Apple's upcoming revamped music service may be coming at the perfect time, right as revenue from streaming music is beginning to surpass revenue from digital downloads.
Streaming music services have been growing in popularity over the last several years, and in an earnings call today (via Re/code), Warner Music Group CEO Stephen Cooper told investors that for the first time, the company earned more revenue from streaming music services than from digital downloads.
Warner Music Group saw a 33 percent increase in its revenue from streaming music services from companies like Spotify and YouTube during the second quarter of 2015, while revenue from digital downloads like those from iTunes grew only seven percent. During the call, Cooper said that the growth of streaming music makes it "abundantly clear" that in the future, "streaming will be the way that most people enjoy music."
"We experienced significant revenue growth this quarter across key segments of our business -- in particular Recorded Music, across the U.S. and international and across digital and physical -- capping off a strong first half of our fiscal year" said Stephen Cooper, Warner Music Group's CEO. "Notably, in this quarter we saw continued growth in streaming revenue which surpassed download revenue for the first time in the history of our recorded music business. Our commitment to being at the forefront of industry change as well as our ongoing investment in artist development is the foundation of our continued success."
Warner Music Group says that it expects streaming growth will continue, and it believes that declines in download revenue will be "a continuing trend." Apple too has seen a stark decline in digital revenue in recent years, with sales dropping 5.7 percent in 2013 and further declining 13 percent worldwide in 2014.
A decline in iTunes music sales may have been one of the major factors that spurred Apple to purchase Beats Music, giving it a foothold in the streaming music market that it was late to enter. Apple has seen some criticism for its failure to embrace streaming music early on and the somewhat lukewarm reception of iTunes Radio.
Beats Music has failed to draw a significant number of customers away from Spotify, which has 60 million subscribers, of which 15 million pay for the premium service, but with more than 800 million credit cards on file, Apple's upcoming revamped streaming music service has the potential to overtake competing services.
Rumors have suggested that the new service will be similar to the existing Beats Music service, but with a focus on exclusive content and deep integration into iTunes and Apple's iOS Music app. It will be priced at $9.99 and no freemium tier will be offered, but Apple is looking at ways to offer music for free, through lengthy trial periods, iTunes Radio, and possibly a SoundCloud-like music sharing platform.
iOS developer Nicholas Allegra, better known by his handle "comex" within the jailbreaking community, shared a short video on Twitter that shows a web browser running on the Apple Watch. The fifteen-second clip shows Allegra tapping, panning and zooming on the Google homepage on the Apple Watch, but the functionality is limited as to be expected because of the small screen size and lack of an on-screen keyboard.
"I always wanted a web browser on my wrist," tweeted Allegra, who later shared another picture of the iOS built-in dictionary running on the Apple Watch. Allegra stopped short of providing details about the hack, but a web browser running on the Apple Watch is an interesting proof-of-concept and fuels the possibility of an Apple Watch jailbreak or native apps with web browsing capabilities in the future.
Apple confirmed last November that fully native Apple Watch apps will be available later this year, but it remains unclear what restrictions Apple will place on them. Apple Watch apps are currently loaded from a paired iPhone via Bluetooth as WatchKit extensions, and developers do not have access to the Apple Watch's gyroscope, accelerometer, built-in speaker, microphone or Taptic Engine.
Allegra was an active member of the jailbreaking community in the early years of iOS devices, while attending Brown University in Rhode Island. Under the pseudonym "comex," he revived JailbreakMe.com in early 2011 as a one-tap jailbreaking solution for compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices at the time. He later interned at Apple in 2011 and Google in 2013.
Apple today seeded the third beta of OS X 10.10.4 to developers, approximately two weeks after releasing the second OS X 10.10.4 beta and three weeks after releasing the first OS X 10.10.4 beta. OS X 10.10.4 has been in testing since mid-April, following the early April release of OS X 10.10.3, which included the new Photos for OS X app.
The beta, build 14E17e, can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Mac Developer Center. Apple is asking developers to focus on Photos, Migration, and Arabic and Hebrew languages.
OS X 10.10.3 introduced several consumer-facing changes including the new Photos for OS X app, a redesigned emoji picker, new diversified emoji, and more, but OS X 10.10.4 appears to be an under-the-hood update that brings performance enhancements and bug fixes. Thus far, OS X 10.10.4 betas have not included outward facing design changes or feature additions.
The first two updates to OS X Yosemite, OS X 10.10.1 and OS X 10.10.2, were also minor behind-the-scenes updates that improved performance through bug fixes and enhancements.
Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 8.4 to registered developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the second iOS 8.4 beta and three weeks after releasing the first iOS 8.4 beta. iOS 8.4 has been in testing since mid-April, following the early April release of iOS 8.3. Today's beta is also available to public beta testers.
The beta, build 12H4098c, is available as an over-the-air download and through the iOS Developer Center. Apple has also released Xcode 6.4 beta 3 to developers.
iOS 8.4's major feature is an all-new Music app that includes a revamped look. The Music app's new design shows pictures of artists in the Artists view and it offers a new MiniPlayer with a redesigned look for "Now Playing." There are personalized playlists, global search capabilities that make it easier to search within the Music app, and a streamlined design for iTunes Radio to bolster music discovery.
The first two iOS 8.4 betas had long lists of bugs associated with the new Music app, which Apple has been working to resolve with subsequent betas. According to the release notes, the third beta includes a few fixes for lingering issues to make the Music app more stable, but there continue to be a long list of known issues with the app.
Siri is not able to control iTunes Radio in beta 4, AirPlay streaming may be broken, Home Sharing and Genius Mixes are not available, and there are stability issues when using Up Next or iTunes Radio. It's also not possible to start a station from a song or artist, deleting an empty playlist can cause crashes, and the Music app may forget its place when exiting to the home screen. In addition to these issues, there are several other remaining problems with the app that will be worked out in future beta releases.
iOS 8.4's redesigned Music app comes ahead of the rumored debut of a redesigned streaming music service that may make an appearance at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The upcoming streaming music service is said to be similar to Apple's existing Beats music service, but with a rebranding, a redesign, deeper integration into iTunes, and a focus on exclusive content.
Changes to the Music app in iOS 8.4 beta 3: iTunes Radio - The iTunes Radio portion of the Music app has seen a few interface changes, including a new font for the "Recently Played" section at the top of the app and new fonts for each iTunes Radio category.
Offline options - There's a new toggle in the Music app for showing music that's available offline on a particular device. There's also a new icon for denoting which songs are stored offline.
Search - Trending searches (added in beta 2) have been removed and Search history includes both local searches and iTunes Radio searches.
Apple is exploring the possibility of equipping the much-rumored 12.9-inch "iPad Pro" with an improved touch panel that uses silver nano wire (AgNW) material instead of ITO-based clear film, according to South Korea's Electronic Times (via G4Games). The flexible touch panel would reportedly have greater accuracy and sensitivity and be able to recognize multiple pressure levels, which could allow for Force Touch.
The report claims that Apple requested samples of the touch panel ready for mass-production from LG Display, Samsung Display, Japan Display and other major display manufacturers at the start of this week, and predicts that the company will release a new 12.9-inch iPad next year as the first device utilizing the new touch panel technology. Recent rumors have pointed towards a late 2015 unveiling of the iPad Pro.
Apple could benefit from lower production costs by using AgNW touch panels, according to the report, since the technology does not require using a scarce metal like indium. The report adds that Apple is also considering applying a thin layer of sapphire crystal to the touch panel, but it remains questionable if the company's suppliers are capable of effectively producing the material for large-screened tablets yet.
The 12.9-inch iPad is rumored to feature a built-in NFC chip, pressure-sensitive Bluetooth stylus, Force Touch, one USB-C port and Apple's latest A-series processor. Rumors suggest that the NFC chip will enable the iPad to be used as a payment terminal, while the single USB-C port will either replace or supplement the Lightning connector equipped on other current iPads.
The Apple Watch has been put through a variety of waterproofing tests since its public launch in April, but over the weekend endurance sports and tech blogger Ray Maker posted a few Apple Watch-related waterproof videos, including the first lap swimming test with Apple's new wearable.
As Maker notes in his blog post, many people have uploaded videos detailing simple waterproof tests in smaller backyard pools, but there has until now been little information on the Watch's ability to withstand higher-intensity swimming activities. As he notes, "It’s the wrist hitting the water that’s so difficult for watch waterproofing due to the impact forces," so that's what he decides to focus on in the test. After about 25 minutes in the water and a 1200 meter swim, Maker found results similar to most other waterproofing tests over the past few weeks - the Apple Watch remains seemingly unharmed by even the most daunting submerged water tests.
Afterwards, he aims to increase the water impact experimentation on the wearable by diving off of his local public pool's high diving platform. As Maker mentions, it's another item on the list of warnings given by Apple to avoid subjecting the Watch -- "Dropping Apple Watch or subjecting it to other impacts" -- but even after two jumps off the 5 meter platform and one off the 10 meter, the Apple Watch continued to perform normally for the tech blogger.
Maker's final test lies outside of a swimming pool in a makeshift waterproof test chamber, designed to simulate varying meters of pressure below the surface of the water. The Apple Watch, which is rated for only 1 meter of depth for waterproofing, was simulated with two separate dives of 40 meters during Maker's test. The results, unsurprisingly, fell in line with his previous findings for the Watch, with all of its various features appearing to function as expected following the stress test.
I’m impressed, it’s still chugging along after that – with not a single sign of any issues at all. Clearly this is all more than adequate for any sort of casual sweat or showering. Though I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out over the next few weeks just in case.
Of course, the slightly awkward thing is that despite this battery of tests, the unit still isn’t warrantied for any of this, including even a simple shower with soap. Now whether or not an Apple Store employee would question a watch that arrives back dead probably remains to be seen. On the flip side, it’s also clear that it’s probably quite a bit harder to kill the thing than Apple would have you believe.
As with any new product category, the Apple Watch has faced a deluge of various testing in videos and on blogs around the web ever since it launched to customers on April 24. Ray Maker's experiments provide the first real glimpse at the usability of the Watch in a high-intensity swimming environment, and definitely provides more ease-of-mind to those worrying about getting their watch even slightly wet. Still, Maker reiterates that given that the Watch "doesn’t take advantage of its internal accelerometers for any swimming metrics," he advises to leave it behind when swimming in a pool.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has expanded his social media presence by creating an account on Chinese microblogging service Weibo, where he has already accumulated over 325,000 followers as of writing. Cook's first post on Weibo reflects on his current visit to Beijing to announce new environmental initiatives in China, including a new multi-year forestland program in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund.
"Hello China! Happy to be back in Beijing, announcing innovative new environmental programs," wrote Cook, followed by a Chinese translation of the same message. Last month, Apple announced a partnership with SunPower Corporation to build two 20-megawatt solar power plants that will provide more than enough energy to power all of Apple's corporate offices and retail stores in China.
Coinciding with Cook's visit to China this week, market research firm IDC has released new data for the smartphone market that reveals Apple was the largest smartphone vendor in China during the first quarter of 2015. Apple shipped 14.5 million smartphones in China during the quarter for 14.7% market share, while Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi trailed in second with 13.5 million shipments and 13.7% market share.
Huawei, Samsung and Lenovo rounded off the top five smartphone vendors in China during the first quarter, although IDC notes that each vendor's rankings often change quickly due to the volatility of consumer brand preference in China. Samsung and Lenovo, for example, both led the market at least once last year, but ranked fourth and fifth in the first quarter respectively.
"Apple was the top smartphone vendor in China in the first quarter of 2015, with consumers still having a strong appetite for the larger screens on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Xiaomi slipped to the second position as it faced strong competition from other vendors in the low to mid-range segment of the market, while Huawei maintained third position as it saw a good uptake in the mid-range segment. Samsung and Lenovo both led the market at least once last year, but rankings have since changed quickly, highlighting the volatility of consumers' brand preference in China."
With an estimated 1.4 billion people and growing, China is the world's most populous country and over three times larger than the United States, which has an estimated population of 320 million people. China is an increasingly important market for Apple, given that the country had higher iPhone sales than the United States for the first time ever during the most recent quarter.
Apple today announced a new multi-year project with World Wildlife Fund to protect up to 1 million acres of responsibly managed working forests in China, which the company says provide fiber for pulp, paper and wood products. The new forestland program is part of Apple's goal to run its worldwide operations on 100% renewable energy.
Apple also confirmed plans to expand its industry-leading renewable energy projects to manufacturing facilities in China, three weeks after the company announced a partnership with SunPower Corporation to build two 20-megawatt solar power plants that will provide more than enough energy to power all of Apple's corporate offices and retail stores in the world's most populous country.
“We’ve set an example by greening our data centers, retail stores and corporate offices, and we’re ready to start leading the way toward reducing carbon emissions from manufacturing,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “This won’t happen overnight—in fact it will take years—but it’s important work that has to happen, and Apple is in a unique position to take the initiative toward this ambitious goal. It is a responsibility we accept. We are excited to work with leaders in our supply chain who want to be on the cutting edge of China’s green transformation.”
Apple shared its 2015 Environmental Responsibility Report in April, reflecting on the company's environmental progress during the 2014 fiscal year. The report highlights that 100% of the company's U.S. operations and 87% of its global operations are run on renewable energy. The report also reveals that Apple emitted 34.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions during the 12-month period ending September.
At CES, popular iPhone lens manufacturer Olloclip showed MacRumors an upcoming iPhone case designed to work with its line of lenses, and at the time, we were highly impressed with the design. As of this week, Olloclip is now accepting pre-orders for the case, called the OlloCase, which we were able to get our hands on ahead of release.
Those of you familiar with Olloclip's line of lenses know that they're not able to work with iPhone cases due to the way that they fit tightly over the iPhone's camera, so until now, iPhone photography enthusiasts had to choose between using an Olloclip lens and having a case to protect their iPhone from drops and scratches. That's no longer the case, as the new OlloCase is compatible with the company's latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus lens systems.
Olloclip's previous venture into case creation for the iPhone 5 and 5s resulted in a thick plastic case that was overly bulky, but for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Olloclip has designed an entirely new case that's impressively svelte. Available in clear and smoke black, the case is made from a thin textured plastic that lets the design of the iPhone shine through.
The sides of the case are constructed from rubber (gray for the clear case and black for the darker case) to protect the iPhone from drops. The rubber extends just a bit past the phone's display to keep the glass free from scratches when it's placed face down on a surface. There's full access to ports and there is a deep camera cutout that accommodates the Olloclip lenses. The lens accessory slides right over the top of the case and cleverly replaces the lens insert that shipped with the original Olloclip accessories for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Olloclip's OlloCase has a simple design that works well on the iPhone even when a lens accessory isn't attached to the phone, and it makes it easy to slip on a lens when a picture-taking opportunity arises. Adding and removing a lens with the case on is as easy as it is without a case. Compared to the company's previous lens-compatible cases, the new OlloCase is a significant improvement and worth a purchase for Olloclip owners who want to be able to use their lens systems with a case.
The OlloCase for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can be pre-ordered from the Olloclip website for $29.99. Orders will begin shipping out in June.
The Glances feature of Apple Watch allows you to see an overview of content from specific apps. It is a great way to get a quick update on the day's content without having to open an app, either on your iPhone or on Apple Watch.
For those interested in learning the basics of the Glances feature, today we are going to show you how to add, remove, and organize Glances on Apple Watch so you can customize your content for a more personalized experience.
Viewing Glances
Press the Digital Crown to navigate to the watch face on Apple Watch if necessary.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Swipe left or right to view all of your Glances.
There are several default Glances that will be immediately available on your Apple Watch right out of the box. These include a Control Center for pinging the iPhone and controlling features like Airplane Mode/Do Not Disturb, a battery Glance that offers up current battery life plus an option for Power Reserve mode, and Glances for Weather, Calendar events, current heart rate, activity level, world clock, and stocks.
You can't interact with Glances (there are no special Force Press options here) but tapping on many of the Glances with accompanying apps will open up the app. For example, tapping the Weather Glance will open up the full Weather app. You can add additional Glances through third-party apps and control which Glances are displayed and in which order, as outlined below.
While Apple CEO Tim Cook recently confirmed that there are over 3,500 apps available for the Apple Watch, several reviewers and early adopters have complained that many fail to provide useful functionality on the wrist. Despite strict approval guidelines, the App Store for Apple Watch is cluttered with basic or poorly designed apps for the wrist-worn device, likely due in significant part to the apps having been developed before the Apple Watch was available.
To help users discover some high quality watch-based experiences, MacRumors reached out to its forum community and skimmed through the App Store to handpick five Apple Watch apps that we've found particularly useful. Some of the useful Apple Watch apps worth mentioning include Workflow, Philips Hue, Things, Calcbot and Clear.
Workflow
Workflow is an automation tool that enables you to drag and drop any combination of actions to create custom workflows for completing various tasks. You can, for example, use the app to get directions to nearby coffee shops within a preset radius directly on your Apple Watch. Workflows are created using a paired iPhone and automatically appear on the Apple Watch for one-tap use.
Workflow features over 200 actions, including those for Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Music, Photos, Camera, Reminders, Safari, AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote and iCloud Documents. The app, created by DeskConnect co-founders Ari Weinstein, Nick Frey and Conrad Kramer, is currently $2.99 on the App Store for iPhone and Apple Watch as part of a limited time 40% off sale.
Philips Hue
Philips Hue for Apple Watch displays up to 10 different lighting configurations for Hue lights that can be activated by pressing a circular button -- there's one button per screen, and you swipe between them. One minor inconvenience is that Hue has no Glance, so you have to actually open the app to turn on your lights, although it's a simple issue that could easily be addressed in a future update.
You choose your desired scenes in the Hue for iPhone app in settings, where available scenes to choose from are listed under Widget & Apple Watch. Scenes you pick will be available on the Apple Watch and in Notification Center on iPhone if you have the widget turned on. The scenes will be the same in both places -- you can't pick different ones for the iOS widget and for the Apple Watch.
If you don't have a Hue Tap, quick selecting scenes on the Apple Watch is easily the fastest way to control your lights since the device is right on your wrist. With 10 scenes, there are a lot of options for controlling lighting all over the house. You can get more scenes by creating them on the iPhone or downloading them from the Meet Hue website.
Things is one of several to-do apps available for the Apple Watch, displaying a list of day-to-day tasks and long-term goals on your wrist that can be assigned to categories, marked as completed or added to larger projects related to, for example, planning a vacation, preparing for a presentation or filing taxes.
To-dos can be added directly from the Apple Watch using Siri dictation, and categorized under Inbox or Today with a single tap. Things for Apple Watch can also provide notifications to remind you about scheduled to-dos for a specified date so that you don't forget, and all tasks automatically sync to a paired iPhone.
Calcbot by Tapbots makes up for the lack of a stock calculator app on the Apple Watch, enabling you to perform basic calculations and conversions, calculate tips and split bills right on your wrist. The regular calculator mode features a basic numeric keypad, and a firm press using Force Touch brings up a menu with add, subtract, multiply and divide options.
The conversion mode brings up a similar looking number pad with options to convert US dollars to euros, pounds to kilograms, miles to kilometers and Fahrenheit to Celsius using Force Touch. Calcbot Pro, $2.29, enables users to customize the four conversion options using the Calcbot app for iPhone, with over 500 units across 22 different categories to choose from.
Perhaps the most useful functionality of Calcbot for Apple Watch is the tip calculator, which allows you to enter the total cost of your bill, calculate a 10% to 30% tip and divide the amount between up to 10 people if necessary. Apple Pay and Calcbot combined make the Apple Watch a more convenient option than fumbling with your iPhone and wallet when the check comes.
The Apple Watch's small screen size is ideal for displaying bite-sized information, making Clear a perfect match for the wrist-worn device. Clear for Apple Watch brings tasks, reminders and to-do lists to your wrist, featuring a Glance that shows you how many items are on your list and displays upcoming reminders. Adding new tasks can be done using Siri dictation.
Tapping on the Glance brings you to the full Clear app, where you can view all of your lists on the Apple Watch. If you create your own list, such as a grocery list or task list, you can check off items directly on the watch. If you press firmly on a list using Force Touch, you can sort the list, add new tasks or mark all tasks completed.
These are by no means the only useful Apple Watch apps available so far, and we encourage readers to share some of their other favorites in the discussion thread associated with this post. It is clear, however, that many developers have struggled to find the right balance and user experience for the new platform.
With the Apple Watch now available and users and developers able to figure out the best way for apps on the wrist to fit into their daily lives, there will no doubt be improvements to the user experience and we'll continue to watch for interesting and novel apps making their way to the Apple Watch.
As we head into the second week of May, deals on Macs and Apple accessories continue to be good. It's an excellent time to buy a newer MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro, or pick up an older 2014 model at a cheap price.
There are some limited deals on iPads this week, and we've also rounded up plenty of Mother's Day discounts on products and a list of apps that can be purchased on the cheap.
iPad Air 2
Target is offering a free $75 Target gift card with the purchase of any iPad Air 2 model through 5/9. Prices start at $499 for the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2.
T-Mobile is offering $100 off its selection of iPads in honor of Mother's Day. Any iPad purchased on an Equipment Installment Plan will have its monthly payments reduced by $5.50 as long as the device is used on a qualifying plan (1GB or higher) for 24 months.
Target is offering a free $50 Target gift card with the purchase of any iPad mini 3 through 5/9. Prices for the iPad mini 3 start at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model.
Discounts for each model and and color vary, but most models are being offered at a lower price than you'll find at the Apple Store, and buying from B&H, you won't have to pay sales tax unless you're in New York.
iPad mini 2
Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Amazon have remaining stock of now-discontinued higher-capacity iPad mini 2 models, which are a good deal if you're looking for an iPad mini. Compared to the iPad mini 3, the iPad mini 2 only lacks Touch ID.
There are quite a few apps that are on sale at discounted prices or available for free for a limited time. We'll highlight a few here, but make sure to check out our sister site AppShopper for a complete list.
Pixelmator for iPad is available for $4.99, down from $9.99. Monument Valley is available for $0.99, down from $3.99. Over is available for free, down from $1.99.
Toca Nature was named Apple's App of the Week, so it will be free to download until next Thursday when a new app is picked.
Apple Accessories
In celebration of Mother's Day, Vaja is offering 10 percent off all of its premium leather device cases. Just enter promo code MAMA when checking out. TwelveSouth is offering 12 percent off site wide with the promo code LOVEMOM though May 10. Speck is offering 30 percent off select floral cases for Mother's Day.
Case-Mate is offering 35 percent off site wide with the promo code MOM2015 through midnight on 5/10. Groupon is hosting a sweepstakes for two Apple Watches this week, with entries being accepted until 11:59 PM PT on 5/10.
StackSocial is offering 10% off the new Griffin WatchStand Apple Watch Charging Dock. Best Buy has the Fitbit Flex activity tracker available at a $20 discount. LivingSocial has two Apple Lightning cables available for $12.99, regularly $38, and Woot has Apple EarPods for $12.99.
Target is offering a free $10 Target gift card with the purchase of a $249 32GB iPod touch through 5/9. Target's also offeringa free $10 Target gift card with the purchase of a $100 iTunes e-gift card.
Groupon has the Kensington Transparent Back case for the iPad mini for $7.99, down from $19.99. Groupon also has Star Wars iPhone cases for the iPhone 4/4s/5/5s for $7.99, regularly $19.99 to $39.99.
Groupon is selling a single set of Apple EarPods for $12.99 or a set of two for $24.99, a decent discount off the regular price of $29. Groupon has the Apple Bluetooth keyboard for $63.99, down from $79. Groupon has the OtterBox Defender Case and Holster for the iPhone 6 available for $29.99, down from $59.95, and it's offering the Apple iPad mini Smart Cover for $19.99, down from $39.
StackSocial is offering the Satechi Aluminum 4-port USB Clamp Hub for $19.99, down from $29.99. Beats by Dre Solo HD Drenched headphones are available from Target for $99.99, down from $169.99. Best Buy is offering up to 20 percent off its selection of Beats headphones.
Groupon's still running a big Apple event and selling a range of Apple products and accessories at discounted prices, including the LifeProof Fre case for the iPad Air, Apple EarPods, Speck MacBook cases, MagSafe chargers, Mophie battery cases, and more.
MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with AyeGear to give two lucky winners a chance to win an item of clothing capable of holding tons of gear. AyeGear makes jackets, travel vests, hoodies, and t-shirts with an abundance of pockets that can hold the iPhone, iPad, accessories, and more.
AyeGear's J25 Jacket, for example, is so named because it has 25 separate pockets inside that can hold everything from an iPad or a MacBook to an iPhone and a passport. The sleeves can also be removed, so it can be worn as a vest.
The H13 Hoodie looks like a standard fleece hoodie, but it's got 13 pockets inside to hold an iPad, iPhone, credit cards, and a water bottle. It's also got touch pockets so you can access your devices without even removing them from the sweatshirt. AyeGear sells several similar products with a range of pockets, offering two vests, a t-shirt, two hoodies, and two types of jackets.
We are giving away one article of clothing to two separate winners. Each winner will be able to choose from a jacket, hoodie, vest, or t-shirt, in any size or color, which will be shipped to their doorstep.
To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube Channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page. Due to the intricacies of international law regarding giveaways, this giveaway is open only to U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older.
The giveaway will run from today, Friday, May 8 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time through Friday May 15 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Winners will be chosen randomly on May 15 and will be contacted through email. A response to our email is required within 48 hours or the winner will forfeit the prize and we will pick a new winner.
Ahead of the rumored debut of Apple's upcoming streaming music service, Re/code has shared several details on the initiative, sourced from industry insiders. As we've learned previously, Apple will charge $9.99 per month for the service and will not offer a freemium streaming tier as other music services like Spotify do, but the company is aiming to introduce ways to let people listen to some content for free.
First and foremost, Apple hopes to offer listeners a free trial period, which lasts between one and three months, letting them sample the music service for an extended period of time before opting for a full subscription. The length of the trial will depend on what Apple is able to negotiate with music companies.
Apple is also working on a feature that may let artists and music creators upload samples of songs that could be listened to without subscribing to the service. Re/code's sources are describing this as "something akin to SoundCloud." SoundCloud is a music sharing platform that lets users upload and share originally-created music, and a similar feature within Apple's new music service would give indie artists an easy way to share music while providing listeners with free content.
The third way Apple plans to potentially get music to listeners for free is through a revamp of iTunes Radio. We've heard hints of this previously, but the new version of iTunes Radio may feature stations that are curated by humans rather than computers, with different content available in different locales. New Apple hire BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and other recently hired radio staff may spearhead this initiative.
Re/code's report also shares some details on the streaming music negotiations that have already landed Apple in a bit of hot water with various regulatory bodies, including the FTC and the Department of Justice in the United States and the European Commission. Apple has been attempting to convince music labels that ad-supported free streaming music does not generate enough revenue.
But as we have previously reported, Apple doesn't intend to provide free, unlimited on-demand streaming, as competitors Spotify and YouTube do. In private meetings with label executives and other music industry figures, Apple has been arguing that free streaming won't generate enough money for the industry via advertising, and doesn't give enough people incentive to pay for subscriptions.
Apple is still working to complete deals ahead of the launch of the streaming service, but it is said to be on track for a WWDC debut. According to a report earlier this week, the streaming service will be introduced during the Worldwide Developers Conference in June and released later in the month alongside the public launch of iOS 8.4.
Apple's streaming music service is built on its existing Beats music service, and will continue to focus on curated content. To draw in additional customers and to distinguish itself from competing services, Apple is planning to offer a range of exclusive content. There are also plans to rebrand and revamp the music service, deeply integrating it into iTunes and the newly revamped Music app introduced in iOS 8.4.
Apple has quietly removed the eBay app from the list of featured Apple Watch apps on its website in the United States, exactly two weeks after the launch of the Apple Watch. While eBay was the only app listed on Apple's page that has yet to be updated with Apple Watch support, it's unclear whether the removal is simply to avoid confusion by limiting mentions to apps that are available or if issues have arisen recently that will significantly delay eBay's Apple Watch support.
All other apps listed on the featured Apple Watch apps page are already available on the App Store, so Apple possibly removed eBay temporarily to avoid misleading customers. eBay remains a featured Apple Watch app on Apple's regional website for Canada in what is likely an oversight that should be addressed shortly.
"The world’s largest marketplace is now closer and more convenient than ever," the app description read on Apple's website, before the featured listing was removed today. "eBay for Apple Watch helps you stay on top of the auctions you’re watching. It can send outbid notices and other notifications directly to you, so you can react immediately."
A few months ago, Apple removed award-winning healthy eating app The Whole Pantry from the App Store and its featured Apple Watch apps page amid allegations that its creator Belle Gibson faked having cancer to benefit her cause, accusations that later proved to be true. Gibson also failed to donate thousands of dollars collected during fundraisers to charities.
Update 11:45 AM Pacific:MacRumors spoke to eBay and confirmed that the eBay Apple Watch app has not been delayed or abandoned. It will be available in the coming weeks, but was removed from Apple's page due to the fact that it was the only app that wasn't yet available for download.
LifeMap Solutions, co-creators of the ResearchKit Asthma Health app [Direct Link], yesterday published a blog post detailing the success of the first few weeks of the app's lifespan and how it has engaged its users in return visits as much as some social media and gaming apps on iOS.
In the official ResearchKit blog post, LifeMap Solutions details the preliminary findings of the Asthma Health app, which aims to attain greater insight into the disease and subsequently attempt to help users become more educated on the issues at hand.
The developers were initially worried about the tricky e-consent process every user must go through when first launching the app, with secondary concerns wondering if users would find the experience as "sticky" and addictive as other apps they use daily. Asthma Health's usage data showcased not only willingness to give e-consent, but a high engagement rate in returning to the app throughout the week.
But the gamble paid off. Based on preliminary data for the Asthma Health app, over half of our users not only complete the e-consent process, they also come back the very next day to use the app. This is a very high rate of return for any app, let alone a health-related app.
Excitingly, results have shown that users are as engaged (or more!) with Asthma Health as they are with games and social networks. Our working theory is that Asthma Health users are motivated by the goal of supporting research that helps the entire patient community. We plan to test this theory more extensively in the near future.
LifeMap Solutions discovered that the research-based app showcased data very similar to everyday social media apps, with users responding especially high to push notifications reminding them to revisit the app.
The developers also saw particularly high involvement in the app on Mondays, corresponding to a weekly push notification automated to hit early each week. As the developers said, even though overall engagement decreases, "The spikes in app usage are consistent with the type of behavior we see in mobile apps more broadly: users respond dramatically to regular reminders."
Asthma Health's engagement rate over the course of its first few weeks.
Apple first announced ResearchKit at its "Spring Forward" media event on March 9, the Asthma Health app one of four experiences to launch supporting the platform. The mobile open source framework allowed for thousands to sign up for those initial four launch apps, far more than any location-based study could ever have hoped for.
With the official release of the full ResearchKit suite earlier in April, now even more developers can capture the features of the iPhone's sensors such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone and GPS to create medical research experiences and conduct studies like LifeMap Solutions and its partner Mount Sinai have done with Asthma Health.
In Nintendo's financial results briefing posted today, which relays the company's past fiscal year ending in March 2015 and looks ahead to the future, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata provided a few more details regarding the company's future release plans with mobile gaming partner DeNA.
Essentially, the first game in the lineup will launch "by the end of this calendar year," with the current long-term plan to release five games in total by the end of the company's next fiscal year ending in March of 2017, just under two years away. Iwata promises that while that estimation for a release schedule seems low, the company hopes to retain its well-known degree of polish and customer satisfaction when transitioning to mobile, and taking a quality over quantity approach is its way of doing that.
You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.
During the briefing, Iwata also went further into detail regarding the actual strategy for creating games on a mobile device, such as an iPhone and iPad. While the initial announcement of the deal with DeNA had fans excited, Nintendo was quick to specify that the experiences provided on mobile wouldn't simply be ports of existing franchises and would be more tailored for a smaller, bite-sized experience. Although that dashed most fan hopes for full-fledged Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing experiences on the iPhone, it does provide hope that the sometimes fumbling company is at least aware of what makes mobile games work in the first place.
As we confirmed on March 17, all of our IP can be considered for a smart device game. On the other hand, since the game business on smart devices is already severely competitive, even with highly popular IP, the odds of success are quite low if consumers cannot appreciate the quality of a game.
Also, if we were simply to port software that already has a track record on a dedicated game system, it would not match the play styles of smart devices, and the appropriate business models are different between the two, so we would not anticipate a great result. If we did not aim to achieve a significant result, it would be meaningless for us to do it at all. Accordingly, we are going to carefully select appropriate IP and titles for our smart device deployment.
Iwata last mentions the company's hope to "expand this business," in regards to the mobile games, to global markets so more and more fans will have a chance to experience Nintendo games on mobile. "We are aiming to make this one of the pillars of Nintendo’s revenue structure," Iwata said.
Since the deal with DeNA, the company has begun slowly relinquishing its stranglehold over its precious characters and IPs, after first being burned by various motion picture and CD-i partnerships in the past. Most recently, this week Nintendo announced a partnership with Universal to include the former company's popular characters as various attractions and locations in a theme park expansion of the latter's well-established park experiences.
Ericsson has filed lawsuits against Apple in Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands after failing to reach a global licensing agreement with the company over both standard-essential and non-standardized patents.
Ericsson claims that Apple continues to sell the iPhone, iPad and other products that infringe upon its patented technologies, some related to 2G and 4G LTE standards, even though its licensing agreement expired in January.
Ericsson has been attempting to license its standard-essential patents with Apple on terms that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND), but the two companies have failed to reach an agreement following over two years of negotiations. Unable to resolve the situation outside of the courtroom, Ericsson has since filed patent lawsuits against the iPhone maker in the United States, and now Europe, for mediation by the courts.
"Apple continues to profit from Ericsson's technology without having a valid license in place," said Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson. "Our technology is used in many features and functionality of today's communication devices. We are confident the courts in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands will be able to help us resolve this matter in a fair manner."
Ericsson, the world's largest provider of mobile network equipment, originally filed two complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission and seven complaints with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Apple earlier this year. In late March, the ITC agreed to investigate the patent infringement claims, involving 41 wireless-related patents.
Apple originally filed suit against Ericsson in January, arguing that it was demanding excessive royalties for patents not essential to LTE standards. Ericsson, which holds over 35,000 patents, countersued in a Texas courtroom just hours later, seeking an estimated $250 million to $750 million in royalties per year for Apple to continue licensing its patented wireless technologies.
Apple's upcoming revamped music service may be coming at the perfect time, right as revenue from streaming music is beginning to surpass revenue from digital downloads.
Apple today seeded the third beta of OS X 10.10.4 to developers, approximately two weeks after releasing 
Apple has quietly removed the eBay app from the list of 
Although that dashed most fan hopes for full-fledged Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing experiences on the iPhone, it does provide hope that the sometimes fumbling company is at least aware of what makes mobile games work in the first place.
Ericsson has 
