account holder and customers who switch to T-Mobile from another carrier. For every customer who brings another customer to T-Mobile, T-Mobile will offer an additional share. Customers can receive up to 100 shares of T-Mobile stock per year. Customers who have been with T-Mobile for more than 5 years will get two shares of stock per referral.

Customers can claim their share starting tomorrow through the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, which will walk customers through the brokerage process.

T-Mobile's final announcement brings a full hour of free GoGo Wi-Fi to T-Mobile customers for every domestic flight they're on, allowing customers to use Google Hangouts, Viber, WhatsApp, and iMessage.

Over the course of the last two years, T-Mobile has aimed to disrupt traditional mobile service with its 11 "Un-carrier" initiatives.

The company began with uncoupling device costs from service costs in 2013, and then went on to offer several additional incentives to encourage customers to switch to the carrier, including paying early termination fees, offering a JUMP! upgrade plan, unlimited texting and 2G data in 100 countries, free streaming music from Spotify, Rdio, iTunes Radio, and Pandora, one week free trials to test the T-Mobile service, Wi-Fi calling, data rollovers, low-cost plans for businesses, and free "Binge-On" video and music streaming.