News

YouTube’s new Backstage section will let you share photos, polls, text & more with subscribers

Just as we're processing today's news regarding an upcoming video-sharing app from Apple, a new report claims Google is set to enhance YouTube's social experience in the fall by unveiling a new Backstage section in the mobile app and on the web.

According to VentureBeat, Backstage will let YouTube users share not just videos, but also photos, polls, links, text posts and more with their subscribers.

Check out the star-studded lineup of Apple Music Festival 10

Apple Music Festival 10, which runs September 18-30 at the London Roundhouse, will be headlined by such acts as Alicia Keys, Bastille, Britney Spears, Calvin Harris, Chance The Rapper, Elton John and others, the company announced Thursday. The ten-day festival will be made available live and on-demand to Apple Music members in 100 countries.

Apple researching a system that would capture biometric data of thieves via iPhone sensors

An Apple patent application published Thursday by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes methods of capturing and storing biometric information of thieves via the iPhone's sensors, including fingerprints, photos, videos and a wealth of other forensic data.

Titled “Biometric capture for unauthorized user identification,” the proposed and somewhat controversial security system would leverage machine learning to proactively capture an unauthorized user's fingerprint and a picture after unsuccessful Touch ID/passcode attempts or if user-defined criteria have been met.

Bloomberg: Apple developing a new iPhone video-sharing app & deeper social ties in iOS

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Apple has been developing a brand new Snapchat-style video editing and sharing application that could launch in 2017 as a standalone download, as well as testing deeper social ties across iOS as part of a newly directed focus to integrate more social networking features within its mobile products. These moves are said to be a response to the success of social services like Facebook and Snapchat, according to people familiar with Apple’s strategy.

Code strings in macOS Sierra hint at future Macs with 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 support

Code strings found in the latest beta of macOS Sierra—originally discovered in the macOS API definitions by app developer Felix Schwartz back in June—indicate that future Macs will almost certainly support the latest USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard, which allows for up to 10 Gbps transfer speeds. While plans regarding future Macs could change, we fully expect the upcoming machines—just like existing and previous Macs—to support the latest and greatest in USB and Thunderbolt tech.

Major record label reportedly bans “exclusive” deals with Apple Music and other services

Apple's practice of locking down long-term exclusive deals with artists has reportedly drawn ire from Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's biggest major label. Frank Ocean’s recent exclusive deal with Apple was a wakeup call for the industry, with UMG set to curtail its practice of supplying Apple Music and other services with longterm exclusives.

“It’s our job to make sure that there’s not just one winner in music streaming,” a source told BuzzFeed News.

Report: Deutsche Telekom to lure customers with 6 months of Apple Music for free

German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom is reportedly planning to lure prospective customers into the fold by enticing them with six free months of Apple Music, about a $60 value.

German-language blog iPhone-ticker.de reported Wednesday that Deutsche Telekom is set to announce the offer at IFA in Berlin, Europe's largest consumer electronics show that runs September 2-7.

A fascinating look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple

Respected journalist Steven Levy has scored another nice exclusive with a new write-up over at Backchannel, a Wired Media Group property, giving us a rare inside look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple.

The article contains a lot of gems, with company executives Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller and Siri leads Tom Gruber and Alex Acero providing a bunch of previously unknown facts about Apple's AI efforts, including this one: machine learning has enabled Apple to cut Siri's error rate by a factor or two.

Twelve South launches BookBook and SurfacePad cases for 9.7″ iPad Pro

Premium accessory maker Twelve South today added a new 9.7" iPad Pro-optimized member to its vintage-style Book Book cases, three months following Book Book for 12.9-inch iPad Pro that debuted in early-summer. The company also said that customers can now pick up Surface Pad covers for their 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The new Book Book for the 9.7-inch tablet is priced at $79.99, or $99.99 for the Rutledge Edition.

As for the  stylish SurfacePad sleeve for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, it'll set you back $79.99.

Obviously fake iPhone 6SE packaging photos are circulating around the Internet

Some reputable outlets are running supposed photographs of the supposed packaging for Apple's supposed 'iPhone 6SE' smartphone—despite the fact that the images have been identified as poorly faked Photoshop mockups. The understandable excitement around those obviously doctored shots stems from a very sketchy post by German blog Apfelpage.de.

Earlier in the summer, that outlet made unsubstantiated claims that Apple might market the iPhone 7 under the 'iPhone 6SE' moniker or perhaps release an updated iPhone SE with iPhone 6-style design, neither of which makes any sense to me.

You can now mark recommended videos as ‘Not Interested’ in YouTube for iOS

Google today issued a small update to its YouTube client on the App Store, adding a feature that enables better suggestions while fixing three annoying bugs.

Bumped to version 11.32, the iPhone and iPad application now makes it easy to improve personalized suggestions by marking recommended videos under the Up Next section as “Not Interested,” which helps train the algorithm to better tailor recommendations to your personal tastes.

Spotify looking to lower its revenue share with music labels

Spotify is out of contract with all three major music companies, and according to Music Business Worldwide, the renegotiations aren't going well. Citing sources familiar with the talks, the outlet says the sticking point is revenue share.

With Spotify preparing for an IPO, the labels see this as a great opportunity to get the streaming company to raise its revenue split from around 55% to 58%, which is what Apple Music pays. Spotify, however, wants to lower the amount.