Beats 1 is a multi-genre radio station for iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC that plays a wide variety of songs from indie and popular artists alike, but there is currently no way to identify tracks that have already been played in realtime. To solve that problem, web apps developer Callum Jones has created an unofficial Twitter account that live tweets songs as they are played on Beats 1 Radio (via The Next Web).
Beats 1 does offer archived playlists of tracks aired during featured shows
The new Twitter account is aptly named "Beats 1 Plays" and makes a single tweet each time a track is played on Apple's live 24/7 global radio station, including the name of the song and artist with a #Beats1 hashtag. Simply follow the account on Twitter and you will no longer have to worry about missing out on what is playing while you are not tuned in.
Beats 1 does offer archived playlists of songs that aired during the radio station's featured shows anchored by DJs such as Zane Lowe, Julie Adenuga and Ebro Darden. To access those playlists, open Apple Music, tap on the Radio tab, open the Beats 1 radio station, scroll down and select a featured show and tap on the Playlists tab.
During a recent press tour for the period drama A Little Chaos, actress Kate Winslet commented on the shooting process for the upcoming Steve Jobs movie (via Entertainment Weekly). While the movie's structure was already known, Winslet solidifies the idea of the Aaron Sorkin-penned screenplay as three separate 45-minute scenes that are each continuous, in-real-time scenes that begin with him arriving at the event and end with his entrance onto the stage.
“The way in which that film was shot was extraordinary… extraordinary,” said Winslet, whose excitement for the project bubbled to the surface during her recent press tour for A Little Chaos. “Each act is continuous 45 minutes backstage of real time at each launch that Steve Jobs made during those time periods — ‘84 was the launch of the Macintosh, ‘88 was the NeXT computer, ‘98 was the iMac. Each act takes place backstage and literally ends with him walking from the wings on to the stage to rapturous applause."
Winslet continued to comment on the way director Danny Boyle actually shot the movie, describing takes that would last as long as nine minutes, "sometimes even longer." She ends with comparing star Michael Fassbender's dedication to memorizing 182 pages of dialogue to the work of actors and actresses on a Shakespearean stage production, except twice as hard.
“We have nine-minute takes, sometimes even longer,” Winslet continued. “I think there’s a scene that Michael and Jeff had that was about 14 pages, so it really went for 11 minutes of continuous dialogue. It’s not unusual for an actor to learn huge passages of dialogue when you do a play. But it is unusual for an actor like Michael Fassbender to learn 182 pages of dialogue of which he’s on every page. It’s like Hamlet, times two.”
Conversations surrounding the movie have been circulating thanks to yesterday's release of the first full-length trailer, which gave fans their first in-depth look at Fassbender, Winslet, Jeff Daniels, and Seth Rogen in the new movie. Universal will most likely release another look at the movie before its debut, which is still three months away on October 9.
A sketchy and unconfirmed internal document posted by an alleged Foxconn employee on Chinese microblogging website Weibo (via PhoneArena) corroborates rumors that the next-generation iPhone could feature a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with 4K video recording and 240 FPS slow-motion capabilities.
Weibo user KJuma has since removed the pair of leaked documents he shared on the Twitter-like service, but not before the images began making their rounds on the web. The documents also corroborate multiple rumors claiming the so-called iPhone 6s ("N66") and iPhone 6s Plus ("N71") will have 2GB of RAM.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a respectable track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming product plans, issued a note to investors in May with eleven predictions for the next iPhone, and a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera sensor and A9 processor with 2GB of RAM were among the new features he listed.
Apple senior executive Jonathan Ive has officially assumed the role of "Chief Design Officer" at Apple effective today, after being promoted from his previous role of "Senior Vice President of Design" nearly six weeks ago. Apple has updated Ive's executive profile on its leadership website to reflect the design chief's new position as Apple's third active C-level executive alongside CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.
Jonathan Ive is Apple’s Chief Design Officer, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Jony is responsible for all design at Apple, including the look and feel of Apple hardware, user interface, packaging, major architectural projects such as Apple Campus 2 and Apple’s retail stores, as well as new ideas and future initiatives.
Apple announced in a company-wide email last month that Ive would be promoted to Chief Design Officer on July 1 and turn over his day-to-day management of the company's design teams to Richard Howarth and Alan Dye, who have both been elevated to vice president positions. Ive will remain responsible for all of Apple's design, with a focus on redesigning Apple Stores and other larger projects.
Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5000 design and utility patents to his name. His new role is a reflection of the scope of work he has been doing at Apple for some time. Jony’s design responsibilities have expanded from hardware and, more recently, software UI to the look and feel of Apple retail stores, our new campus in Cupertino, product packaging and many other parts of our company.
Apple has also added executive profile pages for design vice presidents Howarth and Dye.
Ive spoke with The Telegraph journalist Stephen Fry last month about his decision to relinquish some of his control, stating that he is still in charge of Apple's design departments without needing to focus on administrative and management work, responsibilities that will now fall under his lieutenants Howarth and Dye. The move had been widely expected for several years.
When I catch up with Ive alone, I ask him why he has seemingly relinquished the two departments that had been so successfully under his control. “Well, I’m still in charge of both,” he says, “I am called Chief Design Officer. Having Alan and Richard in place frees me up from some of the administrative and management work which isn’t … which isn’t …”
“Which isn’t what you were put on this planet to do?”
“Exactly. Those two are as good as it gets."
Ive has been a full-time Apple employee since 1992, and rumors about him scaling back at the company have gained momentum over the years. Ive in the past has expressed his desire to spend more time in his native England, where he grew up, and his promotion will enable him to travel more often and possibly work remotely at times. Ive and his family currently live in an upscale neighborhood in San Francisco.
Just a day after the release of iOS 8.4, which includes Apple's brand new music service Apple Music, many users on both the MacRumorsforums and Apple Support communities are finding that the update removes Home Sharing for music on iOS devices. This breaks the ability for users to share their iTunes Library over Wi-Fi from their mobile devices.
Apple yesterday updated a Home Sharing support document to note that Home Sharing on iOS devices is only limited to video. Thus far, Home Sharing for music still appears to be available for both Mac and Apple TV. Additionally, while the Music page in iOS' Settings once listed a Home Sharing option prior to iOS 8.4, the option is no longer there in the new Apple Music settings page in iOS 8.4.
As pointed out by AppleInsider, the release notes for iOS 8.4 beta 4 mentioned that Home Sharing and Genius Mixes were "not currently available", offering the possibility that the feature could return in future versions of iOS.
While the possibility of Home Sharing for music returning on iOS devices is there, it's unclear whether Apple would return the option for non-subscribers of Apple Music. The music service includes the ability to sign up for a $14.99-a-month family plan, which allows access for up to 6 people.
Following Tuesday's launch of Apple Music, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor spoke with music site Pitchfork about his thoughts on the service and his role in its development. Reznor joined Apple in 2014, following the company's acquisition of Beats Music, where Reznor served as Chief Creative Officer.
According to Reznor, his role in the creation of Apple Music shifted over time. While he initially worked on design alongside Apple's design team and iTunes engineers, he shifted to concentrating on marketing in recent months, helping to explain the service and Apple's goals to artists.
Reznor compared his experience working with Apple to his experience working at Beats Music before the acquisition, calling Apple a "respectful, collaborative environment" with ideas that fit into his own thoughts on music.
When I sat down with the people at Apple, I found a very respectful, collaborative environment that wanted to take some of the tentpoles that mattered to us at Beats Music, which really was trying to make an experience that didn't feel like data. Something that felt organic and respectful to music rather than just, "We're just delivering assets to your mobile device." They treated music in a way that put an emphasis on curation and taste.
In earlier interviews, Reznor suggested that no streaming service had hit "the right formula" before Apple Music, a sentiment that he again shared with Pitchfork. With endless music available at our fingertips, he believes the experience is the most important aspect of any streaming service. With Apple Music, the goal was to improve upon the impersonal, "less than optimal" experience being offered by competitors.
What we tried to do with Apple Music is make the experience around the catalog feel like people that love music have touched it in the various ways it gets presented to you: playlists that noticeably feel better, radio stations that were programmed by people, recommendations that feel less like a computer and more like someone made you a mixtape and you like their taste.
Apple Connect, Apple's social networking service, was also developed to improve the listening experience by introducing tools to let artists share music and video that "lives outside the paywall." Apple wanted to give artists a way to be involved in the way music is consumed. "We wanted to create a place where the people making the art could feel like they could have a center," Reznor said.
Released yesterday, Apple Music has a deep focus on curated content. The new Music app delivers recommendations based on personal tastes and playlists created by editors, while the accompanying Beats 1 radio features all music chosen by DJs like Zane Lowe.
Reznor's full interview, which includes additional details on his role in the development of Apple Music, his thoughts on music, and Apple's aim with the new service, is available at Pitchfork and well worth a read.
Apple's fleet of vehicles collecting street-level mapping data in the United States will begin surveying 13 more U.S. states between July 15 and July 31, including Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming. Apple Maps vehicles have been spotted in 15 states to date and will have reached 28 states in total after this next wave.
Apple Maps vehicle driving in Monroe Township, New Jersey in May 2015
Apple confirmed last month that it is driving vehicles around the world to collect data to improve Apple Maps, and the mapping imagery is almost certainly being used to create a Google Maps "Street View" competitor. Apple Maps vehicles are also taking photos of businesses and storefronts in major metropolitan areas to replace current imagery provided by third-party sources such as Yelp.
The cities and counties in the 13 U.S. states where Apple Maps vehicles will survey…
As we reported this morning, astute iPod owners with iTunes 12.2 have discovered an image that depicts the iPod touch, nano, and shuffle in new colors, suggesting an update could be in the works. A bit more digging around in iTunes 12.2 has unearthed additional iPod images, giving us a look at each of the new color options we might see should Apple be planning to release new models.
The images depict six different color options for the iPod nano, shuffle, and touch, showing each model in silver, space gray, red, bright pink, deep blue, and light gold. The latter three colors, pink, blue, and gold, are new shades that are not currently available. The space gray model may be slightly darker than the existing color, but it's difficult to determine from images alone.
Aside from new color options, the devices appear to be largely the same, except perhaps for an external change for the iPod touch that does away with the attachment for the wrist loop. It is not clear if Apple plans to update the internals of the devices or if the company is simply going to introduce new color options, but the images make it clear that a potential update is not going to feature a major external redesign.
Apple's iPod lineup has not seen new color additions since 2013, due to a sharp decline in sales over the past several years. The last update saw Apple change the "slate" color to "space gray" in September of 2013, and no major color changes have been made since that date.
The Calendar app on the iPod touch in the images reads "Tuesday 14," leading some of our readers to speculate that Apple might plan to introduce new models on Tuesday, July 14, which is two weeks from now.
Following a report yesterday that the next-generation "iPhone 6s" will appear essentially identical to the current lineup of iPhones with a few minor internal differences, an unnamed source has shared new photos of logic board from the device with 9to5Mac, revealing an updated Qualcomm LTE chip offering faster LTE speeds and greater energy efficiency.
Specifically, the next iPhone will carry a Qualcomm MDM9635M chip -- also referred to as the "9X35" Gobi modem platform -- and it aims to give the iPhone 6s a significant increase in performance over the current 9X25 used in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
For everyday users, this gives the potential for significant increases in LTE network performance with download speeds of up to 300 Mbps, twice that of the current iPhone line. Real-world limitations of carrier support will, however, limit those speed improvements in many cases.
The new Qualcomm chip, which was announced in 2013 and came to market last year, is also more power efficient. This power efficiency combined with the possibility of a slimmer motherboard could give the iPhone 6s some improvement in battery life this year.
As shared yesterday, the iPhone 6s will appear nearly identical to the iPhone 6, which is typical for Apple's "S" generation iPhones. Apple will, however, be including a number of enhancements for the device, from the faster LTE modem to a Force Touch display and perhaps the "biggest camera jump ever."
Following an initial teaser earlier in May, Universal today released the first official full-length trailer for the upcoming Steve Jobs movie.
The two-and-a-half minute trailer provides the longest look at the Danny Boyle-directed biopic that anyone has seen yet, balancing focus between Steve Jobs' various behind-the-scenes product launches and his intense personal life regarding his relationship with daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs.
The trailer also gives more in-depth looks at Jeff Daniels and Kate Winslet, especially, as John Sculley and Joanna Hoffman, with various through-the-years glimpses of Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs. After various casting calls and set photo leaks earlier in the year, excitement around the somewhat troubled film has only been steadily building. Fans can expect to see the full movie in theaters October 9.
Following the release of iTunes 12.2 with Apple Music support yesterday, one MacRumors user has discovered graphics depicting iPods in colors not currently offered by Apple. The composite image of an iPod touch, nano, and shuffle is shown when setting up or restoring an iPod in iTunes.
The new colors include a darker blue for the iPod touch, a new gold or beige color for the iPod nano, and a brighter pink color for the iPod shuffle.
Apple has not updated its iPod color lineup in several years, most recently shifting the previous "slate" color to "space gray" back in 2013. Apple has typically updated its iPod lineup during the month of September, although it is unclear whether these new colors are actually in the works and what their release timeframe might be.
Update: Several observers have pointed to the Calendar icon on the iPod touch screenshot showing a date of Tuesday the 14th, leading to speculation the new models could launch on Tuesday, July 14. Readers have also noticed the new image does not depict a wrist strap attachment post as seen in the lower left corner of the current models.
Apple Music made its worldwide debut in over 100 countries on June 30, with a free three-month trial available for customers to try the streaming music service. Apple requires having a valid payment method associated with your iTunes account to enable the trial, such as a credit card, and both Individual Plan and Family Plan subscriptions are set to automatically renew after the trial. For those that only want to try the Apple Music trial, learn how to turn off automatic renewal below.
How to Disable Automatic Renewal
Tap on the Account icon in the top-left corner of any tab in Apple Music.
Tap on "View Apple ID" and sign into your iTunes Store account.
Tap on "Manage" under the "Subscriptions" menu.
Tap on your Apple Music Membership, which should currently be "Active."
Toggle off "Automatic Renewal" under the "Renewal Options" menu. Confirm the action.
Turning off automatic renewal will enable you to try out Apple Music on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch without the streaming music service renewing after the free three-month trial period expires. To reenable a recurring Apple Music subscription, simply follow the steps above and toggle on automatic renewal again. Your settings will also be applied to the iTunes version of Apple Music on Mac and PC.
Olloclip is today introducing a new line of "Studio System" accessories designed to work with its existing Olloclip lenses, further enhancing the iPhone's photographic capabilities. The system, available for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, includes a Studio Case, a Finger Grip, a Kickstand, tripod mounts, and Cold-Shoe Adapters for attaching accessories like microphones and flashes to the iPhone.
A rugged protective case is the key piece of the Studio System, because it includes a built-in mounting solution that can accommodate the other Studio parts. Once the Studio Case is attached to the iPhone, an adjustable and removable Finger Grip slides onto the back of the case, fitting neatly into the rail grooves.
The Finger Grip is designed to allow for smoother, less bumpy photos and video, and it can also be used as a stand, as can an additional Kickstand. Cold-Shoe Adapters attach to the side of the case to hold equipment like microphones or flashes, and the whole system can work with tripods, grips, and handles using the two included 1/4-20 clips, with one each for landscape and portrait modes.
The olloclip Studio system combines an all-new, more-protective case design with an integrated mounting solution (patent pending) and a series of mobile photography accessories. Both the case and accessories are designed to intuitively work together the moment you pick them up. Unlike many of today's modular mobile grip systems, olloclip's Studio components work together seamlessly, so photographers can focus on quickly capturing the opportunity in front of them and not on building a rig.
Because Olloclip is entering a new product category with the Studio System, the company has decided to return to its roots - Kickstarter. Olloclip started out on Kickstarter back in 2011, and since then, demand for its accessories has grown as the iPhone has become a more popular photography choice, replacing point and shoot cameras.
The Studio System is debuting on Kickstarter, and Olloclip tells MacRumors that it made the choice to use the crowdfunding site in order to gauge customer interest and get feedback on its new accessories. For example, Olloclip will choose colors for the Studio Case based on customer feedback.
According to Olloclip, its new Studio System was designed in response to both customer and retailer demand, and it's something customers have requested for quite awhile. In the future, Olloclip plans to introduce additional accessories that can work with the new Studio System based on what customers ask for.
Olloclip is offering several different reward options for the Studio System. The most inexpensive tier includes the Studio Case and a Kickstand for $35, while the whole Studio Case and Accessory Kit are available for $60. Additional tiers include the Studio System and various Olloclip lenses.
To thank the people who support the new system in its early days, reward tiers are being offered at 30 to 40 percent off retail price. Olloclip expects to ship rewards to backers in September of 2015, at the end of the month.
While Apple Music launched today with the releases of iOS 8.4 and iTunes 12.2, many members of Apple's developer program are currently running beta versions of iOS 9 that do not support most aspects of the service. Apple's Eddy Cue confirmed late last week that Apple will be releasing a new iOS 9 seed with Apple Music support, but he did not provide a timeframe for the release and one did not appear today.
In a pair of responses to Twitter users tonight, Cue has clarified the new iOS 9 seed with Apple Music support will be arriving "early next week."
The last beta seed came on Tuesday, June 23, so next Tuesday would mark Apple's typical two-week interval for beta releases.
Cue is also answering a few other Apple Music questions from Twitter users tonight, noting users can "easily" turn off auto-renew on Apple Music to prevent unexpected charges when the free trial ends and that the bitrate of Apple Music streaming varies depending on whether the user is on a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
Earlier today, Apple launched their much anticipated Apple Music streaming service. The iPhone app includes dedicated tabs called "For You", "New", "Radio", "Connect", and "My Music". The first two tabs offer areas for music discovery, while "Radio" provides themed stations as well as Apple's own Beats 1 Radio. Meanwhile, the last tab, "My Music" provides you with access to the rest of your existing music catalog as well as any new songs you might add from Apple Music.
The "Connect" tab, however, is a new service from Apple which is described as a place where "musicians give their fans a closer look at their work, their inspirations, and their world." Similar to a social network, it allows users to "follow" their favorite artists and see additional content.
If "Connect" doesn't interest you, MacRumors reader Eric points out a handy tip to replace the "Connect" tab with a dedicated "Playlists" tab which he describes as "much more useful".
Under Settings -> General -> Restrictions, Apple allows you to disable "Apple Music Connect" which removes the Connect tab and provides the alternate Playlist functionality.
Earlier today Apple released OS X 10.10.4, an under-the-hood update to OS X that introduced several bug fixes and improvements. One improvement, according to Ars Technica, is support for TRIM for third-party SSD hard drives. We previously covered TRIM likely coming natively to the next version of OS X El Capitan but it appears support has already arrived.
Photo via ArsTechnica
With today’s OS X 10.10.4 update, however, Apple has added a command line utility that can be used to enable TRIM on third-party SSDs without having to download and install anything. Called trimforce, the utility can be executed from the OS X terminal, and it requires a reboot to start working.
TRIM is a system-level command that allows the operating system and the drive to communicate about which areas of the drive are considered unused and thus ready to be erased and rewritten to. In the absence of TRIM, users can see significantly slower drive writes as the drive begins to fill up. Most modern operating systems support TRIM but for Apple's OS X, it has only included support for its OEM SSDs. This means that Mac users looking to install an after-market SSD in a machine originally intended for spinning disc hard drives would run into trouble without the help of other third-party tools.
To enable TRIM, a user just has to type "sudo trimforce enable" into the Terminal window. Ars Technica points out that running TRIM prompts a "scary" message from the system, but notes it's largely because each SSD implements TRIM in a different way, with older disks sometimes acting in a way OS X would not expect.
MacRumors forum readers have been testing and discussing the update in our forums and sharing their experiences.
Apple has posted a list of over 115 countries where some combination of Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, Beats 1 Radio and iTunes Match are available per iPhone in Canada. Apple Music and Apple Music Radio are available in 110 countries as of today's launch, while Angola, Puerto Rico, Israel, Taiwan, and Turkey are five countries where the streaming music service has yet to launch.
Apple Music's "For You" section for curated playlists and music recommendations
Beats 1 Radio is currently unavailable in select countries, including the Bahamas, Bahrain, Burkina-Faso, Egypt, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mozambique, Namibia, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. iTunes Match, technically available through Apple Music and as a standalone service, is available in all countries listed except for Romania.
To check the availability of Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, Beats 1 Radio, and iTunes Match in your region, be sure to look at the full list of countries on Apple's website. Apple has also posted a similar list of regions where Apple Music will be available across the U.S. and Canada, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Not all features of Apple Music will be available in each country.
Apple's much-anticipated music service, Apple Music, launched this morning as part of iOS 8.4, bringing on-demand streaming music, the Beats 1 radio station, and Apple Connect, Apple's new social network aimed at letting artists connect with fans in new and unique ways.
We went hands-on with Apple Music in iOS 8.4 to give you a look at how the new service works, what it looks like, what it costs, and how to use it. Check out the video below to get a thorough overview of all three Apple Music components.
Apple Music's main streaming feature is a "For You" section within the Music app that offers up on-demand music recommendations based on preferences you've entered and music you've listed to previously. "For You" is able to offer more refined, tailored recommendations as you listen to more and more music.
Just a day after the release of iOS 8.4, which includes Apple's brand new music service Apple Music, 
