music+streaming

Pandora app updated with a load of new features

Pandora has been around since 2008, one of the earliest apps offered for the iPhone. With millions of listeners in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, the streaming music service has always been one the most popular music apps out there. After what seems an eternity, Pandora for iOS now has some significant feature updates. First off, Pandora has a new and more attractive user interface and design. There are animations and gesture-based movements that fit in well with iOS 8. There are new personalization controls, you can view songs you gave a "thumbs-up" rating to, and there's even a way to change your rating to "thumbs-down" if you decide it's not your favorite. Notification features have been enhanced in the new Pandora, telling you when new music has been added to the stations you've created. The app now, for the first time, supports the resolution of the new iPhones, including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Pandora has a lot of competition from services like Rdio, Spotify and iHeart Radio. Many people use the free Pandora service, and paying subscribers are only about five percent of total users as of last year. Free subscribers get a lot of ads. The new Pandora app is universal, and requires iOS 6 or later.