Music

Rumor: high-fidelity Apple Music streaming due in 2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 21, 2015

For years, Apple has been rumored to be working on high-resolution audio formats for iTunes, but we're yet to see concrete evidence of those efforts. Still, the rumor persists. On Monday, the reliable Japanese blog Macotakara reported that high-resolution streaming is coming to Apple Music in 2016.

Citing industry sources who spoke to the publication at the Portable Audio Festival in Tokyo, where some of Apple's products were exhibited, the report states that Apple will offer better-than-CD quality music.

In addition, high-end audio equipment makers are allegedly planning to add audio cables for Lightning to their lineups.

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Apple Music integration with Sonos now available as public beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 15, 2015

As promised, Apple Music is available on Sonos wireless speakers from today, marking the first official third-party integration of Apple's subscription-based music service.

Available as a public beta, the feature lets you access select Apple Music features on wireless speakers by Sonos, including custom playlists through the For You and New features and Beats 1 radio. Of course, you can also play any song from your Apple Music catalogue through your Sonos speakers.

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Music Agent adds shuffle and repeat controls to Control Center and Lock screen music controls

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

I find it weird that there's no native shuffle or repeat options for music playback to be found in Control Center, but here we are, deep into the feature's existence with no such options to be found.

The same thing can be said about the Lock screen music controls as well. Maybe I'm in the minority when it comes to wishing for these two features, but I use the repeat and shuffle options constantly within the actual Music app. It would be so much more convenient for me to have such buttons readily available within Control Center and from the Lock screen.

For jailbreakers, a new $0.99 jailbreak tweak called Music Agent brings both of these features to iOS. If you're a big fan of the shuffle and repeat music controls, then you'll definitely want to check out this new tweak.

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Apple releases Best of 2015 charts on iTunes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Apple on Wednesday posted its annual Best of 2015 charts on iTunes. “We debated. We argued. Everyone had favorites, but to make this list of 2015's finest, there could be no doubts,” wrote the company. “What you see here made the cut—they're the most visionary, inventive and irresistible apps and games of the year.”

Apple named Twitter-owned Periscope the App of the Year and Square Enix's excellent Lara Croft GO its Game of the Year.

Workflow, the popular iOS automation app, is listed as the Most Innovative App of 2015 and Dark Echo the Most Innovative Game of 2015. Facebook-owned Instagram is the Best App on iPhone 6s while Pixel Toys' Warhammer: 40,000 Freeblade took home the Best Game on iPhone 6s award, thanks to immersive 3D Touch controls.

Here's the full list of titles the topped Apple's charts in 2015.

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Apple’s massive tablet gets its killer app: djay Pro for iPad Pro is here

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

The iPad Pro has just received what could be described as a killer app in the form of German developer Algoriddim's djay Pro, a brand new iPad-exclusive apps for both pro and aspiring DJs which launched this morning in the App Store.

Joining Algoriddim's existing djay Pro for Mac, djay 2 for iPhone and djay 2 for iPad apps, djay Pro for iPad replicates the productivity of its Mac counterpart with extensive support for more than 70 keyboard shortcuts and iOS 9's Split View and Slide Over multitasking modes.

More importantly, the software takes full advantage of the iPad Pro's A9X chip to deliver pristine sound quality, desktop-class performance and features like high-definition waveforms, four decks, and video mixing with 4K support—all in real-time and without ever skipping a beat.

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T-Mobile adds 11 more music streaming services to its ‘Music Freedom’ initiative

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 4, 2017

T-Mobile has been on a roll lately with its brazen approach, and despite how some may balk over what seemingly violates the spirit of net neutrality, the overall consensus from the public seems to be positive.

Last month, T-Mobile announced its Binge On program, which allows users to stream pre-approved video services without it counting against their data. The Binge On program is essentially the evolution of its Music Freedom program, which T-Mobile started last year.

Music Freedom, like Binge On, will allow T-Mobile's Simple Choice customers to stream pre-approved music services without it counting against data. Many of the big players, such as Apple Music and Spotify, are already there, but T-Mobile isn't resting on its laurels.

Today, it announced that it's adding 11 additional music streaming services to Music Freedom, and many of them aren't widely known.

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Review: the Aukey outdoor Bluetooth speaker is a nice shower companion

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

This might sound weird, but the idea of listening to music and podcasts while in the shower has always appealed to me. It’s one of the reasons that I initially looked forward to the Apple Watch, thinking that I was going to be able to use it to listen to podcasts directly from the Apple Watch itself.

While that outlook has yet to materialize, I do appreciate the ability to easily control my iPhone’s music player via my Apple Watch while in the shower. But the iPhone’s speaker leaves a lot to be desired. I need a proper Bluetooth speaker that can take being exposed to the shower.

I recently acquired said Bluetooth speaker from Aukey, and it has proved to be the answer that I needed. It looks a bit weird, but its IPX4 waterproof rating and rugged design makes it a great option for a precarious environment like the shower.

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Review: Vevo’s revamped iOS app is a lot cleaner and more fun to use than Apple’s Music

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

In case you missed it, Vevo has completely redesigned its lagging iPhone and iPad application in the App Store. I watch music videos from Vevo artists on YouTube on my desktop. On mobile, not so much and I blame Vevo's hopelessly outdated design, inconsistencies and complicated features for that.

Bumped to version 5.0, the new Vevo experience starts with a black-and-white logo and a matching app icon.

The headline change here is an all-new interface—it gets out of your way, unlike Apple's own Music app, and sports a tremendously useful mini-player. It's almost too weird to say that Vevo's new iOS app is a lot easier and way more fun to use than Apple's stock Music app has ever been, but it's true.

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