Rumors

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.

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.

Facebook testing autoplaying videos with sound

What could be worse than those pesky autoplaying videos on Facebook? Autoplaying videos that begin playing audio automatically as you scroll past them in your News Feed, but of course! And that's precisely what Facebook is currently experimenting with, according to Mashable.

At the moment, the company is currently testing two methods of getting users to watch video with sound: one involving autoplaying videos with sound and the other with an Unmute button on the lower right corner of such videos.

Apple taps Primax Electronics for some of dual-lens camera modules for iPhone 7 Plus line

Citing a report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, Asian trade publication DigiTimes reported this morning that Taiwanese supplier Primax Electronics will manufacture some of the dual-lens camera modules for Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 Plus flagship smartphone model.

The supplier recently increased its camera module capacity by ten percent, boosting output to twelve million CMOS units per month, of which seventy percent are thirteen-megapixel models that the iPhone 7 Plus might use.

Nikkei: three new iPhones in 2017, including premium model with curved AMOLED screen

As you may have probably heard by now, Apple is expected to save its most significant smartphone overhaul—which many rumors said would include a wraparound screen based on advanced organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display technology—for the Tenth Anniversary iPhone next year.

Japanese outlet Nikkei said today that Apple will position an AMOLED iPhone as a new premium choice. The device should come with a screen possibly measuring more than 5.5 inches diagonally. Moreover, existing 4.7 and 5.5-inch models will be updated next year, too, but are expected to retain flat screens like existing iPhones.

Apple Store updates: design changes, new & renamed positions + ambitious retail credo

During an all-hands meeting held with retail employees this weekend, Apple's retail boss Angela Ahrendts discussed changes coming to its brick-and-mortar locations while revealing an updated corporate credo that all retail employees are expected to follow.

She also announced three new retail positions—Pro, Creative Pro and Technical Expert—renamed a few existing ones and shared tidbits on Jony Ive-approved store design and layout, as first discovered by MacRumors.

Taiwanese pop idol claims he’s been photographed using dual-lens 5.5″ iPhone 7 Plus

Taiwanese pop singer, actor and race car driver Jimmy Lin is certainly no stranger to publicity stunts involving Apple leaks. In September 2012, for instance, Chinese social media lit up as he posted photos of himself using a then-unreleased iPhone 5.

Now, the attention-seeking star is back at it: he appears to have been photographed while using a dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus handset in Rose Gold.

Siri to pronounce Barbra Streisand’s name correctly with “next update on September 30”

Will iOS 10 hit on September 30? We don't know, but that's what well-known singer, actress, songwriter and filmmaker Barbra Streisand seems to have alluded in an interview with NPR, saying she picked up the phone and called Tim Cook after becoming frustrated with how Siri pronounced her name.

The CEO of Apple reportedly promised a fix for Siri to pronounce the actress's name correctly with the next update on September 30.

Here are Gene Munster’s latest musings on Project Titan & Apple VR headset

Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster had been infamously predicting an Apple-branded HDTV set for years before eventually giving up on that dream. Last we heard from him was when he called for an S-upgrade to the Apple Watch in February 2016 (he may have gotten that one right; the timing, not so much).

He's back now with some interesting thoughts (via AppleWorldToday) on Apple's rumored electric vehicle and assumed virtual reality headset hardware.