During an on-stage interview at the Midem Music Industry Festival in Cannes today, Sony Music CEO Doug Morris confirmed Apple will indeed be introducing its "Apple Music" streaming service at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote tomorrow, according to VentureBeat. While numerous sources have indicated the service will be unveiled at WWDC, Morris' confirmation is notable as coming from a close friend of Apple's Jimmy Iovine and one of the parties involved in the negotiations for launching the service.
Sony Music CEO Doug Morris (right) on stage at Midem (Chris O'Brien/VentureBeat)
“It’s happening tomorrow,” Morris said during an interview at Midem in Cannes that primarily focused on his storied career in the music industry.
A highlight of that career was a 37-year partnership with iconic producer Jimmy Iovine, who now is running Apple’s music services after the company paid $3 billion to acquire Beats. Underscoring Iovine’s role in the music industry, Morris said he still talks to him twice every day by phone. Morris said the move by Apple to bring in Iovine was a brilliant one.
Morris didn't reveal any other details about Apple Music, which is expected to be priced at $10 per month with a generous three-month free trial period and be accompanied by a revamped iTunes Radio service, but he expressed his view that Apple's entry into the paid subscription streaming market will be a "tipping point" for moving the industry from downloads to streaming.
Update Apple's Chief of French content for Apple TV has shared a photo on Instagram apparently showing he has added Apple Music to his responsibilities.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker.
In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products.
Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year.
Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2.
HomePod mini 2
In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
Am I the only one here who isn't looking forward to 20 minutes of Apple Watch & Apple Stores statistics and then another 30+ minutes dedicated to this music service?
I'm looking forward to stellar new OS X & iOS releases! And hopefully some other unknown surprises!
2015 Keynote:
- 30 minutes of "Look at our sales, WOW! Everyone give each other a hug, did we mention we love our customers?" - iOS 9: Stability improvements! - OS X: Stability improvements! - Apple Music: "OMG look it's U-2!!!" - Fade to black...
There. I just saved you two hours of time and months of Mandarin or sign language classes. You can thank me later.
Am I the only one here who isn't looking forward to 20 minutes of Apple Watch & Apple Stores statistics and then another 30+ minutes dedicated to this music service?
I'm looking forward to stellar new OS X & iOS releases! And hopefully some other unknown surprises!
Under Steve Jobs, a reveal in advance of the keynote would have meant a broken partnership with Sony. The employee who revealed on Instagram would have been fired instantly as well.
