The announcements were made at the WWDC conference, where the tech giant
outlines its software plans for the months ahead.
The tech giant announced several new privacy measures, building on last
year’s event where it pledged to jam Facebook’s tracking tools.
Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi: “Privacy
is a fundamental human right.”
The company is also launching a sign-in-with-Apple login, as an alternative
to logging in to a service using a social media account.
Using this login, users can choose to hide their email address, with Apple
creating a random alternative address which will forward to the real mailbox.
The next iteration of the iPhone’s operating system – iOS 13 – includes a
range of changes to its interface, as well as new functions.
The new Dark Mode enables iPhone apps to be viewed with a black background,
while the Apple Maps app will come with a virtual tour experience similar to
Google’s Street View.
Other key features include the option to silence unknown callers and block
senders within the Mail app, improved search in messages, and optimized battery
charging.
Apple has also made improvements to its language keyboards, including the introduction of new bilingual keyboards and typing predictions for Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Cantonese, Vietnamese and the 22 official Indian languages.
Apple’s newer lines of business – Apple Pay, the App Store and Apple Music – helped the tech giant to drive growth in its third quarter.
Quarterly profit rose 12% to $8.7 billion. Revenues grew by 7% year-on-year to $45.4 billion.
The news sent its stock surging more than 5% in after-hours trade.
Apple, which also forecast strong sales, is expected to release new and updated iPhones next month.
CEO Tim Cook was tight-lipped when it came to details on the new launch and said reports about the new phones may have caused some people to “pause” their purchases of the existing phones.
However, “while that affects us in the short-term, it probably bodes well”, he added.
Even with some people waiting for the new models, Apple said the number of iPhones sold in the quarter increased a solid 2% year-on-year, driven by strong demand in markets such as Latin America and the Middle East.
The growth lifted revenue from iPhones, which account for the bulk of the company’s sales, by 3% to $24.8 billion.
Apple also said the number of iPads sold climbed 28% year-on-year, while revenues from the product increased 2%. The rise follows the introduction of new models, as well as increased efforts to incorporate the tablets into operations at schools and in businesses.
Revenue from other devices, such as the Apple Watch, Apple TV and Beats products, jumped 23% year-on-year.
Apple’s China revenues slipped 9.5% from a year earlier to slightly more than $8 billion.
Its flagship iPhone is losing market share to a slew of local competitors, while the company also faces challenges in dealing with China’s strict internet censorship regime.
Tim Cook stressed the success of its services unit, which includes Apple Pay, the App Store and Apple Music. The division had sales of nearly $7.3 billion during the three months to the end of June, a rise of 22% on the same period last year.
Apple Pay now accounts for almost 90% of mobile payment transactions around the world, said CFO Luca Maestri. Paying accounts on the App Store are also on the rise, he said.
Tim Cook also addressed Apple’s decision to remove some products from its App Store in China, saying the company had to abide by the law.
The Beatles’ music will be available on nine streaming music services.
Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, Tidal and Amazon Prime Music are among those services that will offer the Beatles’ tracks worldwide.
The Beatles split up in April 1970. However, their songs – including Hey Jude and Yesterday – remain hugely popular and influential.
Other services that have secured the Beatles’ catalogue include Deezer, Microsoft Groove, Napster and Slacker Radio.
Photo Pinterest
The deal involves rights to stream 224 songs from the original 13 studio albums released in the UK as well as “essential” collections including Past Masters.
The tracks will be made available from December 24.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr clocked up 17 No 1 singles in the British charts as the Beatles.
But long after the band broke up they continued to issue songs and compilations, the most recent of which was an expanded edition of Beatles 1 put on sale last month.
The Beatles announcement comes as a number of high-profile artists – including Neil Young, Prince and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke – have questioned the value of streaming services.
The most prominent example is Adele.
Adele’s new album, 25, has sold more than seven million copies without appearing on any streaming platform, although she has made her single Hello available.
Adele’s new album 25 has been blocked from streaming on Spotify, Apple Music or other services.
Adele, 27, is thought to have followed in the steps of Taylor Swift and made the decision not to put her music on the services.
Spotify says it hopes Adele will change her mind “very soon”.
However, fans can buy 25 in music stores and on sites like iTunes and Amazon.
Adele’s previous albums 19 and 21 as well as her current single Hello are still available for streaming.
The singer is said to be one of the few superstars who has enough influence to decide how she wants people to listen to her music.
A statement from Spotify said: “We love and respect Adele, as do her 24 million fans on Spotify. We hope that she will give those fans the opportunity to enjoy 25 on Spotify alongside 19 and 21 very soon.”
The new album is not available to stream on Apple Music, but Apple said it was “thrilled” to offer it for download on iTunes.
Another artist who made the same decision as Adele was Taylor Swift, who pulled her music from Spotify in 2014 following a row over the royalties paid by streaming outlets.
Taylor Swift has announced her 1989 album will appear on Apple’s new streaming service.
Earlier this week the singer challenged Apple over the fact they weren’t planning to pay royalties to artists during Apple Music’s three-month trial period.
After seeing Taylor Swift’s open letter, Apple Music backed down and will now pay artists during the initial trial.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 is not currently available on any streaming services.
The singer tweeted: “After the events of this week, I’ve decided to put 1989 on Apple Music…and happily so.
“In case you’re wondering if this is some exclusive deal like you’ve seen Apple do with other artists, it’s not.”
In her original letter Taylor Swift had said that “three months is a long time to go unpaid” and said it was “unfair” to expect people to work for nothing.
“I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done… I think this could be the platform that gets it [music streaming] right,” she added.
Apple Music, which launches on June 30, will allow users to stream the company’s vast catalogue of singles and albums and is set to cost $9.99 per month for one person or $14.99 for families.
The company says it plans to pay 73% of the music subscription revenue to music owners.
Apple executive Eddy Cue said the firm had already planned to pay artists a higher rate after the trail period was over to compensate for the first three months of free service given to customers.
They had already been hearing “a lot of concern from indie artists about not getting paid during the three-month trial period” before Taylor Swift spoke out.
Eddy Cue also said: “We never looked at it as not paying them.”
Taylor Swift tweeted: “This is simply the first time it’s felt right in my gut to stream my album. Thank you, Apple, for your change of heart.”
In 2014, Taylor Swift removed her entire back catalogue from Spotify, saying the business had “shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically”.
Now the only Taylor Swift tracks on the streaming service are from compilation albums.
Apple Music has decided to reverse its payment policy, less than 24 hours after Taylor Swift said she was refusing to allow the company to stream her album 1989.
In an open letter to Apple, Taylor Swift, 25, said she was withholding the record as she was unhappy with the three-month free trial offered to subscribers.
Now Apple Music says it will pay artists for music streamed during trial periods.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, tweeted on June 21: “We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple.”
“Apple will always make sure that artist are paid,” he added.
Eddy Cue’s response may have headed off what could have been a bruising battle for Apple during a crucial period in which Apple Music is attempting to compete with streaming services like Spotify, which knows all too well what it’s like to be on the receiving end of Taylor Swift’s ire.
He also tweeted: “#AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period.”
Taylor Swift had said the plan was “unfair”, arguing Apple had the money to cover the cost.
“I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company,” the singer said, describing Apple as one of her “best partners in selling music”.
“Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.”
Apple Music launches on June 30. It will cost $9.99 per month in the US for one person or $14.99 for families.
It is not the first time Taylor Swift has spoken out against streaming music – she pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify last November and had refused to offer 1989 on streaming services, saying the business had “shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically”.
1989 went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of 2014 and has sold more than 4.9 million copies in the US alone.
Taylor Swift has decided to pull her 1989 album from Apple Music and criticized the company.
In an open letter to Apple, Taylor Swift said she was withholding the record as she was unhappy with the three-month free trial offered to subscribers by Apple’s new streaming music service.
The 25-year-old singer wrote: “I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months.”
Taylor Swift said the plan was “unfair”, arguing Apple had the money to cover the cost.
“I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company,” she said, describing Apple as one of her “best partners in selling music”.
“These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much,” she continued.
“We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers and producers for the 3 month trial period – even if it is free for the fans trying it out.
“Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.”
Taylor Swift ended her letter by calling on Apple to change its policy, suggesting she would reinstate her album on the service if the company changed its mind.
“We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.”
Apple has yet to comment on the issue.
The rest of Taylor Swift’s back catalogue will remain available on Apple Music when it launches on June 30. It will cost $9.99 per month in the US for one person or $14.99 for families.
The music industry has generally supported Apple bringing its vast music library to paid streaming, and the company said it will pay 70% of the music subscription revenue to music owners.
It is not the first time Taylor Swift has spoken out against streaming music – she pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify last November and had refused to offer 1989 on streaming services, saying the business had “shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically”.
1989 went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of 2014 and has sold more than 4.9 million copies in the US alone.
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