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Technology
Apple reveals new Music app to rival Spotify
By Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor
8 June 2015 Technology
Rory Cellan-Jones reports on how Apple is making inroads into
the streaming market
Apple has announced a new app that combines a streaming song and
music video
library, an internet radio station and a way for artists to
share unreleased tracks and
other material.
It includes a recommendation system that uses both human
curators and computer
algorithms to suggest songs.
The service is set to challenge Spotify, Tidal and other music
apps.
Apple also revealed that the UK will be the first country to get
its Apple Pay service outside of the
US.
Menu
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Apple's Music app will allow users to stream songs from its
iTunes music library
"A lot of people in the industry see the launch of the music
service as a big deal, and their hope
is that this will help take subscription-based streaming
mainstream," commented Chris Cooke,
from the news site Complete Music Update.
"But Spotify has an ad-supported free level to help sell its
premium packages, which Apple
doesn't, so it still has a unique selling point."
Apple's service introduces the Beats 1 radio station, which will
be hosted by ex-BBC DJ Zane
Lowe among others.
Users will be able to get personalised recommendations by
telling the app who their favouriteartists are
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The app also works with Apple's voice-controlled virtual
assistant Siri, allowing subscribers to
ask it to play a song from a movie soundtrack or year without
needing to know the track's name.
Recommended playlists will be crafted by "music experts" to
ensure the songs fit together, but
algorithms will be used to direct users to different ones based
on their listening histories and
favourite artists.
"Apple is arriving late to the music streaming business, due in
part to Steve Jobs' refusal to
believe that music subscription services would ever work," said
James McQuivey from the
Forrester consultancy.
But, he added, that he believed it would catch up with market
leader Spotify's 15 million paying
subscribers in less than a year.
Zane Lowe will host a show on the Beats 1 radio station from Los
Angeles. Its other DJs includeEbro Darden in New York and Julie
Adenuga in London
Another analyst suggested Apple might face a challenge
explaining all the features on offer.
"Apple Music is a complex mix of services including music
streaming, live radio, music discovery
and social interaction with artists," said Geoff Blaber from CCS
Insight.
"It's too early to tell whether this is what users are waiting
for but Apple's installed base, the three
month free subscription and family bundle are huge levers that
Apple's competitors will be wary
of."
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The app will allow users to stream music from iTunes' library
and save tracks for offline playback
Apple said the service would launch in more than 100 countries
on 30 June, and would cost
$9.99 (6.50) per month in the US for one person - the same as
Spotify - or $14.99 for families
containing up to six people.
Users do not need to pay to listen to Beats 1.
The Music app will initially be restricted to iOS, Windows PCs
and Mac computers, but will
extend to Android phones and Apple TVs later in the year.
Spotify's chief executive posted this tweet during Apple's press
event - and then deleted it
Apple Pay
Apple is also seeking to expand its digital wallet scheme.
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In the US, Apple Pay will add support for retailers' own payment
and loyalty cards.
And in the UK, people will be able to make payments by waving
their iPhones or Apple Watches
at contactless payment terminals from next month.
The firm said the service would be offered at about 250,000
locations across the UK and would
cover 70% of issued credit and debit cards.
Take-up of Apple Pay has been limited since it launched in the
US in October.
A survey by the Reuters news agency recently indicated that less
than a quarter of the US's
leading retailers accepted the facility.
That is partly because Wal-Mart and 18 other stores have teamed
up to launch a rival scheme,
and they have agreed not to support Apple's facility until 2016
at the earliest.
Apple said that several of the UK's leading banks had agreed to
support Apple Pay
One expert said that the tech firm should find it easier to
attract support in the UK, where stores
already used machines for their tap-and-go payment card
transactions that would become
compatible.
"The equipment is already out there and Visa Europe has made the
necessary infrastructure
changes that pave the way for an Apple Pay rollout - it just
hasn't flipped the switch yet,"
explained Chris Green from the Davies Murphy Group
consultancy.
"In the US there have been instances where retailers have been
committed to specific payment
handling service contracts that have prohibited them from being
involved in Apple Pay as it would
represent a breach of contract for them.
"In contrast in the UK there aren't those types of
roadblocks."
Apple said that the pharmacy Boots, the coffee chain Costa, the
supermarket Waitrose and the
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London transport network were among British organisations that
would support Apple Pay.
Barclays Bank was a notable omission from the list of lenders
committed to the service.
But Barclays has told the BBC it is in "constructive talks" with
the US firm.
Read more about how Apple Pay will work in the UK
Craig Federighi showed off Siri's new user interface
Siri intelligence
Earlier during its developers conference, Apple's software chief
Craig Federighi revealed that the
next version of the iOS mobile operating system would give a
Siri a new look and make it more
"proactive".
This will include:
Suggesting appropriate music from an iPhone's lock screen if the
device detects its owner is
engaged in exercise
Highlighting apps it knows the user typically uses at specific
times of the day
Cross referencing incoming phone calls with numbers mentioned in
emails stored on the
device, to tell the user who is on the line before they pick
up
"We do it in a way that does not compromise your privacy - we
don't mine your email, your
photos or your contacts in the cloud to learn things about you,"
said Mr Federighi, contrasting
Apple's approach with Google's Android.
"We honestly just don't want to know."
He also announced iPads would gain "multitasking" in iOS9,
allowing two apps to be run side-by-
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side.
Apple's iPads will be able to run two apps on the same screen, a
feature already supported byWindows 8 tablets and some Samsung
Android devices
In addition, users will be able to watch streamed video in a
resizable box that can be positioned
above another program.
The firm also confirmed that the next version of its Maps app
would provide information about
public transport in London and several other cities - something
Google Maps has offered for
years.
It showed off a News app that brings together a personalised
selection of content from different
sources to provide an experience similar to Flipboard.
And Mr Federighi raised one of the biggest applauses of the
event when he revealed that Apple's
Swift programming language was going open source - meaning its
underlying code becomes
accessible to everyone - as well as making it available to
Linux-powered PCs.
Cnet's editor at large, Tim Stevens, was among those surprised
by Apple's open source move
Apple Watch
Apple also announced a new version of its Watch operating system
that will allow third-party
apps to run on its smartwatch natively.
That should make the software launch and run more quickly,
addressing a common complaint
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from early adopters of the wearable tech and developers
alike.
Third-party apps will gain access to the Watch's accelerometer
and other sensors
"Latency is a critical success factor for any new technology,
including the Apple Watch, and vital
to adoption rates," commented Stephanie Uhlig from Opodo, a
travel booking service that offers
a Watch app.
"If service is slow, consumers will likely be inclined to rely
on their existing devices. The delivery
of enhancements required from Apple to improve speed and user
experience will be crucial."
Third-party apps will also gain access to the Watch's motion
sensors, wrist tap facility and
microphone.
OS X update
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09/06/2015 Apple reveals new Music app to rival Spotify - BBC
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Apple's software chief revealed that the new Mac OS system would
be named after YosemiteNational Park's El Capitan rock
formation
Mr Federighi also announced several new features that will
appear in the next version of its Mac
operating system, called OS X El Capitan.
They include:
Support for the firm's Metal platform, which should help its
laptops and desktop computers
handle more graphics intensive games
The ability to see which tabbed window in the Safari web browser
is playing sound, helping
users locate and mute annoying audio
Enlarging the mouse cursor if it is shaken after waking up a
computer to make it easier to
locate
Share this story About sharing
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CCS Insight
Forrester
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