iOS

In an email circulating to customers, Apple has announced that the ad-supported iTunes Radio stations available in the US and Australia are going away on January 29th. Beats 1 will be the ‘premiere free broadcast’ going forward. All other radio station features, i.e. the algorithmic stations like Charting Now or Pop Workout, will require an active Apple Music subscription.

The full email is included below …

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I’ve been all in on iCloud Photo Library since Apple replaced iPhoto with the new Photos app on the Mac last year and I haven’t looked back since. I pay $2.99/month to sync my 13,206 photos and 1,087 videos (plus iOS device backups) with iCloud, and this allows me to take or save photos and videos from any device and have them appear across the others including the web, edits, albums, and all. I even have a system to help ensure to if something in the cloud gets hosed that everything will be fine at home (and if the house burns down hopefully the cloud is still there).

This also enables me to access my 155 GB photos library in the Photos apps on iPhones and iPads that otherwise couldn’t fit that much content. Thumbnail previews are available at all times, and full resolution versions download on the fly as needed. When you’re iPhone, iPad, or Mac needs more local storage, Photos can remove full-res images and downloaded videos to make more space using an optimize storage option. This works pretty well especially on higher capacity devices, but there’s one problem…

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Apple earlier this week introduced the first beta of iOS 9.3 and included in it is a new feature called Night Shift. Night Shift uses your iOS device’s location and clock to automatically adjust the colors in your display, making them warmer and easier on the eyes at nighttime, which ideally would allow you to sleep better. When Apple announced this feature, people immediately noticed the similarity to the popular third-party app Flux, which was only briefly available for iOS last year before Apple shut it down. Now, the developers behind Flux have come out and offered a comment on Apple’s new Night Shift feature…

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The public beta version of iOS 9.3 for non-developer testers is now available. The first iOS 9.3 beta was first released earlier this week to registered developers and includes a number of new mid-cycle features and enhancements. These include secure passwords and Touch ID protection for Notes, a new Night Shift feature to adjust display temperate in the evening, and expanded 3D Touch quick actions on the latest iPhones. iOS 9.3 Beta 1.1 is also available for registered developers.

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December is always one of Apple’s biggest months of the year thanks to the influx of new devices people receive as gifts during the holiday season. The company often reports its highest device sales during this month, and as you can figure, the more people who are using iOS devices, the more people who are downloading apps from the App Store. App Store analytics company Sensor Tower has today shared its figures for the month of December 2015, and it was another record-setting month for Apple. Sensor Tower says that revenue for games in the App Store during December was nearly $1 billion.

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A new bill proposed in New York could see that all phone manufacturers be required to implement a way for law enforcement agencies to access and decrypt user devices. This bill is somewhat similar to the Investigatory Powers Bill currently being debated in the UK, which Apple has voiced its opposition towards. Apple and Tim Cook have repeatedly stated that government agencies should not have any access to user devices or data, whether be through a built-in backdoor or other means.

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Apple has released new betas across the board for all things. Today, we’ll discuss what new features come along with them and how they may impact your usage, new details about the rumored 4-inch iPhone and upcoming iPhone 7, plus much more.

The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

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The New York Post reports that Apple is closely following the situation with Time Warner; the company is facing pressure from investors to put itself up for sale and Apple is interested in acquiring it. Many investors believe Time Warner stock is trading far below its asset value and many investors believe that a buyout or spinoff of some kind is the best option.

Apple could use the company to accelerate its efforts to launch a digital streaming cable service for Apple TV. Time Warner controls a vast content library, including popular shows like Game of Thrones as well as entities like CNN News. More importantly perhaps, it has deals in place with every channel that Apple would need to become a full TV platform.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has struggled to create a skinny bundle of programming from existing content partners. A deal with Time Warner would give Apple most of what it needs: CNN news, Turner Sports and such hugely popular shows as “Game of Thrones” and “Sesame Street” from HBO — not to mention Warner Bros. movies and TV shows.

Although there is a chance Apple could buyout the whole company, Time Warner may end up spinning off parts of the business, although the CEO is resistant.

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Yesterday, Apple released the first beta of iOS 9.3 and with it comes a new feature called Night Shift. Apple says that Night Shift uses your iOS device’s location and clock to automatically adjust the colors in your display, making them warmer and easier on the eyes at nighttime. In the end, Apple says this should make it easier to fall asleep as the bright blue light normally emitted from a display has been found to disrupt your circadian rhythms, making it harder to sleep. While Apple has solved this feature on iOS, it remains an issue on OS X…

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Last July, sales of iOS devices caught up with sales of Windows devices, making it a tight race as to who would ship the most units as 2015 wrapped up. Now, Asymco has shared a chart depicting the extraordinary growth of iPhone shipments and showing that in 2015, iPhone shipments overtook Windows shipments as a whole.

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This week’s iOS 9.3 beta software update for iPhone and iPad is a pretty major release for a mid-cycle version. New features including the F.lux-like Night Shift which lets you change the color temperature of your display and Touch ID plus secure passwords for Notes feel more major version features. Other parts like new 3D Touch quick actions for many of Apple’s stock apps feel more like playing catch up, but overall iOS 9.3 is shaping up to be an impressive release. Check out the details below:

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Apple is rolling out a lot of new features with iOS 9.3, which just hit beta. Most notably, for students a single iPad can now be shared amongst multiple people. This means that each student can log in and access their own personal data. Multi-user support has been a big request for iPad owners for some time, and it seems Apple is finally answering the call … at least for the education market.

Apple is also launching a new Classroom app. This is a digital teaching assistant app, which can present quizzes, load AirPlay content onto an Apple TV and much more.

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Apple has just released the first beta versions of new software updates for each of its platforms: iOS, OS X, tvOS, and watchOS. iPhone and iPad get iOS 9.3 beta 1, the Mac gets El Capitan 10.11.4 beta 1, Apple TV can test tvOS 9.2 beta 1, and Apple Watch users can try watchOS 2.2 beta. Interestingly, iOS 9.2.1 and OS X 10.11.3 are both still in beta so we’re seeing multiple betas running at the same time.

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It’s been an interesting day for user number stories out of Apple over the weekend. Early Sunday morning it was reported that Apple Music has reached 10 million paying subscribers, or half way to what Spotify currently claims, and a story published late Sunday night includes an interesting confession from Apple’s services guy Eddy Cue. The Apple exec told the WSJ that the company hasn’t been accurately counting the number of users actively using its new Apple News app.

“We’re in the process of fixing that now, but our numbers are lower than reality,” he said. “We don’t know what the right number is,” but he added that it was better to undercount than overcount traffic.

Despite the glitch, Mr. Cue said Apple is pleased with the product so far. He said most feedback from publishers has been positive. Usage has “scaled very fast…but it doesn’t mean we don’t all want more,” he said.

The lower-than-reality numbers have been shared with publishers that use the number to make decisions about using supporting the platform and optionally advertising through it.

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According to the Financial Times, Apple has passed 10 million paying subscribers for Apple Music. Apple Music launched in June 2015 with a three month free trial. Since the launch, Apple announced it has 6.5 million paying subscribers in October. In November, Apple launched Apple Music on Android which no doubt attracted a significant chunk of additional new users.

Crossing ten million is a significant symbolic milestone, as it now means Apple Music is half as large as Spotify’s paid userbase.

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[Update 1/11: This is one rumor Apple is happy to deny. Here’s a statement to Buzzfeed:“There is no truth to this rumor,” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “We are entirely focused on switching users from Android to iPhone, and that is going great.”]

Apple launched a Move to iOS app in September, pictured, that enables Android users to quickly transfer documents, photos, contacts and other personal data to a new iPhone. This eases the pain for Android users to switch to iOS, which clearly benefits Apple. Interestingly, the Telegraph is reporting that Apple is now developing a similar tool that goes in the opposite direction, letting iPhone users more easily transfer to Android devices.

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It may not be available for long, but a new screen recording utility has appeared on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. The app, called Vidyo, costs $4.99 and allows users to record their device’s display by simulating an AirPlay Mirroring connection (via MacStories).

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Apple’s HomeKit platform, which allows Siri-control of Wi-Fi connected home automation accessories, is one of the big areas of interest for accessory makers at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. With the event officially kicking off today, we’ve put together one place to find all of the announcements this week for the latest HomeKit products.

Some of the highlights so far: the first ceiling fans and window blinds for the platform are on show this week, while more outlets, switches, thermostats and door lock options also gain support. And the products come from some notable companies in the space including Honeywell, Lutron, Kwikset, iHome, and more. 

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Apple has announced that the App Store had its best ever holiday season in 2015, setting records for Christmas and New Year’s Day. January 1st 2016 saw $144 million of App Store spending, the best day in App Store history. It beat the previous record set just a week earlier on Christmas Day.

In total, in the two weeks up to January 3, customers spent over $1.1 billion on apps and in-app purchases …

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