MacRumors

Apple's streaming music service will soon face another major competitor, as YouTube prepares to launch a paid music service in March of 2018, reports Bloomberg.

YouTube has already inked a deal with Warner Music Group and is in talks with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Merlin, a group of independent labels. The service will allow YouTube to better compete with Spotify and Apple Music, and it will provide more revenue to music labels that have been pushing for more money from the video site.

Yet major record labels say the growth would be even more significant if not for YouTube, which they criticize for not compensating them enough, considering how much people use the site to listen to tunes. Music is one of the most popular genres of video on YouTube, which attracts more than a billion users a month.

YouTube is referring to its new service as "Remix" internally, and it is said to include Spotify-style on-demand streaming along with YouTube-only elements like video clips. YouTube has already been contacting artists for help promoting the service.

According to Bloomberg, YouTube will need to overcome "several hurdles" to meet its March 2018 launch date. YouTube has been stuck in negotiations with Universal and Sony for more than a year.

Hilton today announced the upcoming debut of the "Connected Room," a high-tech guest room that will enable hotel guests to control the temperature, lighting, TV, window coverings, and more from their smartphones using the Hilton Honors app.

Guests will also be able to personalize their rooms using technology that loads popular streaming media and other accounts to their in-room TVs. Eventually, guests will also be able to use voice commands to access content and upload artwork and photos to display in their rooms.

Hilton already allows guests to use the Hilton Honors app to check into their rooms and open their room doors using their smartphones, but with the Connected Room expansion, additional in-room controls will be available.

"At Hilton, almost all digital products are born out of necessity and shortcomings in the marketplace - and Connected Room is no exception," said Joshua Sloser, senior vice president of Digital Product, Hilton. "The technology we put in hotel rooms has to be intuitive, simple and quick to pick up because guests typically spend a limited amount of time in their rooms and we want them to spend that time enjoying the experience instead of adapting to new technology."

The Connected Room is live in one Hilton hotel and will deploy "in the coming weeks" to several more before rolling out on a wider scale in 2018.

Starting in early 2018, Apple users in Brazil will pay for purchases from the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store using the Brazilian real instead of the dollar. The Brazilian real will also be used for Apple Music subscriptions and iCloud storage charges.

Apple began notifying users about the change in emails that were sent out today. Once the currency change happens, all new purchases and subscriptions will be charged in reais rather than dollars.

Since the iTunes Store became available in Brazil in 2011, customers have been required to pay in dollars using an international credit or debit card payment.

At one point, the Brazilian government looked into Apple's payment scheme, leading to speculation at the time that Apple was using dollars instead of reais to avoid software taxes that would negatively impact developers.

(Thanks, João!)

SiriusXM today announced the launch of a new SiriusXM Radio app for the Apple TV, designed to allow SiriusXM subscribers to listen to more than 200 commercial-free radio channels.

The new app is available on the fourth-generation Apple TV and the Apple TV 4K with an interface that has been optimized for the two set-top boxes.

SiriusXM Radio for Apple TV offers customizable music and comedy channels, access to a library of archived SiriusXM On Demand content, easy access to preferred channels and shows, and a syncing feature for resuming shows from SiriusXM On Demand across devices. There's also an integrated screen saver for viewing currently playing content.

"Apple TV is one of the leading and most innovative devices in the burgeoning world of in-home audio and video entertainment. We are excited to bring our extensive programming lineup into homes nationwide with Apple TV," said Jim Cady, SiriusXM's Executive Vice President of Products, Operations & Connected Vehicle.

The SiriusXM service offers access to a wide range of music genres, exclusive channels from Howard Stern, live games and events from professional and college sports, news broadcasts, comedy shows, and more.

Pricing for access to SiriusXM starts at $10.99 per month for a music package and goes up to $20.99 per month for an all access package that includes access to sports channels.

Best Buy this week launched a new Apple sale event, running concurrently with the retailer's existing 20 Days of Doorbusters event this December. The new sale includes promotions and deals on iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Beats by Dre devices, Apple Pencil, and more. We've listed some of the best deals and promotions below, so be sure to check out anything you're interested in before the discounts end on Saturday, December 9 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

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

• iPhone X - Trade in select iPhones towards the purchase of an iPhone X and get a Best Buy gift card worth up to $250

• iPhone 8 and 8 Plus - Save up to $200 when buying and activating with a monthly installment plan

• iPhone 6s - Save $150 when buying and activating with a monthly installment plan

• 10.5-inch iPad Pro - Save $100 on 64GB, $125 on 256GB, and $150 on 512GB Wi-Fi models

• iPad mini 4 - Save $125 on the 128GB model

• MacBook - Save up to $200 on the latest models of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

• iMac - Save up to $200 on the latest 27-inch and 21.5-inch models

• iTunes Gift Cards - Buy one, get one 20 percent off

In other deals, Amazon's $50 iTunes gift card for $42.50 from this morning is still ongoing, but as of writing it has reached a 49 percent claim rate so it will be ending shortly. Also of note is Day 7 of Best Buy's 20 Days of Doorbusters event, with today's discount focusing on the WD easystore 8TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive for $139.99, down from $299.99.

Head over to our Deals Roundup for more of the latest discounts, including savings of up to $850 on Vizio's SmartCast TV set and sound bar bundles.

LIFX, a company that makes a range of smart light bulbs and other lighting products, recently embraced HomeKit and introduced several HomeKit-compatible lights that are an alternative to the popular Philips Hue line of smart lights.

One of the new products that's been updated with HomeKit support is the LIFX Z, a $90 light strip that's comparable to the LightStrip Plus from Philips, which I was able to test this week. The LIFX Z is a multi-zone light strip that supports up to 16 million colors, and like the Philips Hue LightStrip Plus, it measures in at 6.6 feet. You can buy extensions to make it longer.

I'm deep in the Hue ecosystem with seven Hue lights in my office alone, so it was interesting to try an alternate solution. LIFX products, unlike Hue, connect directly to WiFi and thus don't require a bridge for functionality. This is nice because it means there's nothing to connect to your home router, but I did notice that the LIFX Z can be slower to respond to input than the Hue products.

Design wise, the LIFX Z looks a lot like the Hue LightStrip Plus. It's a strip of LED lights with an adhesive backing that can be attached to cabinets, desks, walls, and more. At one end, there's what I assume is a controller for HomeKit, which can also be attached next to the lights with adhesive, and a power adapter that needs to be plugged in.

The LIFX Z light strip is thinner than the Philips version, and it comes in two pieces that attach together with thin metal prongs. The Hue LightStrip is all one piece and is thicker, so it feels sturdier. I'm worried about the longevity of the LIFX Z, especially if I choose to move it sometime in the future because of the delicate prongs and the thinner design.

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Following in the footsteps of parent company Facebook, Instagram is beginning a test in six countries today that will see the launch of a new standalone app called "Direct," which will be solely focused on direct messaging friends and family members. As reported by The Verge, this could be the "first step" toward potentially removing messaging features from the main Instagram app.

Chile, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Uruguay will get Direct on iOS and Android today, and if you download the app there and link it to your Instagram account, then your inbox in the core Instagram app "disappears" and can then only be accessed in Direct. Instagram currently has "no timeline" for a global launch outside of these countries, but said that its reason for segmenting off Direct in a test is to create a "best-in-class" experience for private messaging, which could not be possible inside a social-sharing application.

“We want Instagram to be a place for all of your moments, and private sharing with close friends is an important part of that,” Hemal Shah, an Instagram product manager, told me. “Direct has grown within Instagram over the past four years, but we can make it even better if it stands on its own. We can push the boundaries to create the fastest and most creative space for private sharing when Direct is a camera-first, standalone app.”

Direct is said to open to a camera like Snapchat, encouraging you to send photo messages to friends, and then you can swipe to go left to see your profile and settings, or right to navigate to your list of recent contacts. Direct also includes all of the usual filters, doodle tools, and photo effects Instagram has launched in stories and picture editing over the past year, as well as four new exclusive filters. "That's the whole app," according to The Verge, which also reported on a new way to easily jump between Direct and Instagram.

Still, there are some nice touches. Designers built what might be the niftiest app transition I’ve ever seen: If you start swiping to the right of the Direct inbox, an Instagram logo pops begins to peak out from the side of the app. Swipe all the way to the right and Direct will open Instagram. Similarly, you can swipe right in Instagram to reveal the Direct logo — a modified version of the paper-plane logo Instagram has long used for messages — and completing your swipe will take you back to Direct.

Since Facebook broke off Messenger into its own app in 2014, the company has added in chat bots, games, location sharing, ephemeral stories, online friend statuses, group video chat, and more. It's expected that Direct will also expand in a similar way if Instagram goes through with a global launch of the new app, which is starting off barebones in its test, leaving room for the company to "make it even better," according to Instagram product manager Hemal Shah.

Honeywell today announced that its Lyric Controller home security system is now compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform.

HomeKit support can be enabled with a free software update available to both current and future Lyric Controller customers, allowing the home security system to be controlled with Apple's Home app or Siri on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

By using Siri, homeowners can control the security system's personalized presets and automate scenes for energy saving and security.

Honeywell's Lyric Controller has a seven-inch touchscreen and a built-in camera. If a Lyric sensor or motion detector detects an unusual situation, the system will provide visual and audible alerts and send notifications to an iPhone or iPad.

The home security system can be purchased on Amazon for $288 in the United States and is available at select other resellers around the world.

Music streaming service Tidal on Wednesday announced its compatibility with Apple CarPlay, enabling subscribers to stream music through their vehicle's dash-integrated infotainment systems.

The support comes via an iOS app update, which also includes interface harmonization with iPhone X screens, ensuring Tidal's default dark theme makes the most of those 5.8-inch OLED displays.

The My Collection section of the app is the hub of Tidal's CarPlay integration, where listeners can gain access to their favorited tracks, albums, and playlists.

As noted by The Verge, a special version of the Explore section will also let users find new music and podcasts, including the most played versions of both.

The update follows Tidal's announcement last month that it was providing in-app support for Sonos speaker systems, allowing subscribers to control their Sonos home sound systems directly from within the Tidal interface.

Eternal Storms today released version 1.1 of Yoink for iPhone and iPad, the mobile version of the popular drag-and-drop Mac app. On iOS 11, Yoink acts like a convenient shelf for users to drag in files and other content, do something else (switch apps, tabs, and so on) and then easily access those items again by dragging them out of Yoink.

A handful of new iOS integrations are particularly notable in the latest update. For example, Yoink now offers enhanced clipboard awareness, so that when users copy something to the clipboard, Yoink will automatically offer to store it for them.

Elsewhere, when sharing a URL with Yoink through its new action extension in a share sheet, the app offers to either store the URL itself in Yoink or to download the file the URL points to in the background.

There's also a new Today Widget, offering quick access to the most recent items stored in Yoink as well as another avenue to storing clipboard contents, while additional 3D Touch Quick Actions make it easier to add clipboard contents from the home screen.

Meanwhile, the app's UI design has been tweaked for iPhone X support, and each item and stack in Yoink now has a button that can be tapped to quickly copy, share, select, delete, and more. After the update has been applied, items stored in Yoink can be accessed from any app that supports iOS 11's Files browser.

Other improvements to the app in this version include a smaller memory footprint, easier stacking of items via drag and drop, a new "never-delete" auto-empty trash option, Spotlight indexing for text items, and a number of bug fixes.

Yoink is available on the App Store for $2.99 in a limited time deal (regular price $4.99). The app is localized in English, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese, with
more languages will follow. The Mac version of Yoink is available for $6.99.

Apple today published its annual lists featuring the most popular media content in the iTunes Store and iBooks Store in 2017, highlighting the best music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and books.

"The Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran was the top song of the year, while the top album was Drake's "More Life." Other hit albums included Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN," Taylor Swift's "Reputation," Ed Sheeran's "Divide," and "Starboy" from The Weeknd.

Top movies in 2017 included "Moana," "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," "Wonder Woman," "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2," and "Sing."

The Top TV shows were "Game of Thrones," "The Walking Dead," "The Big Bang Theory," "The Americans," and "Rick and Morty."

NPR's "Fresh Air" was the most downloaded podcast, followed by "The Joe Rogan EXperience" and "Stuff You Should Know."

The best selling fiction book of the year was "Camino Island: by John Grisham, followed by "The Handmade's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and "Origin" by Dan Brown. "Hillbilly Elegy" was the number one nonfiction book, followed by "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson and "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil de Grasse Tyson.

Full top lists for movies, TV shows, books, music, and podcasts can be found in Apple Music, the iTunes Store and the iBooks Store.

Apple today updated its Apple Store app to version 4.4, introducing iOS 11 enhancements and a new scanner feature for quickly adding your credit card information at checkout.

According to the release notes, the app update also allows customers to bypass pre-authorization and activate later on full price purchases of iPhones, a purchasing option that has been available for the iPhone X on the Apple Store website since November.

What's New in Version 4.4
- iOS 11 enhancements
- Scanner now available to easily add your credit card information at checkout
- Customers now have the option to bypass pre-authorization and activate later on full price purchases of iPhones on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint

The Apple Store app is Apple's iOS storefront, allowing customers to find and purchase a range of Apple products and accessories. It can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]