Search results for: “YouTube Music”

  • Apple brings CarPlay Ultra to more cars and adds Spotify playlist import to Apple Music

    Apple brings CarPlay Ultra to more cars and adds Spotify playlist import to Apple Music

    Apple has officially launched CarPlay Ultra, its upgraded in-car system that works with iOS 18. This new version offers deeper integration with car hardware, including gauges and climate controls, while still showing familiar iPhone apps on a larger dashboard screen. Drivers can view maps, music, and even check their speed or fuel levels—all from one interface. Porsche and Aston Martin are among the first to bring this next-gen CarPlay to their latest models.

    CarPlay Ultra doesn’t just look better—it’s smarter too. It allows the iPhone to manage key vehicle functions like air conditioning and seat settings. Car brands can even adjust the system’s colors and layouts to match their design style.

    Alongside this, Apple Music is also getting a useful update. Apple has started rolling out a playlist transfer tool that lets users bring over playlists from other music services like Spotify, YouTube Music, Tidal, and more. This feature appears to be powered by the third-party service SongShift and shows up in the Apple Music app under settings > account > transfer music. It’s rolling out slowly, so not everyone may see it yet.

    Together, these updates show Apple’s push to make both driving and music experiences smoother and more connected. Whether you’re behind the wheel or switching music apps, Apple is trying to make it all feel simple and seamless.

    Source/Via

  • Apple adds expert reviews to Maps, Music transfer tool, and smarter Calendars

    Apple adds expert reviews to Maps, Music transfer tool, and smarter Calendars

    Apple just rolled out a few new updates across its apps that aim to make your experience better and more helpful.

    First, Apple Maps is getting more reliable. It now includes expert-sourced information in its place cards—those little cards you see when you tap on a location. Instead of just showing reviews from users, Apple has teamed up with travel pros like Lonely Planet, The Infatuation, and others. These expert tips help you discover good places to eat, fun spots to visit, and hidden gems in cities like New York, London, and Paris. More cities will be added soon.

    Next up, Apple Music is making it easier to switch from other music apps. A new feature lets users import their playlists and libraries from services like Spotify, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music straight into Apple Music. This means you won’t lose your favorite songs if you switch. Apple is using a tool made by SongShift to make this happen, and it’s built into the Apple Music app.

    Lastly, Apple’s Calendar app is quietly getting smarter. It now shows a daily task list—things you’ve added to your Reminders app—right in your calendar. This makes it easier to stay on top of your day. The feature is great, but one small thing could make it even better: letting users choose which reminders appear. Right now, it shows all of them, even the ones that aren’t tied to a specific time.

    These updates show how Apple is making its apps more useful and connected.

  • Music Streaming Services: How much do they pay artists?

    Music Streaming Services: How much do they pay artists?

    Not all music streaming platforms give the same amount of money to musicians, and a recent study shows just how different these payments can be. For example, Apple Music pays artists way more than Spotify does.

    The study, done by Duetti, looks at how much artists got paid in 2024 by different platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.

    One key thing they checked was how much money artists make for every 1,000 times their song is played. Here’s what they found for 2024:

    • Amazon paid $8.80 for 1,000 streams.
    • Apple Music paid $6.20.
    • YouTube paid $4.80.
    • Spotify only paid $3.00.

    This shows that Apple Music paid artists more than twice what Spotify did. One reason for Spotify’s lower payments is its free version which has lots of ads but doesn’t make much money for artists.

    While Spotify has ads like YouTube, YouTube still manages to pay artists more. Apple Music, on the other hand, only has paid subscriptions, which lets them give more money to artists.

    Another concerning point from the report is that even though Spotify has been increasing its prices, the money artists get from each stream has been going down. This is a bit troubling, especially since Spotify has been putting more effort into podcasts and audiobooks, possibly at the cost of music artists’ earnings.

  • Apple’s new HomeOS and Apple Intelligence features highlighted in new ad

    Apple’s new HomeOS and Apple Intelligence features highlighted in new ad

    Apple is set to launch a fresh software platform called homeOS in 2025, designed to power a new smart home device named the HomePad. This device, a blend of an iPad and HomePod, aims to make Siri and Apple’s AI, known as Apple Intelligence, more useful at home.

    The HomePad will feature a screen for controlling smart home gadgets, showing widgets, and running apps like Photos, Music, and Notes. It will also have a camera for FaceTime calls and sensors to adjust its display based on how close you are.

    The homeOS platform will feel familiar to iPhone users, with a home screen full of customizable widgets. While it won’t have an App Store at first, it will come with built-in Apple apps. A cool feature is a photo slideshow mode that acts like a screensaver when you’re far away. Siri will get smarter, using Apple Intelligence to understand your personal info, like emails or texts, to help with tasks such as finding a recipe or flight details.

    Apple Intelligence will also bring new tricks to other devices in 2025, like Priority Notifications to highlight important alerts and better language support for Siri. These updates will roll out with iOS 18.4 in April. The HomePad, expected later in 2025, could be delayed as Apple fine-tunes Siri’s advanced features. This launch marks Apple’s big push into smart homes, aiming to make your home tech as seamless as your iPhone.

  • New iPhone 16 Pro ad highlights audio mix with a brazilian carnival tune

    New iPhone 16 Pro ad highlights audio mix with a brazilian carnival tune

    Apple dropped a fresh iPhone 16 Pro advertisement this weekend, and it’s a real treat. To showcase the Audio Mix feature, they filmed a music video using the new iPhone, blending it with the lively spirit of the Brazilian Carnival.

    A Carnival Vibe for the iPhone 16 Pro

    The track, “Brasil em Cena,” sung by Brazilian artist Nilze Carvalho and composed by Jair Oliveira, brings energy to the ad. Apple says the video “honors Brazilian cinema with one of the world’s most exciting music styles” and pays respect to Brazil’s rich culture, where Carnival and movies come together for a memorable tale.

    The Audio Mix tool lets iPhone 16 and 16 Pro users tweak sound in cool ways. You can quiet down noises or voices that aren’t in the shot, cut out background echoes, or shift all voices to sound like they’re coming from the front for a movie-like effect. Plus, you can adjust the audio even after recording.

    In Brazil, this ad aired on TV during the 2025 Oscars, where the country cheered its first-ever win with “I’m Still Here” taking the Best International Feature Film award.

    Carnival Fun on Apple’s Brazilian Site

    To keep the Carnival party going, Apple spruced up its Brazil website with a festive look. Products like the new iPhone 16e and AirPods 4 pop up with confetti all around. They’ve also added a special Carnival playlist section on Apple Music for fans to enjoy.

    Apple’s Carnival Tradition

    This isn’t Apple’s first Carnival-inspired ad. They’ve done it before, like with the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone X promotions, showing their love for Brazil’s colorful celebration.
    With this latest ad, Apple mixes cutting-edge tech with Brazil’s joyful vibes, making the iPhone 16 Pro stand out in style.

  • Apple’s New Robot Friend: A glimpse into the future by 2027

    Apple’s New Robot Friend: A glimpse into the future by 2027

    Apple’s team of clever scientists has made a little robot that looks like a lamp, with movements that feel very real. You can see all about it on their special research website. This robot, which kind of looks like the playful Luxo Jr. from Pixar, might just be a sneak peek into what Apple has planned for the future.

    In a video, we see this robot acting very much like a friend. Someone asks it about the weather, and the robot turns to look outside the window before telling them it’s a nice day for a hike. But when it hears it’s not invited, the robot seems a bit sad.

    In another scene, the robot follows the person’s hand signals, adjusting the light just right for taking photos with an iPhone. At another moment, it gently nudges a mug towards someone as a reminder to drink water.

    The robot also helps by showing a tutorial video on the wall when someone is trying to build something new, like a 3D printer. And for fun, it dances to music, making it feel like a companion rather than just a machine.

    The researchers, including Yuhan Hu, Peide Huang, Mouli Sivapurapu, and Jian Zhang, noted that making the robot move in a lifelike way really makes people want to interact with it more than if it just did simple tasks.

    According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple might be working on something similar with an iPad-screen on a robotic arm. They’re thinking about announcing this cool device maybe in 2026 or 2027. This robot would understand your voice commands, like “look at me,” especially useful during video calls.

    This robot could be a fancy version of Apple’s upcoming smart home hub, expected to come out soon and priced around $1,000, though plans might still shift. This little robot friend from Apple is not just about tech; it’s about making our daily lives a bit more fun and interactive.

  • Confusing iOS 18.3 Update: Why entertainment apps lost AI summary features

    Confusing iOS 18.3 Update: Why entertainment apps lost AI summary features

    This week, Apple released iOS 18.3, bringing new features but also taking one away. Specifically, they turned off AI-generated summaries for notifications in two types of apps, and one of these choices has left me puzzled.

    Why News Apps Lost Summaries

    It’s unusual for Apple to take away features in iPhone updates, but they did just that with iOS 18.3. The AI summaries for news apps were disabled because they were giving out incorrect information, which caused a stir. This made sense since people were complaining about misleading news alerts.

    The Mystery of Entertainment Apps

    The summaries for entertainment apps have also been turned off, and this is what’s confusing. If you check your iPhone settings under Notifications > Summarize Notifications, you’ll see apps like Disney+, Max, and YouTube marked as ‘Temporarily Unavailable’ for summaries.

    I looked at the App Store’s Entertainment section, which now is easy to find at the top of the Apps tab. It’s mostly streaming services, along with some music, podcast, and even drawing apps. I can’t figure out why these would need their summaries disabled unless there was some issue with podcast titles that sound like news.

    What’s Next?

    Apple has promised that these features will come back once they fix the problems with the AI. I hope they do this soon, as it would be great to have those useful summaries back. Until then, the absence of these features in entertainment apps remains a bit of a puzzle to me.