MacRumors

Apple Music DJ Zane Lowe has recently begun discussing the upcoming shows for a few artists on the Beats 1 radio service, including hour-long series centering around Haim, Major Lazer, and Eric Prydz. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Lowe discussed how difficult it was to essentially build an entire radio station from the ground up in just a few months, along with the challenge he and his team faced in gathering enough talent to fill his idea for weekly shows.

“[And] I’ve spent so much time trying to elicit information from musicians,” he continues. “Knocking on doors and hoping for 30 minutes or an hour. That’s hard! That’s really hard! So we thought, ‘What would happen if we convinced them, the artists, to invest in it and create their own platform? What road might that take us down?’ And now, 70-80% of what goes to air is made by people who make music.”

“We knew a lot of the people were only available for a short amount of time. So we were immediately thinking about how it was going to end, which got us to the idea of doing it all in seasons. Once we decided to do that, as challenging as that can be, it created a far more exciting prospect.”

The original programming blocks put into rotation after Apple Music's launch included shows from Elton John, Pharrell, and Dr. Dre. Today's announcement confirms that users will be able to look forward to a new slate of shows coming this fall, with Major Lazer's "Lazer Sound" launching on Friday, October 2 at 6 p.m. Eastern.

A week later, Eric Prydz's show will debut and alternate Friday's with "Lazer Sound." The slot for the band Haim -- which is composed of a trio of sisters from southern California -- has yet to be announced, but Lowe hinted at a show filled with the group's brand of "infectious" music coupled with personal stories about their upbringing. Ultimately, Lowe plans to keep Apple Music and Beats 1 on a path of unique diversity among its music offerings and programmed shows, and thinks that's what ultimately makes the service unique for its users.

“You’re either going to get this really intimate, closed door experience (Homme, St. Vincent), or a very genuine depiction of the banality and craziness of being in different hotel rooms and bus stops (WRTJ),” Lowe says. “I love that. There doesn’t have to be a barrier between us and artists, it can be just as creative of a pursuit as designing your stage set or t-shirt design. Seeing how people have used that has been really, really cool. It’s like, let’s give people all the options, so they can choose. Let’s give them the best, easiest place to hear what they love and maybe find out a thing or two.”

When Apple Music launched over the summer, it was met with a somewhat mixed reaction, balancing praises of its convenience and robust offerings but hampered by its UI and layout, among other launch issues. Many of those who initially signed up for Apple Music and received its three-month-long free trial will soon have to decide whether to commit to paying its $9.99 per month charge or cease using Apple's new streaming music service.

A report from August suggests many of the service's initial users have already begun to stop using it even before their free trial ended. Fortunately for those interested in the radio aspect of Apple Music, Beats 1 and its upcoming shows are available without a subscription.

Sprint today announced a new offer as part of its iPhone Forever program, where customers can get the new 16GB version of the iPhone 6s for $1 per month and the iPhone 6s Plus for $5 per month, with the trade-in of an iPhone 6. The carrier noted that the new offer is a "limited time" deal for those users visiting Sprint's retail locations, with the official launch of the program coinciding with the new iPhone debut on Friday morning.

Just like T-Mobile's offering, the price required to pay each month will vary depending on the exact type of iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus model you purchase, and the quality of the iPhone 6 that is traded in. With that in mind, customers can expect to pay around $5.77/month (64GB) or $10.53 (128GB) when purchasing an iPhone 6s, and $9.77/month (64GB) or $14.53 (128GB) when buying an iPhone 6s Plus.

“Once again it is clear that the best place to get the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is Sprint,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “New and existing customers who trade in their current iPhone 6 can now get a device for only $1/month, making it the best way to get the iPhone – and a yearly upgrade is included in this charge. We are certain that more people will continue to switch to Sprint because of the great service and value we offer.”

Those who trade in an iPhone 5s will also be able to participate in the offer, but can expect slightly higher monthly rates due to the older model of the iPhone. Preparations have begun for the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The smartphones will officially go on sale tomorrow, September 25 in first-wave launch countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, and the United States.

Apple today updated its lineup of Solo2 Wireless, Tour2, and Powerbeats 2 Wireless headphones, adding a trio of new colors as part of a new "Active Collection." The Beats Tour2 In-Ear Headphones, Solo2 Wireless Headphones, and Powerbeats2 Wireless In-Ear Headphones are now available in simple primary shades of Blue, Yellow, and Red.

There are no changes to the hardware or the pricing of the three sets of headphones, and the Active Collection joins the existing range of color options for each product. Apple will likely begin offering the new Active Collection in its retail stores in the near future, and each of the three products is available immediately from the online store.

Both the Active Collection Solo2 Wireless Headphones and the Powerbeats2 Wireless In-Ear Headphones will ship out to customers immediately with next day shipping, but the Tour2 In-Ear Headphones lists a delivery date of Tuesday, September 29.

Pricing for the Active Collection starts at $129.95 for the Tour2, with the PowerBeats2 priced at $199.95 and the Solo2 priced at $299.95.

Apple has designed a keyboard for its larger-screened 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but for other iPads, such as the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 4, customers looking for a keyboard solution will need to stick with keyboards created by third-party manufacturers.

Zagg is often a popular choice among iPad users who need a keyboard, so we went hands-on with the Zagg Folio Keyboard Case for the iPad Air 2 in our latest video review. The Folio is a thin case that has a built-in keyboard, turning the iPad into a mini laptop.

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We weren't fans of the construction of the case. It's made of plastic, with a leather texture added to the top and bottom, but its plastic design makes it fragile. We ended up cracking our review unit when attempting to get the iPad in and out of the case. While Zagg has a replacement program in place for faulty products, we wish this case was made of better materials.

The Folio allows the iPad to be angled into several different viewing positions, and it leaves all of the ports on iPad accessible. It includes a keyboard with backlighting, and while the keyboard is not full-sized, it doesn't take long to adjust to the smaller keys. The keys felt similar to the keys on a MacBook Pro keyboard and weren't too mushy or too clicky.

The Zagg Folio Keyboard Case for the iPad Air 2 can be purchased from the Zagg website for $99.

Note: MacRumors received no compensation for this review.

Sony Pictures and Rovio today revealed the first full-length trailer for next summer's film adaptation of the popular iOS game Angry Birds (via Coming Soon). First announced back in 2012, the movie stars Jason Sudeikis as Red, Josh Gad as Chuck, Danny McBride as Bomb, and Bill Hader as the villainous pig Leonard. According to the film's producer John Cohen, the movie aims to answer the question posed most to Rovio by the game's fans, "Why are these birds so angry?"

The movie is set to debut in theaters on July 1, 2016. When it opens, The Angry Birds Movie will premiere about seven years after the release of the original game. Earlier in the year, developer Rovio reported its first major profit decline since the debut of the first Angry Birds, and even began laying off employees last month.

Announced alongside the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus at Apple's "Hey Siri" event earlier in September, the iPad Pro has seen a little less coverage than the company's new smartphone line thanks to its less immediate launch date of November. All the same, a few companies have confirmed accessory support for the 12.9-inch tablet, with detailed information and pre-orders already up for some of the third-party cases.

First is Waterfield's zippered iPad Travel Express case, which the company has offered for the iPad Air 2 in the past, and will now provide versions for the iPad Mini 4 ($64) and all-new iPad Pro ($89). Waterfield promises that the durable case will store charging cables, power bricks, the new Apple Pencil, and can even fit the full iPad Pro alongside the Smart Keyboard accessory Apple also introduced on September 9.

The Travel Express case comes with an optional shoulder strap accessory, sold separately, that customers can purchase to carry their iPad Pro hands-free. Waterfield's iPad Pro case is up for pre-order now, but the company notes that those who order now can expect a shipping date of about a week-and-a-half after Apple begins shipping the iPad Pro units to customers.

Brenthaven's BX² Sleeve Plus acts as sort of an active-lifestyle counterpart to Waterfield's more classically designed case, with a "patent-pending Secure Grip handle" to provide users with a strengthened hold on the case alongside the company's "Xtreme Foam" outer layer providing drop protection from all sides. The $49.95 case -- available for purchase today -- also has a smaller outer pocket to fit a smartphone or charging cable, and comes in both blue/black and red/black color options.

Catalyst touts its upcoming case for the iPad Pro as "the world's first fully-waterproof case" for the new Apple tablet, with a waterproof rating of IP68 that can submerge up to 2m. The company says that full functionality of the iPad Pro is kept in check thanks to an "integrated touchscreen film," allowing users access to Touch ID and all the promised nuances of the Apple Pencil.

The case will also provide unobstructed acoustic emissions from the iPad Pro's four speakers, thanks to the location of a handful of "acoustic membranes" on the case. The Catalyst Case for iPad Pro is the only option not up for immediate purchase or pre-order today, with the company encouraging users to follow them on various social media platforms and sign up for their mailing list to be updated on its availability.

As with any major product launch, there are also a handful of cheaper knock-off options for customers to consider. On Amazon alone the cheapest alternative for an iPad Pro case is $6.99, with a few other, more intricate cases going up to around $29.99. With a launch in November, customers who plan to purchase Apple's new big-screen tablet have plenty of time to shop around for a suitable case option, and should probably keep in mind that Apple will introduce its own first-party options into the mix as we get closer to the device's launch.

Pixelmator for iOS was today updated with full support for iOS 9, enabling split-screen multitasking when used on an iPad. Pixelmator supports full Split View, which will allow the Pixelmator app to be used side-by-side with other apps on the iPad mini 4 and the iPad Air 2. On older iPads, split-screen multitasking will be limited to Slide Over.

"Pixelmator always takes advantage of the latest iOS features and technologies, and today we're thrilled to bring Pixelmator for iOS 2.1, which includes full support for iOS 9, 8K image support, and the ability for iPad users to work in Pixelmator and any other app at the same time with Split View and Slide Over." said Aidas Dailide, one of the founders of the Pixelmator Team. "With the new features in Pixelmator for iOS, it is even easier and more fun to edit images on the go."

Today's update also includes support for 8K resolution images, letting users edit photos that are up to 64 megapixels on their iPhone or iPad, and Spotlight Search on the iPhone and iPad will now index Pixelmator documents so they'll show up in search results.

There's a new "Open in Place" feature to open images from anywhere and save edits in the same place, and the "Save to Photos" feature will now open images from Photos and save edits onto the same image without creating a duplicate image.

Pixelmator can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has announced on Twitter that it will offer the iPhone 6s for as low as $5 per month through JUMP! On Demand with an iPhone 6 trade in, or as low as $10 per month with an iPhone 5s trade in. The exact monthly payment will range between $5 and $15 per month depending on the iPhone 6s model you purchase and older iPhone model traded in.

If you do not want to trade in your current iPhone, T-Mobile has a JUMP! On Demand promotion that offers the 16GB iPhone 6s for $20 per month for 18 months with zero dollars paid upfront, totaling $360 under the agreement the device is returned in good condition. To keep the iPhone, you must pay an additional $164, bringing the total cost to $524 -- a savings of $125 and the best deal for those willing to join T-Mobile.

T-Mobile will begin selling the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus on September 25. The smartphones will support T-Mobile's Extended Range LTE on the 700MHz spectrum, which extends the network's LTE signal twice as far from its cellular towers and works four times better in buildings. T-Mobile Extended Range LTE is live in 175 markets and covers more than half of the American population.

T-Mobile will honor this deal for customers who already pre-ordered an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus.