Apple to reportedly release streaming music service in the coming months

Spotify’s newest competitor might be making its debut soon. According to 9to5Mac, Apple is reportedly prepping its Beats-based streaming music service for an official launch. The Cupertino-based brand is said to be working on iOS 8.4, a software update that will be released after Apple Watch goes on sale in April, and the company is “currently considering” using that update to include its music service. 9to5Mac previously reported that the service might cost US$7.99 a month and it would be integrated into iPhone’s music but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. There will reportedly be an Android version of the app as well. Again take these rumours with a grain of salt. But if there is any truth to it, we’d finally see fruits of Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats.

Source: 9to5Mac

Bose and Beats to settle lawsuit out of court

In this rare occasion, two tech companies have decided to settle out of court instead of drawing out a patent lawsuit. Bose accused Beats earlier this year of violating five Bose patents on noise-canceling technology. Now, the two firms agreed to skip the hassle of going to court and agreed on an unspecified settlement. They have asked the International Trade Commission to stop investigations.

However, it doesn’t seem like the war over audio supremacy is far from over. Bose is enforcing strict exclusivity contract with the NFL and are slapping players with wrong headphones US$10,000 fines. There are also rumours that Apple plans to take out Bose products from its stores in the coming week.

Source: Engadget

Apple discounts Beats by Dr. Dre by 10% until Aug. 23

Following Apple’s acquisition of Betas Electronics and Beats Music, Apple is holding a sale for Beats by Dr. Dre products at physical stores and on their official online store. The Beats products each get 10% off their prices until August 23. The over-ear headphones, in-ears, and speakers are all covered by the sale.

Source: 9to5Mac

Google feels sting of Apple's Beats acquisition, buys Songza

Not one to sit around and wait what Apple and Beats have in store for streaming music fans, Google's gone off and pulled the trigger on Songza. The music streaming and reccomendation service uses playlists created by 'music experts'  such as DJ's and music critics and tries to suit playlists to user's moods. Songza charges a US $ 0.99 weekly fee for ad free version of its service.

A post on Songza's blog states, "Today, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re becoming part of Google. We can’t think of a better company to join in our quest to provide the perfect soundtrack for everything you do. No immediate changes to Songza are planned, other than making it faster, smarter, and even more fun to use." It will be interesting to see what plans Google has of monetizing Songza as well as how they will position it against other popular streaming music services and its own Google Play Music service.

Source: Songza