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iTunes offers 10-movie bundles for $10 each
Believe it or not, it's been a decade since movies arrived in iTunes... and Apple wants to make sure you remember that. It's launching a 10th anniversary US promo that, appropriately, offers 10-movie bundles from five major studios (Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.) for $10 each. And no, these aren't all stinkers that wouldn't otherwise sell. There are gems like Live Die Repeat, Rush, Selma, Captain Phillips and No Country for Old Men in the mix, and the odds are usually good that you'll enjoy most of what a given bundle has to offer.
Apple rolls out more accurate iTunes matching for Apple Music
Apple Music's ability to match and sync songs that users had already purchased in iTunes was a notable feature when the service first launched last year. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as the iTunes Match tool that preceded the streaming option. Well, it looks like Apple is working to improve how that all works. The Loop reports that the company is rolling out an update that uses the iTunes Match audio fingerprint to handle syncing those songs you've bought. Before now, Apple Music was using a less accurate version of iTunes Match that relied on metadata to pair tracks.
Spotify: Apple is holding up app approval to squash competition
How do you catch up with the biggest music streaming service? Well, not approving app updates is one tactic, and Spotify says Apple is doing just that. The streaming service sent a letter to Apple's legal counsel this week claiming that the company is rejecting an update to Spotify's iOS app and it's "causing grave harm" to users by doing so. The letter explains that Apple won't approve the new version because Spotify doesn't use the company's billing method for in-app purchases and subscription services. Apple announced the changes to app subscriptions in iTunes just before this month's WWDC.
iTunes update delivers 'simpler design' with modest changes
Apple is still trying to figure out how to improve the usability of iTunes. Today, the company released an update that tweaked the interface a bit, adding a sidebar and media selection tool that make navigating through libraries a bit easier. That sidebar menu is the biggest and most useful change, bringing back a UI feature from older versions of the app. From there, you can easily edit playlists, drag and drop songs to build playlists and hide or expand parts of the menu.
Apple says a bug in iTunes might be deleting users' libraries
Last week, a blog post by a designer named James Pinkstone made the rounds; in it, the writer claimed that Apple Music and iTunes teamed up to delete his 122GB of local music files and basically cause havoc with his library. This isn't the first time we've heard of oddness around how Apple Music plays with your local files, but it sounded more severe than most other reports. Now, Apple has confirmed to iMore that it is working on a patch to iTunes to fix the issue.
Apple holds talks on the future of podcasts
Podcasts may not make Apple any direct revenue, but they're still important in an era when Serial and other big shows are drawing in lots of listeners. And apparently, the company knows it. New York Times sources say that Apple recently held talks with seven "leading podcast professionals" at its headquarters. While the crew at 1 Infinite Loop didn't vow to make any changes, they reportedly discussed "several pressing issues" in podcasting. The company's internet software and services lead, Eddy Cue, came in afterwards to talk privately with staff.
'Deadpool' downloads are setting sales records early
Fox's Digital HD plan to sell movies online ahead of their disc release appears to be paying off, as it just announced that CGI-heavy Deadpool is the fastest selling superhero digital HD movie. Of course, it being incredibly well-received doesn't hurt, but racking up a million sales before the Ultra HD Blu-ray / Blu-ray / DVD debut next week is pretty nice. According to Fox, it's the studio's "best performing" movie ever under the program, which saw it go on sale via the likes of iTunes and Vudu on April 25th.
Apple's iBooks Store and iTunes Movies banned in China
Although Apple is enjoying a lot of success in China, its popularity hasn't stopped it from falling foul of the country's regulators. The New York Times reports that Chinese media watchdog, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has banned the company's iBooks Store and iTunes Movies service as part of a strict crackdown on online services owned by foreign companies.
Apple is shutting down iTunes allowance for kids
After May 25th, you'll have to come up with an alternative arrangement for your kids' iTunes purchases. Apple is killing iTunes allowance that day and even already stopped allowing new users to sign up for the feature on April 13th. iTunes allowance automatically replenishes kids' balance every month with a set amount, from $10 to $50. That way, they wouldn't have to have access to your credit card details, which could lead to debts, headache and the need to drink something stronger than beer.
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' digital downloads come to the UK
If you've ignored regional loopholes and a plethora of dodgy websites waiting for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become available in the UK, your patience has finally paid off. The latest instalment in the franchise is now available for digital download from online stores like iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.
Kendrick Lamar releases a new album in response to tweets
Twitter can apparently be used for more than just mischief making, activism and unexpected beefs, as it appears LeBron James managed to coax a new album out of rapper Kendrick Lamar. SBNation notes that the NBA star tweeted at TDE label head Anthony Tiffith after seeing the performance at this year' s Grammy awards (pictured above), asking for the release of Lamar's unreleased tracks . Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the eight-track album untitled unmastered. has just appeared on iTunes, Google Play, Tidal and Spotify.
Apple pushes iOS patch to counter the dreaded 'Error 53'
As reported earlier this month by the Guardian, a number of iPhone users -- specifically those who have had their home buttons or screens repaired by third-party technicians -- have had their devices bricked due to "Error 53". This error occurs when the device doesn't recognize the replacement cable running to the home button, throwing the device into a boot loop. Apple announced on Thursday that it is releasing an update to iOS 9.2.1 to counter the issue and restore functionality.
Slow down, Apple: Perfect your iOS apps before moving to Android
Apple CEO Tim Cook let an intriguing bit of news slip earlier this week at a town hall meeting with the company's employees. Apple Music for Android was apparently just a first step: The company is considering bringing more of its software and services to Google's mobile OS. It sounds a little crazy, as Apple's message for decades has been how well its software and hardware work together. But both Google and Microsoft are infiltrating iOS with their own excellent apps, pushing many of Apple's services to the side. Cook may feel he needs to fight back and bring more Apple apps to Android -- but he first needs to make sure the company's software runs better on its own hardware than it currently does.
Apple planned ahead for the inevitable hardware slump
It was inevitable but nonetheless concerning to investors: iPhone sales flattened out this quarter, part of an overall trend of weakness in the smartphone market, and Apple admitted that next quarter will see sales decline year over year for the first time. Yes, the company just reported record-breaking profit -- again -- but as the iPhone goes, so does Apple. As such, the company is forecasting its first revenue decline in years.
Streaming music was twice as big in 2015
Nielsen just removed any doubt that streaming music is here to stay. The research group's end-of-year music report reveals that the number of on-demand US streams nearly doubled year-over-year in 2015, to 317.2 billion streams. Downloads unsurprisingly took a hit, with individual song sales diving 12.5 percent and whole albums dropping 2.9 percent. However, the sheer volume of streams appears to at least partly make up for the shortfall -- Billboard notes that the revenue is equivalent to 211.5 million purchased albums. While artists aren't necessarily getting all that extra money, it's a positive sign.
A lot of people apparently got Fitbits for Christmas
If Apple's App Store rankings are any indication, a lot of you got a Fitbit for Christmas yesterday: The company's fitness-tracking app quickly shot to the top of the free list in iTunes. As Qz points out, Fitbit's activity tracker was already the most-downloaded health and fitness application for iOS, but as Christmas approached, it leapfrogged 20 spots to the top, suggesting many a couch potato unboxed one of the firm's wristbands.
Word-puzzler 'Scribblenauts Unlimited' returns to mobile
Scribblenauts started as a handheld game, and now the adorable interactive dictionary puzzler is making its way to Android and iOS after an extended break from mobile. 2012's Scribblenauts Unlimited (which appeared on 3DS, PC and Wii U) is available right now on Google Play and as a universal app on iTunes for the cool price of $4.99. A version's heading toward the Amazon Appstore on Android as well.
Apple starts offering carrier billing for iTunes in Germany
Up until now, Apple's held out on offering carrier billing for services like iTunes and the App Store. But it looks like that's coming to an end, at least in Germany. As reported by TechCrunch, Apple seems to have quietly flipped the switch on this feature, which lets digital goods be charged directly to a phone bill, for people using O2's wireless network. A spokesperson for Telefonica, the owner of O2, confirmed to the publication it is in fact working with Apple on carrier billing. If you're an O2 wireless customer in that country, it means you can start charging Apple Music, iTunes, App Store and iBooks purchases directly to your monthly bill. Access is limited at the moment, but Telefonica says everyone on O2 will get it by the beginning of November.
Netflix now lets iPhone and iPad users sign up via its app
If you want to watch Netflix without setting down your iPhone or iPad, you can now purchase a subscription directly from the app and pay using iTunes. The streaming company amusingly revealed the news using via a clip from Orange is the New Black (below) that shows inmates Crazy Eyes and Taystee trying to figure out Siri. Netflix has had iOS apps for over five years, but until now, you've needed to purchase a subscription over the web or on an Apple TV device. As Variety points out, Netflix may have avoided in-app buys due to the steep 30 percent fee charged by Apple.
EPIX enables mobile downloads for offline movie watching
Joining the likes of Google Play Movies and iTunes, streaming content provider EPIX announced on Tuesday that it will allow subscribers to download movies onto their mobile devices for later playback, whether or not there's an available internet connection. The feature will reportedly be available on iOS and Android devices as well as Amazon's Kindle, beginning this month. Available titles will include The Hunger Games, James Bond and Star Trek. There's no word on limits to how many titles subscribers will be able to concurrently download or how long they'll be able to keep each one.
