MacRumors

Following an interview yesterday with Evening Standard, Wired today posted an interview with Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine, in which the Beats co-founder admits the company's need to work to make Connect a better platform for artists and fans alike, and even hints at a possible curation aspect for Apple TV, similar to that of the company's new streaming music service.

"We all know one thing, we all have different television delivery systems, don't we all wish that the delivery systems were better, as far as curation and service?" he says.

"They're all technically good. And Netflix is starting to cross the code because they're starting to make some original content. It is really good, but still I mean none of us make movies here right, so we're all punters, or what do you call them in the music business, fans right? We want to watch movies. Sit down with your girlfriend or a bunch of friends and try to find a movie online. That box helps you none -- it doesn't help. You're on your own. And eventually that will catch them unless somebody digs in and really helps the customer. And entertainment needs that, it needs to live and breathe."

Iovine admits, however, that he wouldn't be the one spearheading such an innovation for the TV side of things, doubly noting that if such a curation aspect for Apple TV did appear, it probably won't be for some time. Speaking candidly with Wired, he said, "I'll tell you man, right now, this [music] is so daunting that I can't even think about anything else."

Before WWDC this year, a brand-new A8-Based Apple TV Box was expected to premiere alongside a long-rumored Apple streaming content service. New rumors point towards a September reveal, alongside the new iPhones, for the set-top box, with no word yet regarding what stages of development the streaming service is in. No specific reference to in-depth curation has been made in the past regarding the next generation of Apple TV, however.

Elsewhere in the interview, Iovine tackles the subject of Apple Music's Connect service, which allows artists to upload videos, songs, and short blog posts to keep fans up-to-date on the behind-the-scenes aspect of their work. As of yet, not much noise has been made coming out of the social network aspect of Apple Music, and Iovine knows the company has to work hard to make Connect what he and his team intended it to be in the first place.

"We have to prove [Connect's value to artists], and we will slowly prove that. That will be the piece of the service that comes along last, or later, and we have some real plans," he tells WIRED. "We're building it out a lot more, it needs a lot of technical work as well. But we believe we'll get there and it'll be a great place for artists to communicate and with a lot of independence and freedom to do what they want to do. But we're still building it."

Wired's full interview with Iovine is worth a read, with more in-depth looks behind the team that curates Apple Music for its users, his history in making and producing records for artists like Eminem and Dr. Dre, and even his opinions on Apple's old earbuds as a fuel for co-founding Beats.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today provided more information on the launch of the next series of iPhones, the so-called "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus," noting that mass production on the smartphone line will begin in late August, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency [Google Translate] (via GforGames). The production ramp-up will reportedly come roughly 1-2 weeks later than originally expected, but the change should not affect Apple's launch plans, which are anticipated to involve a mid-September debut as has been typical for the past several years.

Components for the iPhone 6s such as A9 chips and Force Touch-equipped display panels have been said to have been in production for several weeks now, and all of these components will be brought together at Foxconn's and Pegatron's facilities for final assembly.

Apple is facing increasing demand for the new line of iPhones, and a few of Foxconn's factories -- such as the one in Zhengzhou -- are rumored to be ramping up overtime for employees heading into mass production just to be able to meet demand. GforGames also notes that slowing production of the iPhone 6 line ahead of the updated models is providing some breathing room for the manufacturing and production of the new iPhones.

Earlier in the year, Kuo predicted a mid-to-late August time window for mass production on the new line of iPhones, so today's 1-2 week delay still falls inside the previous estimate. Recent rumors regarding the "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus" include the addition of Force Touch, a slightly thicker body to accommodate the new technology, camera improvements and perhaps a rose gold or pink color option.

In late July, Best Buy announced plans to begin Apple Watch sales online and in its retail stores beginning on August 7, and as promised, Apple Watch sales have now kicked off, with the device available for purchase on Best Buy's website.

Best Buy plans to offer 16 models from the aluminum Apple Watch Sport and stainless Steel Apple Watch collections. Models available online include all 38 and 42mm Apple Watch Sport models, and 38 and 42mm stainless steel Apple Watch models with Black Sport Band, White Sport Band, and Milanese Loop.

Apple Watch purchases placed online ship immediately, and in-store pickup is also available. Best Buy will likely begin in-store sales of the Apple Watch when participating retail stores open in the morning across the United States. The Apple Watch is available in 100 Best Buy stores, with Best Buy planning to expand retail availability to more than 300 stores over the next few months.

Best Buy is also selling a selection of Apple Watch Sport Bands and the Milanese Loop, plus the company is offering a wide range of Apple Watch accessories from third-party manufacturers, including charging stands, screen protectors, protective cases, and bands.

Best Buy is the first major national retailer aside from Apple to sell the Apple Watch. Since the device's launch in April, it's been limited to the online Apple Store, Apple retail stores, and select boutiques around the world due to constrained supplies.

Apple has managed to ramp up production and catch up with demand rapidly over the past few months, with the expansion to Best Buy coming less than two months after the Apple Watch became available for purchase in Apple's own retail stores.

Apple made a significant change to its online presence today, merging its Apple.com website with its once-separate online store, to create one main website. There is no longer a standalone store.apple.com website that is used for making purchases, and the "Store" tab that was once at the top of Apple.com has been removed.

Instead, there's a universal shopping bag icon that displays products in the shopping cart, past order information, account details, and favorites. Purchasing an item is now done by clicking the "Buy" button on each individual product page, which links to the same purchasing menus that were present in the online store.

Apple's main site includes direct links to Mac, iPad, iPhone, Watch, Music, and Support. Despite the major integration, Apple's main site is largely unchanged, as are the product pages. Locating accessories is somewhat more difficult, however, with the removal of the central store site and the lack of dedicated store sections. Accessing accessories is largely done by visiting the main product sections and clicking on banners like "Accessories for Apple Watch" and "Accessories for iPhone."

Apple's integrated online store streamlines the shopping experience. Instead of viewing information about a product on the main site and then having to click over to the store, everything is now done in the same place.

In a statement given to TechCrunch, an Apple spokesperson said the change was done in an effort to create a simpler site for customers to learn about and shop for products.

"We redesigned Apple.com knowing that our customers want to explore, research and shop in one place," said an Apple spokesperson in a statement. "The new Apple.com takes the very best of our existing site and our online store to give customers one simple destination to learn and buy without navigating between two different sites. We've also improved several of the site's features to make shopping easier than ever for our customers."

The changes to the Apple.com site were made this afternoon and are live in the United States and several additional countries.

Apple introduced its 2015 Back to School promotion in late July, but it was initially limited to Apple's Retail Stores in a few select countries. As of today, the Back to School Program is also available for purchases made online, and it has expanded to additional countries.

With Apple's 2015 Back to School promotion, students, parents of students, and educators who purchase an eligible Mac will receive a free pair of Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones or a pair of Beats Solo2 Wireless On-Ear Headphones at a $200 discount.

Eligible Macs include the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Pro. The Mac mini, refurbished Macs, iPads, and iPhones are excluded from the 2015 Back to School program.

Apple has added a link to the Back to School promotion on its main site, which takes users to the Education Store and details the promotion. Viewing any Mac in the Education Store also brings up information on the Back to School program.

When an eligible Mac is added to a shopping cart, buyers will have the option to select their free Beats Solo2 headphones in Gloss Black, Gloss White, Gloss Blue, Gloss Pink, Gloss Gray, Gloss Red (Product RED), Gold, Silver, or Space Gray. Students hoping to take advantage of the $200 discount on Wireless Solo2 headphones will need to add them to the cart manually.

This year's Back to School promotion is a significant deviation from the deals offered in past years. Previously, Apple provided iTunes or Apple Store gift cards in amounts between $50 to $100 with the purchase of a Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

Apple's Back to School promotion will run until September 18, 2015.

Apple today released the fifth beta of iOS 9, and as with the previous iOS 9 betas, there are a few new features and tweaks bundled into the release. WiFi calling for AT&T users has been introduced and is coming soon, Apple's debuted several new wallpapers, and there are tweaks to CarPlay and the iPhone keyboard.

Several bugs have been fixed in iOS 9 beta 5, and features like News and Siri Suggestions are working more smoothly than ever. With approximately a month and a half to go until release, iOS 9 is feeling faster, more polished, and more full featured. For those eager to know all about what's coming in iOS 9 ahead of its release, we've rounded up a complete list of the changes introduced with iOS 9 beta 5 below.

You can also check out all of the changes, large and small, that have been made in previous betas: iOS 9 beta 1, iOS 9 beta 2, iOS 9 beta 3, iOS 9 beta 4.

Wallpapers - Today's update includes a wide selection of new wallpapers, introducing images featuring close ups of feathers, flowers, plants, and more. Many older wallpapers have been removed, so people running iOS 8.4 should save their favorites now before they're deleted with the launch of iOS 9.

WiFi Calling for AT&T - Beta 5 adds WiFi calling options for AT&T subscribers, but attempting to turn the option on results in a message saying WiFi calling is not yet available. The addition of the setting heralds the imminent release of the feature for AT&T users. Previously, WiFi calling was limited to T-Mobile and Sprint. There's also a new WiFi Assist feature that will "automatically use cellular data when Wi-Fi connectivity is poor."

Apple Music - There's a new "Shuffle All" option at the top of My Music when in Song, Album, or Genre view. It'll play all songs in a music library on shuffle mode.

Keyboard tweaks - On the iPhone, the keyboard has been tweaked and simplified with new shift and backspace keys.

Handoff - Handoff functionality has been changed in iOS 9 beta 5. Previously, Handoff had an option that would allow users to see lock screen suggestions for Apps in the App Store for a relevant location, but now only installed apps will be displayed. In the Settings app, Handoff options under General -> Handoff & Suggested Apps, the option to display App Store apps has been removed.

Regulatory info - The General portion of the Settings app has a new "Regulatory" section that displays regulatory information for iOS devices. This was information was previously hidden (and is still located) in General --> About --> Legal.

CarPlay - The CarPlay interface has been updated, changing the way images are displayed behind music controls and adding the ability to heart songs that are playing through Beats 1 radio or Apple Music.

Siri Suggestions - The Siri Suggestions interface has been tweaked slightly, removing the labels for calling and messaging a contact. Only icons are displayed now.

Text Replacements - In the Settings app, the section where you can create shortcuts for keys has been renamed "Text Replacements."

WiFi animation - There's a new animation that's used when WiFi is turned off. Instead of the bars disappearing one by one, the WiFi symbol now fades to gray before disappearing.

Additional feature updates in iOS 9 beta 5 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple is expected to release at least one or two more update to iOS 9 before the operating system's official launch. iOS 9 is expected to be released to the public in the fall alongside new iPhones.

Microsoft today announced the release of an early version of its Windows Bridge software, which is designed to let software developers quickly port iOS, Android, and web apps to the Windows platform.

As of today, Windows Bridge for iOS is available as an open-source project under the MIT license and can be downloaded on GitHub. With Windows Bridge, iOS developers can begin testing the software that will let them convert iOS apps built for x86 and x64 processor architectures to a format that will run on Windows 10 and Windows 8.1.

As outlined by Microsoft, Windows Bridge for iOS includes four components to construct Windows apps using existing Objective-C code: an Objective-C compiler, Objective-C runtime, iOS API headers/libs, and Visual Studio IDE integration.

We're releasing the iOS bridge as an open-source project under the MIT license. Given the ambition of the project, making it easy for iOS developers to build and run apps on Windows, it is important to note that today's release is clearly a work-in-progress -- some of the features demonstrated at Build are not yet ready or still in an early state.

Regardless, we'd love for the interested and curious to look at the bridge, and compare what we're building with your app's requirements. And, for the really ambitious, we invite you to help us by contributing to the project, as community contributors -- with source code, tests, bug reports, or comments. We welcome any and all participation in building this bridge.

Microsoft first announced its plans for Windows Bridge at its April BUILD conference for developers, demonstrating an iPad app that had been converted to a Windows 10 app. Tools designed to help developers create Windows apps from their iOS apps could be a huge boon for Microsoft, as app availability has always been one of the major downsides to Microsoft's Windows mobile devices.

Both Google Play and the iOS App Store have always had far more apps than are available on Windows, so Microsoft is hoping its new tools will encourage developers to spend time creating Windows apps, heavily boosting the number of available Windows apps. As of July, there were 1.6 million Google Play apps, 1.5 million App Store Apps, 400,000 Amazon Appstore apps, and 340,000 Windows Phone Store apps.

Microsoft plans to release a completed version of Windows Bridge in the fall. Windows Bridge for web apps became available alongside the launch of Windows 10, and Windows Bridge for Android is available as a technical preview by invitation only.

Apple today seeded the fifth watchOS 2 beta to developers for testing purposes, more than two weeks after seeding the fourth watchOS 2 beta and nearly two months after announcing the new operating system update at its 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.

watchOS 2 requires the iOS 9 beta to be installed and can be downloaded over-the-air using the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. Caution should be used when installing this beta, as downgrading the software on the Apple Watch is not possible without help from Apple [PDF].

watchOS 2 is the first major update to watchOS, the software that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 2 introduces several new features that developers can use to improve their Apple Watch apps, including native apps that run on the watch itself instead of the iPhone. The software also allows developers to access the Taptic Engine and other sensors like the heart rate monitor, the microphone, and the accelerometer for the first time.

With the new tools for developers, Apple Watch apps will be more complex and full-featured. Other features in watchOS 2 include new watch faces (photo albums and time-lapse), third-party Complications, Time Travel, and a Nightstand mode that's activated when the watch is charging, displaying the time.

watchOS 2 is currently only available to registered developers who have also installed iOS 9 on their iPhones. Apple plans to release the software to the public in the fall.

What's new in beta 5:

Previous watchOS 2 betas haven't added many new features, but there are several new additions in watchOS 2 beta 5, as listed below.

Timelapse - There's a new Timelapse watch face that displays the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Sleep settings - There's a Settings option that will keep the Apple Watch's screen active and turned on for 70 seconds. Currently the watch face only stays on for 15 seconds.

Music - In the Music app, there's a new "Quick Play" button to access music on the iPhone more quickly. The Music app interface has also been tweaked and will display the app that's playing music.

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of iOS 9 to developers for testing purposes, more than two weeks after releasing the fourth beta and two months after unveiling the new operating system at the 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple has also seeded a third beta of iOS 9 to public beta testers, which is identical to the fifth beta developers have received. Developers can also download Xcode 7 beta 5.

The update, build number 13A4325c, is available as an over-the-air update and can also be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center.

Today's beta introduces new wallpapers and heralds the imminent release of a WiFi calling option for AT&T users. For a full list of changes in the beta, make sure to check out our iOS 9 Beta 5 Tidbits post.

iOS 9 beta 4 brought the return of Home Sharing for music and it fixed a bug that had prevented the iPhone's volume buttons from being used as a camera shutter. It also introduced a new look for Handoff in the app switching interface.

In a new interview with Evening Standard, Apple Music executive and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine sat down to talk about everything from the launch of Apple Music to the company's dramatic reversal of its free trial royalties policy following Taylor Swift's public dismissal of the service in an open letter.

Iovine depicts a conversation between himself, Eddy Cue and Apple CEO Tim Cook that ultimately resulted in the support of Taylor Swift's -- and many musicians backing the pop star -- opinions on the service.

“Eddy [Cue, Apple senior VP] woke up on Sunday morning,” says Iovine. “He called me and said, ‘This is a drag’. I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe there’s some stuff she doesn’t understand’. He said, ‘Why don’t you give Scott [Borchetta, Swift’s label boss] a call? I called Scott, I called Eddy back, Eddy and Tim [Cook, Apple CEO] called me back and we said, ‘Hey, you know what, we want this system to be right and we want artists to be comfortable, let’s do it’.”

Later in the interview, Iovine mentions an aim for more personality in the Apple Music experience, attempting to avoid the use of numbers and algorithms curating music for its users, and hiring experts for the job of building the playlists that fill out each Apple Music user's personalized "For You" section. Still, the Apple Music executive mentions a "numbing" amount of music streaming services available to customers -- from Spotify to Rdio and the newly-launched Tidal -- as a definite hurdle for the new streaming service to clear.

“There’s a lot of [them],” he says, disdainfully. “Music deserves elegance and the distribution right now is not great. It’s all over the place and there are a bunch of utilities. That’s the best you can find. It’s basically a really narrow, small, inelegant way to have music delivered. So it’s sterile, programmed by algorithms and numbing.”

As Iovine says: “Algorithms don’t understand the subtlety and the mixing of genres. So we hired the best people we know. Hired hundreds of them.”

The entirety of Evening Standard's interview with Iovine is worth a read, as it touches more on his background with Steve Jobs, his early-industry struggles with competitors like Napster, and the difficulties of hiring Zane Lowe away from the BBC and into Apple Music's 24/7 Beats 1 DJ position.

In an interview with USA Today, Apple's Eddy Cue reveals that Apple Music currently has 11 million users taking advantage of the initial three-month trial period, with two million of those taking advantage of the family plan that will cost $14.99 per month once the trial ends. A single-user membership will be priced at $9.99 per month.

"We're thrilled with the numbers so far," says Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, adding that of that sum 2 million have opted for the more lucrative family plan at $14.99 a month for up to six people.

The officially announced milestone of 11 million users is roughly in line with the rumored ten million users shared by HITS Daily Double last week.

Cue notes Apple is "releasing updates as fast as we can" to address bugs and other issues with Apple Music amid duplication and mislabeling complaints. Jimmy Iovine also contributed to the interview, highlighting some of the challenges of reaching users in certain countries and age demographics while noting Apple believes it can use its leverage to bring many of those users on board for a subscription music service.

On a separate note, Cue shared some new App Store numbers, noting that July set a record with $1.7 billion in App Store transactions thanks to strong performance in China. Apple has now paid out $33 billion to developers since the App Store debuted in 2008.

Nearly four months after release, the new 12-inch MacBook is starting to become available for personal pickup in Apple Stores in the United States. Previously, some stores have had sporadic stock for walk-in customers, but it now appears that stock is substantial enough for Apple to offer personal pickup.

The personal pickup option isn't universal yet however, with only select configurations at select stores being available. For example, the 256 GB Silver MacBook is not available for personal pickup in New York, NY while the 256 GB Space Gray is widely available.

While some Apple Stores and Best Buys have had sporadic stock for walk-ins, most Apple Stores around the world have only had the unit on display. In the MacRumors' forums, users have been reporting which stores around the world have had the new MacBook on display, whether they were available to purchase or not and how many units they had left in stock.

The MacBook is currently showing shipping estimates of at least 1 - 2 weeks when ordered online. Comparatively, both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are showing shipping estimates of at least 1 business day.

Pricing for the 12-inch MacBook starts at $1,299 for the entry-level model with 256 GB of storage while the higher-end model starts at $1,599 with 512 GB of storage and a slightly faster dual-core Intel Core M processor.

Apple today seeded the third beta of OS X 10.10.5 to developers, nearly one week after seeding the second 10.10.5 beta and more than a month after releasing OS X 10.10.4 to the public.

Today's beta, build 14F25a, can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Apple Developer Center.

The first and second OS X 10.10.5 betas did not appear to include any consumer-facing changes, so it's likely that this update focuses on behind-the-scenes bug fixes and performance enhancements. OS X 10.10.5 beta 2 introduced a fix for the DYLD_PRINT_TO_FILE exploit that's been making headlines over the last few days, and the security flaw will be patched as soon as OS X 10.10.5 is released to the public.

Because we're just a couple of months away from the public release of OS X 10.11 El Capitan, OS X 10.10.5 will likely be one of the last updates to Yosemite, designed to prepare the operating system for its imminent retirement. It will, of course, continue to get bug fixes and minor repairs even after El Capitan's release to patch security flaws and fix other issues.

Over the course of its lifespan, OS X Yosemite has received four updates. The first two brought bug fixes and security improvements, while OS X 10.10.3, the most significant update to Yosemite, introduced the new Photos app, Force Touch APIs, new emoji features, and more.

OS X 10.10.4, the current version of OS X Yosemite, introduced multiple bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements, including the removal of the problematic Discoveryd process.