Music

How to convert music tracks to Audiobook in iTunes

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 23, 2018

Venturing into the depths of iTunes is no longer an activity for the faint-hearted, as Apple’s gold mine is famously becoming more convoluted with every update. It is by no means impossible to keep up with the changes, but staying on top of every small cosmetic shift does pose a decent challenge today.

As somebody very fond of the spoken word on iTunes, I can attest that this general rule holds true for audiobooks as well. So as I was fiddling around with some old school CDs the other day and trying to move audio files within my iTunes library to the Audiobooks tab, I noticed my old methods were already outdated again. If you’re not up to speed on iTunes, here’s a refresher on how to get your talking book to properly identify as Audiobooks inside the application, followed by an encore for CD enthusiasts with regard to joining tracks during import.

Apple Music’s upcoming Carpool Karaoke show will feature a different host every episode

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2017

Apple's upcoming show, Carpool Karaoke, will consist of sixteen half-hour episodes that will air on Apple Music and feature a different host every episode, Variety reported Monday.

Based on James Corden's Carpool Karaoke viral segment during CBS's Late Late Show, Apple's version will use a format that is more of an interview series with outside-the-box pairings like Billy Eichner in the passenger seat, surrounded by the band Metallica, or former NFL star and talk show host Michael Strahan and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.

Testing the operating range of AirPods and Beats Solo3 vs non-W1 Beats headphones

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Much has been said about the virtues of the W1 chip Apple started baking into their latest wireless Beats line-up and of course the AirPods. By now we know for sure that W1 facilitates a much faster pairing process, as do we know that the chip significantly amplifies both battery life and conservation techniques. What’s less prominently talked about - at least from official sides - is the operating range of these wireless headphones and the presumed effect the W1 chip addition has had on that benchmark.

For I felt information on the internet was just a bit too murky to count on, I decided to take it upon myself and conduct a little experiment: I packed my rucksack with four headphones (two of which boast the new W1 chip) and headed to a nearby park in order to pit them against each other. Pairing them one after another and then slowly making a bee-line for the opposite direction, one thing quickly became clear: the results for the maximum distance obtainable aren’t surprising in terms of order, but they definitely are in their clarity.

Incipio’s OX case lets you charge your iPhone 7 and listen to music simultaneously

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 5, 2017

Among the many things being unveiled at CES 2017, accessory maker Incipio has just unveiled a new case for both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus called OX that has a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack in addition to a Lightning port.

The case intends to do away with the convoluted process of charging your device and listening to music at the same time even when you don’t have a pair of expensive wireless headphones to solve this problem for you.

CasualAlarm uses random songs from your music library for alarm sounds

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 12, 2022

Tons of people use their iPhone as a means of waking up every morning thanks to the built-in alarm feature, and while there are a number of alarm tones to pick from and despite being able to choose any local song on your device as an alarm sound, there is very little diversity whenever you choose either of these methods.

A new free jailbreak tweak called CasualAlarm aims to spice things up by randomizing whatever your alarm might be when it’s time to wake up in the morning, and it does this by shuffling through your very own music library. With it, you will have something different to listen to each morning when it’s time to wake up.

Apple posts new ‘Best of 2016’ video

Cody Lee ∙ January 3, 2017

Apple has shared a new video on its YouTube channel entitled 'Best of 2016.' As the name implies, the 53-second clip is a recap of some of Apple's favorite music, apps, movies and games from last year.

Set to an upbeat soundtrack, the video features several picks from Apple's Best of iTunes lists it released last month. including Drake's song Hotline Bling, the movie Deadpool and the photo app Prisma.

Spotify for Mac gains Touch Bar shortcuts

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 23, 2016

Spotify for Mac was updated this morning with support for Touch Bar shortcuts on the new MacBook Pro models, German outlet Giga.de reported. A few handy music-playback controls are now available in Spotify's Mac app directly from the Touch Bar, including common controls such as transport and search, as well as persistent Now Playing buttons like play, pause, shuffle, repeat and the volume slider.

djay Pro for iPhone is out: 4-deck mixing, waveform haptics, 3D Touch cue points & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

German developer Algoriddim today completed its lineup of apps for DJs by releasing djay Pro for iPhone following the launch of djay Pro for iPad a year ago and djay Pro for Mac two years ago.

The app puts the complete djay experience in the palm of your hand and provides some iPhone 7-specific features, like unique haptic feedback that lets you literally feel the beats while scratching and scrubbing the music, support for 3D Touch so you can quickly set a cue point by pressing and more.

djay Pro for iPhone is available on the App Store at the introductory sale price of $4.99.

Documentary about Roland’s legendary drum machine now available on Apple Music

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 28, 2017

Are you an Apple Music subscriber? If not, you're missing out on some cool documentaries about music produced exclusively for Apple Music fans. As promised, Apple Music subscribers can now watch DJ Zane Lowe-narrated “808: The Movie”, marking the Cupertino company's first original documentary.

Created by You Know Films in association with Atlantic Films, “808: The Movie” is all about the legendary programmable drum machine from Roland that's largely responsible for the recognizable rhythms and sounds of the 1980s and 1990s.

Dejavu prevents you from adding duplicate songs to Apple Music playlists

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 8, 2016

A great feature of the Music app is the ability to create song playlists so you can listen to specific jams depending on how you’re feeling and what you’re doing at a particular point in time.

On the other hand, sometimes you might inadvertently add the same song to a playlist more than once, which means you'll have duplicate songs in the same playlist. As annoying as this can be when you’re in the middle of listening to it and hear the same song more than once, a new jailbreak tweak dubbed Dejavu aims to fix the problem.

Pandora’s subscription service in testing, “redefines what premium could and should be”

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2016

After recently refreshing its brand identity, the popular Internet radio service Pandora today officially announced its upcoming on-demand music service, simply called Premium, which the company says is going to redefine what “premium” could and should be.

Pandora Premium, “an effortless and flexible experience for all subscribers,” includes features that tune into each listener’s individuality while leveraging its deep knowledge of musical data.

Spotty brings album artwork illustrations to Spotify’s playlist view

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 5, 2016

The Spotify app doesn't normally show album artwork illustrations beside your songs in playlist view, but with a new free jailbreak tweak called Spotty, you can force it to.

Not only does it look better after the fact, but it helps make it a lot easier to recognize your music at a glance.