Latest Taylor Swift Album 'Folklore' Sets New Apple Music Streaming Record for a Pop Release
Taylor Swift's new album has achieved a new high for most streamed pop album on Apple Music since its surprise release last week (via Deadline). Folklore set a record for the most streams in a 24-window on the service, reaching 35.47 million plays.
Its success was even more impressive on Spotify, where the singer-songwriter's eighth studio album racked up 79.4 million listens in its first 24 hours of availability, according to Swift's Republic Records label.
Written and recorded remotely during the first few months of the global health crisis, Folklore finds the 30-year-old singer-songwriter teaming up with The National's Aaron Dessner and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff for a set of ruminative and lo-fi bedroom pop songs.
Since its Thursday release, the album also surpassed 1.3 million global sales in its first twenty-four hours, which should see the album easily debut at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart, giving it the best showing since Swift's Lover album came out in 2019.
Swift and Apple have famously had a somewhat rocky relationship in previous years, with the artist in 2015 penning an open letter to Apple Music about the service's initial stance on refusing to pay royalties to artists during the three-month free trial period. Swift opposed this aspect of Apple Music, so she decided to keep her 2014 album 1989 off of Apple Music at the time.
Soon after the letter was publicized, Apple reversed course and began paying artists during this period of time when new subscribers are on the free trial of Apple Music. This eventually led to a closer relationship between Swift and Apple, with her music debuting on the service along with the launch of a series of Apple Music ads starring Swift that debuted throughout the spring of 2016.
More recently, last year Swift partnered with Apple in the company's retail store-hosted "Music Lab" sessions, in which customers find out what inspired artists to write their songs.
Popular Stories
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others.
During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3.
AirDrop
Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts.
iOS 26.2...
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time.
Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date.
Keep reading...
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features.
OLED Display
The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind.
Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe.
Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
A new study has revealed that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air achieve significantly faster average Wi-Fi speeds compared to the iPhone 16 series, thanks to Apple's custom-designed N1 chip.
The study was conducted by Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest website and app. It said the results are based on global, crowdsourced Speedtest user data...
We're getting closer to Black Friday, which lands next week on Friday, November 28. In the lead-up to the shopping holiday, we're tracking a few lowest-ever prices on Apple's most popular Macs, including the M4 MacBook Air and brand new M5 MacBook Pro.
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,...
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois.
The announcement confirmed that the...
