Feature Request: Apple Music needs collaborative streaming radio stations & playlists
As much as I think the Apple Music user interface is still a total jumbled mess, I do think there are also a few features that Apple should add as it simultaneously cleans up what’s already there. A big one for me is the potential for private, collaborative playlists and streaming radio stations.
What Apple Music currently has, as far as users sharing music goes, is the ability to share a playlist, station, album or song from within the app via email, third-party apps or copying the link to share elsewhere. But once sent to someone, the person only receives a link to open the shared selection in Apple Music. It works, but it’s not exactly taking full advantage of the potential for user collaboration and a truly interactive experience that ties together the various social aspects of the service.
The new sharing features could be twofold. First, the ability to have collaborative playlists that one or more other people could contribute to. That’s a feature that some competitive services, notably Spotify, already have, but I’d like to see Apple take it a step further with the ability to create not just collaborative playlists, but private, custom radio stations that stream in real-time…
Filed under: Apple Music, Feature Request Tagged: Apple Music, collaborative, Feature Request, playlists, private, real-time, sharing, Spotify
Facebook buys popular selfie filter iOS app Masquerade with Snapchat-like features
Remember six months ago when Snapchat introduced its crazy selfie lens feature that sort of went viral? Facebook wants in on the “how’d you do that” action too so it bought the recently launched app Masquerade (stylized as MSQRD) to instantly have access to its own selfie filter features. Masquerade, which only launched on iOS in December, works similarly to Snapchat’s filter feature seen above by using facial recognition over video to transform faces with comical filter effects.
Filed under: Apps Tagged: Facebook, Masquerade, Snapchat
9to5Toys Lunch Break: 2-Bay 4TB NAS $320, Retina MacBook Pro $1,049, Belkin iPad Air Keyboard Case $39, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS
NETGEAR routers, modems & storage up to 60% off from $30: 2-bay NAS + 4TB storage $320 (Reg. $400), more
Entry-level MacBook Deals: 11-inch Air $720 (Reg. $899), 13-inch Retina Pro $1,049 (Reg. $1,299)
Belkin QODE Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad Air in Black: $39 Prime shipped (Reg. $70+)
How-to: Use your car and an inexpensive inverter to replace the need for a home generator
Apple iPad Pro Wi-Fi 32GB: $670 shipped (Reg. $799)
Apple iPad Pro 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $930 shipped (Reg. $1,079)
Apple iPad Pro 128GB Wi-Fi: $800 shipped (Reg. $949)
The Room Three mystery-puzzler for iOS gets its very first price drop: $2 (Reg. $5)
BADLAND 2 for iOS gets its very first price drop: $2 (Reg. $5)
App Store Free App of the Week: Toca Kitchen 2 goes free for the first time ($2 value)
Dr. Seuss Birthday iOS/Android App Sale from $1 ea: The Lorax, One Fish Two Fish, Horton Hears a Who!, many more
Get a $100 iTunes Gift Card for just $80 delivered via email from PayPal (20% savings)
Save $100 on Apple Watch and get a free $75 gift card + a watch band of your choice
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
Smartphone Accessories: Aukey 10000mAh QC 2.0 Power Bank $17 (Reg. $25), Aluminum Stand $5 (Reg. $10), more
- Canon All-in-One Printers w/ AirPrint: Laser $140 (Reg. $174+), InkJet $119 (Reg. $149)
- Console Wars Kindle e-Book details the battle between Sega and Nintendo for $2 (Reg. $15)
- WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive: $70 shipped (Reg. $80)
- Crayola products up to 40% off: Adult coloring books/pencil kit $15, 150-piece Art Case $15
- Games/Apps: Fallout 4 $35, amiibo End Level Display from $10, Mortal Kombat X from $20
- T-Mobile and AT&T both offering Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge in buy-one-get-one rebate deals
- Add 4 solar-powered stainless steel lights to your patio for $13 Prime shipped (Reg. $30)
- Daily Deals: Yamaha Thinline Acoustic-Electric Guitar $250
- Boss Audio ATV Powersports Plug and Play Audio System $120 shipped (Orig. $180)
- Download The Blue Fairy Book Children’s Novel as a free Kindle eBook w/ Audible narration (Reg. $9)
MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:
Solartab: Powerful Solar Panel/13,000mAh dual USB battery in iPad form factor: $94 shipped ($35 off)
Put an extra 256GB in your MacBook Air or Retina Pro w/ Transcend’s JetDrive Lite: $139 (Reg. $155)
- Gift cards up to 20% off w/ email delivery: Michael’s, Applebee’s, many more
- Magazine bundles w/ titles from $3.50/yr: Wired, Dwell, GQ, ESPN, many more
- Storage: Samsung 850 Pro 512GB 2.5-inch Internal SSD $199, Seagate 5TB Desktop HDD $120
- Media: $4.75 Blu-ray Sale – Gangs of New York, Cast Away, Dark Shadows
- Power banks: OLALA 4000mAh w/ Micro USB cable $9 (Reg. $13)
- UE’s highly-rated MEGABOOM Bluetooth Speaker for $200 shipped (Reg. $270)
- New Nintendo Select title pre-orders now 20% off from $16 shipped
- Belkin QODE Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad Air in Black: $39 (Reg. $70+)
- Fashion: Gap 35% off sitewide – Slim Fit Oxford $32 (Reg. $50), Jeans, Hoodies, more
- Get a Free 3 Year Subscription to “Innovation & Tech Today” Magazine ($120 Value)
- This TP-Link 802.11n Wireless Travel Router is a no-brainer at $8 shipped (Orig. $40)
- Toshiba 1TB USB 3.0 HDD w/ 16GB Flash Drive + 16GB microSD card $50 (~$82 value)
- PNY’s LEGO USB Flash Drives: 16GB $7 (Reg. $13), 32GB $13 Prime shipped (Reg. $20)
- Amazon’s best-selling Kindle e-readers $20 off, deals as low as $60 w/ free shipping
- Canon Rebel T5 DSLR w/ 18-55mm & 75-300mm Lens Kit (refurb) $260, more
- Big screen 1080p 60Hz HDTVs: Insignia 50-inch $300, Toshiba 49-inch $300
- Mackie 5-inch studio monitor speakers w/ Bluetooth streaming (pair) $200 (Reg. $250)
- Mpow’s iPhone 6/s magnetic car mount is down to just $5 shipped today
- Pebble Time Round Smartwatch $180 (Reg. $200+), Gear S2 $249 (Reg. $300), more
- Disney finally shares Blu-ray combo pack release details for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Logitech’s popular MX Mouse lineup is on sale today: Anywhere 2 from $53 (Reg. $70+)
- Macphun’s Intensify CK (Pro) image manipulation app for Mac: $40 (Reg. $60)
12-inch MacBook now $300 off: 256GB $1,000, 512GB $1,300 + extra $50 savings w/ .edu email
Apple Mac Pro 12-core Xeon/64GB/1TB: $8,799 (Reg. $9,599), more
Gear up for the playoffs w/ JBL’s NBA-branded audio: Flip 2 Bluetooth Speaker $60 (Reg. $90) wp.me/p1xTlR-Oyg https://t.co/se1iEKecuB
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9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 08, 2016
NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:
LittleBits’ latest creation focuses on robotic kits and STEAM education
- The new DODOcase Virtual Reality kit for iPhone and Android hits Indiegogo
- Amazon launches more affordable Echo Dot and Amazon Tap Bluetooth speaker
- New Normal blends style and PowerBeats-like design for a new take on wireless earbuds
- LEGO releases four new Minecraft sets
- How-to: Save up to $10/month on your cable bill by buying this $40 DOCSIS 3.0 Modem
- This attractive Kickstarter timepiece blocks out your schedule on its watch face
- DJI’s Phantom 4 drone is coming later this month with a new obstacle avoidance system
- Grovemade’s new wooden MacBook Dock offers a Made in America home for your device
- Brooklyn’s own Grado Labs introduces its first Made for iPhone earbuds w/ Siri control
Filed under: Tips and Tricks
Microsoft continues its Mac assault in new Surface Book ad highlighting pen + touch [Video]
Microsoft may have tried to make nice last Christmas with its ‘Peace on Earth’ performance in front of the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York City, but a new year means a new chance to target Macs and sell more Surface tablets.
Filed under: Mac, Tech Industry Tagged: Apple, Apple Pencil, iPad Pro, Mac, Microsoft, Surface, Surface Book
Opinion: Why Apple is likely to end up paying that estimated $8B European back-tax bill – and more
The European Union warned us this week not to expect a speedy conclusion to the long-running investigation into the legality of Apple’s tax arrangements in Europe. The delay follows a decision back in December to expand the scope of the investigation.
But while the wheels of EU tax investigations may grind exceedingly slowly, I’d be willing to wager quite large sums of money on the final outcome. It looks to me increasingly clear that Apple’s tax arrangements with the Irish government are going to be declared illegal, and that Apple is going to be faced with a significant bill for unpaid tax …
Filed under: Opinion Tagged: AAPL, Apple Inc, Apple tax, Europe, European Commission, European Union, Tax, UK
Deutsche Bank argues ‘peak iPhone’ case, saying Apple underperforms overall smartphone market
The debate on whether ‘peak iPhone‘ is a temporary glitch or a longer-term problem continues, with Deutsche Bank analyst Sherri Scribner arguing the case for the latter view. Business Insider posted a graph suggesting that Apple’s year-on-year growth not only tracks that of the overall smartphone market – which is on a steady decline toward zero – but actually underperforms the market as a whole.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: AAPL, Apple Inc, iPhone, iPhone growth, peak iPhone
Edward Snowden says FBI’s claims are “BS,” explains how they can bypass auto-erase [Video]
We said yesterday that the war of words on the Apple/FBI dispute were hotting up, and Edward Snowden has now taken things a step further, suggesting that the FBI’s claims that they need Apple to access the iPhone are … not true. His comments were reported by The Intercept, which posted video of the discussion at a civil liberties conference.
“The FBI says Apple has the ‘exclusive technical means’” to unlock the phone, Snowden said during a discussion at Common Cause’s Blueprint for Democracy conference.
“Respectfully, that’s bullsh*t,” he said, over a video link from Moscow.
Snowden had earlier described how the FBI could physically extract the passcode from the iPhone chip, and has now linked to an explanation of how the agency could bypass the auto-erase feature …
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: American Civil Liberties Union, Apple Inc, edward snowden, Encryption, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, iPhone, privacy, San Bernardino
WSJ/NBC poll shows public support for Apple’s side of FBI battle growing, now close to even split
While an earlier public poll showed the majority of the public siding with the FBI in the dispute over whether Apple should be forced to help the government break into an iPhone, the public mood appears to be shifting. A WSJ/NBC poll shows that, overall, American voters are now almost evenly split on the issue.
Neither the WSJ nor NBC has yet released the full poll – only the results relating to the Republican primary race – but CNET has reported the numbers.
Overall, American voters are evenly divided over whether Apple should cooperate with FBI efforts to crack open a terrorist’s iPhone.
47 percent said they feared the government wouldn’t go far enough in protecting national security, while 44 percent feared it would intrude too far into citizens’ privacy.
As you’d expect, there was a significant difference in views among registered Republicans and Democrats …
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple Inc, California, Encryption, FBI, FBI poll, Federal Bureau of Investigation, iPhone, poll, privacy, San Bernardino
First purported iPhone 7 case leaks surface: resembles iPhone 6s, no headphone jack
It has begun. The first images of purported iPhone 7 case leaks have started to appear online today. If true, the new iPhone will look very similar to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 with curved corners and a flat back. Notably, this case does not include a hole for a 3.5 mm headphone jack — reinforcing rumors that Apple will drop it in favor of Bluetooth or Lightning headphones.
On the bottom of the phone, it appears to feature only a Lightning port surrounded by two speaker grilles, which likely means the phone will include some kind of stereo sound output. Aside from the lack of a headphone port, it’s hard to see any other major differences from the case leak. More images after the break, via @OnLeaks …
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: Apple, case, case leaks, iPhone, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Pro, leak, Lightning, no headphone jack
How to get a Sonos-like whole-home speaker setup on a budget
Sonos speakers offer some of the best features in the game, but they come with one drawback: it’s expensive to get the whole-home setup that people love so much. The cheapest speaker, the Sonos Play:1 comes in at $200, while the Play:3 runs $299, and the Play:5 goes for $499. And remember, to get that whole-home setup, you’ll have to buy at least two speakers. While the Sonos speakers definitely offer the added benefit of being easy to use, it’s hard to justify spending so much if you’re living on a budget. Thankfully, there are a couple of other ways to get a whole-home speaker setup at a fraction of the cost…
Filed under:
How-To, iOS Devices Tagged: Airport Express, Apple, Apple Music, how to, Sonos