Beats Music to Be Bundled Into iOS Early Next Year, Will Remain Paid Subscription Service

[manu chao]

The original spirit of the term "bloatware" has been lost at this point, as people regularly use it to describe anything they do not like regardless of the utility or usage that other users may find therein. The term was originally coined to describe third party software that was loaded onto PCs (anti-virus, printer ink deals, etc) on top of the stock Windows OS image after the fact. This typically took place in retail settings and had no value to the end user. Do I agree that stock apps can't be deleted or hidden? No. Do I consider a new service or feature set being added to a stock app as "bloatware"? No.

I agree, something becomes bloatware only if it degrades the usage of a device/product. Adding another application like Podcasts only has a minimal effect on the usage of an iOS device (one-time need to move it to the last page or folder on last page & 12 MB of storage, the latter being equivalent of four images taken with the 8 MP iPhone).

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It's repetitive. They already have iTunes Radio in the OS. Additionally, it's not a feature. The article says that it would remain a paid service. Don't put anything on my device by default that requires me to pay for it to work.

It's like installing freemium apps on devices I've already paid for.

iTunes Match is a paid service, renting movies is a paid service. Yet these are still features of iOS. Hell, the phone app only works if you pay for a phone contract.
Having an app that does nothing without paying would be awkward, I agree, unless it would be something essentially everybody would want to pay for, like a cell phone plan.

 

[snorkelman]

I bought a smartphone, I dont expect the manufacturer to forcibly install an undeletable app exclusively for the benefit of some hoary paid subscription music service; one that they happened to buy, and are now fishing around trying to drum up interest in.

I'm supposed to be the customer not the captive audience. They can stick it where the sun dont shine

 

[rocknblogger]

This seems more like a move aimed at uneducated investors rather than having any chance to take off.

People want to pay a small fee per month to play any song whenever they want on any device as well as options for curated stations or stations based on their likes.

That's why Spotify took off and and iTunes continues to decline. Beats was never popular because its simply another Pandora which while before Spotify was the best option, now, all of these models fail. Why pay for Beats, Pandora, or iTunes Match, when I can get Spotify and have the best of both worlds. On Demand playing and curated playing.

Until Beats offers on-demand option it is destined to fail. Presumably it doesn't and won't offer that because then there would be far less profit for Apple. Spotify who does that model for instance has never made an actual profit. So maybe Apple hopes that eventually their business will collapse since it's not sustainable and then people will go to the next best thing which would presumably be Beats.

Beats and Spotify are the same exact thing. Although Spotify may have some exclusives.

 

[Tech198]

I get secondhand embarrassment

That's a new word i'm going to add to my dictionary..

 

[Cole Slaw]

Something new to put in my "Crapple" folder.

 

[TechGuy1212]

As long as it is a service that replaces iTunes Radio and Beats Music with an on-demand streaming service (maybe called something like Stream) of all music available on iTunes for $5-$10 a month subscription, I would be all over it.
Until then, just no!
Sounds like they may announce it at an event in February/March 2015 alongside the remaining details about the Watch.

 

[manu chao]

I bought a smartphone, I dont expect the manufacturer to forcibly install an undeletable app exclusively for the benefit of some hoary paid subscription music service; one that they happened to buy, and are now fishing around trying to drum up interest in.

I'm supposed to be the customer not the captive audience. They can stick it where the sun dont shine

What a lot of people get hung up is an undeletable app that has no functionality without paying an extra fee. You don't see that blowback for all the other default app because they don't require extra payment (well, except the Phone and the Passbook apps). Which is why Apple most likely won't release a bundled Beats app that has no functionality without a subscription.

But think about it, why doesn't Apple allow us to delete, eg, the Notes, Voice Message or Compass apps? For a lot of them they are considered core functionality. Certainly that applies to the Phone, Messages and Contacts apps (a phone that cannot make phone calls, doesn't have a list of phone numbers of your contacts or send/receive SMS wouldn't really be a mobile phone anymore). Mail and Safari represent core internet features, again it wouldn't be a smartphone without either of them. You might disagree, but the iPhone is the true successor to the iPod and thus the Music app is also core functionality. And playing videos is just a logical extension of that, and a way to buy music is also core functionality of the iTunes/iPod/iPhone ecosystem.

However, if music consumption is moving away from purchased music to 'rented' music (aka streaming), adding a streaming service is again core functionality. Like videos got their own app instead of being part of an iPod or iTunes app to declutter those, getting a separate app for streaming might also make sense. Whether you add a podcasts or an audiobook section to the Music app or branch them out into separate apps, is asking the same question as whether a streaming service should be a tab inside the music app or a separate app.

But back to the original question, why doesn't Apple let us delete them? In essence it is because it doesn't want people accidentally (or in a snap decision) deleting them and then having an iPhone without what Apple considers core functionality. It's like removing the trunk door or turn indicators from a car, they represent core functionality and are not designed to be removed. Of course some bundled apps got the core functionality status at a time when there were no apps (eg, Stocks or Notes). And sometimes Apple wants to make something a core functionality (Passbook, Health) even if it isn't used by many people in the end.

 

[snorkelman]

What a lot of people get hung up is an undeletable app that has no functionality without paying an extra few. You don't see that blowback for all the other default app because they don't require extra payment (well, except the Phone and the Passbook apps). Which is why Apple most likely won't do that.

Of course you dont see that sort of opposition when it comes to the other undeletable items, theres a huge difference between:

1 something that allows the user basic functionality without recourse to a 3rd party app (notes, stocks weather etc). Even something that provides apple with an optional selling opportunity e.g. iTunes and the App Store, whilst providing a wider mechanism (in case of those two, app and music aquisition). One being the only practical option for a curated environment, the other being a throwback to the original ipods the phone was looking to replace (and saved users need for a PC or Mac)

Versus

2 something that exists as a standalone application for no other reason than to let apple try to flog you their own additional service thats in competition with other similar service providers.

That's got no business being a welded-in bundled application. If they do decide to bundle it in (never mind make it undeletable) its nothing but an abuse of their position. They want to redefine streaming as core functionality no problem; they can go and make a streaming app that lets you stick the details in for whatever service you subscribe to and provides a common interface, not something tied specifically to their commercial streaming service.

 

[scottwaugh]

Please no. Please stop forcing more bundled apps with iOS.

At the very least, Apple should include a delete function for stock apps we don't want/need. Then this becomes a non-issue, and the people who want Beats can be happy, while the people who don't want it are not affected.

Very well said/suggested…at the very least off to the penalty screen it'll go. Although by the time its forced on, it'll probably be called iTunes something something (especially since it isn't adding lots of users).

 

[AppleFreak29]

Just another app for my 'Junk' folder among the others I can't delete...

 

[topmounter]

rubbish what you proposed has completely overlooked the income stream from in-ringtone purchases and would effectively give the entire ring tone away for a single fee. And thats before we even get into ring-ads and premium ring-streaming.

Not the standards I'd expect for EVP of Clever

so... much.... potential...

We'll be rich I tell ya!!!

 

[a0me]

Beats, meet Newstand and Health. you guys gonna have fun in my "Not Using" folder on the last page of my Home Screen just created for it..

It'll join Newstand, Maps, Health, Tips, Game Center, Weather and a couple of other useless apps on the last page of some folder I even forgot the name.

 

[ohsnaphappy]

There is nothing like Spotify. No matter how many times I have to do a clean install of OS X (which has been a lot lately), I download, sign in, and everything is there. And if I were to stop paying, it wouldn't disappear. They figured everything out perfectly. When my MBP was in for repairs I got a Chromebook, signed in to Spotify over the Web, and everything was there. It's perfect.

Beats works the exact same way. The only difference is Beats doesn't have a dedicated desktop App, which is ridiculous. It does have an Apple TV App, so that's actually an advantage over Spotify.

Beats is literally a Spotify clone. Just like Spotify is a Rdio clone. And Rdio is a Rhapsody clone, etc etc.

I do miss Spotify's interface. Making big playlists on Beats is a nuisance compared to Spotify.

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It really is. Beats Music WILL NOT CATCH ON. It won't. Mark my words, this post, quote me in 10 years from now if you want, but there is TOO MUCH momentum in Spotify to overcome. And it's free. Unless Beats Music changes drastically, they will NEVER have marketshare.

Someone else already posted it: jack of all trades, master of none. They arent focusing on doing things BETTER, just...doing them, because others are.

Customer loyalty alone ain't gonna carry you that far. Them facts.

Would Siri integration persuade you? I'm using Hey Siri in my car and it's fantastic. Hey Siri inspired me to go into iTunes and revive all my playlists. You integrate that into Beats, I'm sold for life.

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Does Beats have classical music?

Or only ghetto "Dr" Dre crap?

It even has 1950's Christmas records that my family has never been able to find on cassette or cd.

Incidentally, Spotify has the exact same records.

Why? Because they're streaming services

 

[iWe]

Apple obviously want Beats Music to gather more users and challenge Spotify so bundling it into iOS is a given. And when they do that they need to replace iTunes Radio with a free ad-supported listening option in Beats Music. And they need to make Beats Music an app that can play all your music in that one app. And they – obviously – need to make music streaming available worldwide.

 

[calaverasgrande]

Apple is acting pretty clueless about the whole music marketplace they helped create. They are struggling with grasping how music works for millenials so they buy a brain trust of a couple of older dudes (Dre and Iovine are older than me and I've got grey hairs).

Beats was a stupid purchase.

As far as bundling it in IOS, I hate that brand so much that is huge deterrent to me. The only thing positive I can say is that it is quite as bad as some of the stuff Verizon and the like put on Samsung phones. But close.

 

[Sylon]

So, it requires a paid subscription service to use it, yet we probably won't be able to delete it. Terrible idea.

 

[Tpoccu]

Find my Friends doesn't come with the iPhone, and Passbook is crucial for Apple Pay.

This app better not be a part of iOS9, of all the bundled apps I've used:

phone
Calendar
Messages
Photos & Camera
passbook for Apple Pay
Maps
iTunes & App Stores
weather
Notes
Safari
Mail

I never use:
Stocks
Game Center
health
Newsstand
Reminders
Videos
Voice memos
Compass
Tips

And if it makes it Beats

"Better not be"? Or what? You'll go buy a top tier android phone that doesn't have any bundled software on it?

 

[KanosWRX]

I don't want this crap on my phone, better be deleteable!! Never understood the Beats purchase, their hardware is crap, and their music service isn't any better.. Apple could have done better.

 

[thekeyring]

Like playing music, surfing the web, reading email, calling other phones, receiving messages, taking pictures. How? I dunno. It's just built in. Where is the line between adding features and driving out competitors? With the Internet Explorer the 'driving out a competitor' was only possible because Microsoft had a dominant position in the personal computer market.

With iOS, Apple cannot drive out Spotify and Co. because Spotify has a huge market left with Android. Bundling is not illegal, it only illegal if it is abused to shut down a competitor. Apple Maps did not kill Google Maps and thus was not illegal.

Exactly. This story reminded me of Google advertising Chrome on its homepage. If Google can do that, Apple can do this. It's not like they're going to kick Spotify off of the app store.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Why not just replace iTunes Radio in the Music app with this? We don't need another bundled app that can't be deleted.

That sounds more like what they are doing than the people freaking out not really reading.

"rebranded under iTunes..."

The article does say the beats app as it is has been thought to be getting the axe. So based on the rumor, no, you will not have a beats app forced on you.

 

[Sandstorm]

Beats Music - Not available in my country. Just like iTunes Radio. Just like two-step authentication (A BIG ONE!). Just like iTunes TV shows. Just like an actual Apple store. Just like visual voice mail. Just like localisation for my language. The list goes on.

On the other hand - we have Spotify. We have local offices of Google and Microsoft - with almost perfect services availability. All with excellent localisation. They show that they care - even for our small market.

I just don't get how Apple, the richest and most valuable tech company, can lag so much behind in such trivial things.

PS - I know that even much bigger countries are in the same position. How can this be excused?

 

[RealMonster]

Beats Music - Not available in my country. Just like iTunes Radio. Just like two-step authentication (A BIG ONE!). Just like iTunes TV shows. Just like an actual Apple store. Just like visual voice mail. Just like localisation for my language. The list goes on.

On the other hand - we have Spotify. We have local offices of Google and Microsoft - with almost perfect services availability. All with excellent localisation. They show that they care - even for our small market.

I just don't get how Apple, the richest and most valuable tech company, can lag so much behind in such trivial things.

PS - I know that even much bigger countries are in the same position. How can this be excused?

Basically, it comes down to labels and trade groups. Each country forces new negotiations with a whole new set of people, and they never agree to the same terms that were agreed upon in the USA. And Apple doesn't want the same terms as Spotify, they want BETTER terms than Spotify.


I'm Canadian, so I know exactly what you're talking about, but I know that this is largely the fault of external forces, rather than Apple not trying. Any time you involve lawyers, it's going to take a while.

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Apple, stop trying to make Beats Music happen.

It will not happen. It is not going to happen. IT WILL NEVER 'HAPPEN'.

Spotify already has 50 million subscribers - 12.5 million of them Premium. And way more music, features, offline listening, etc.

Just stop trying to make it happen. I get secondhand embarrassment - the same way they tried to make their "Maps" app happen. Google Maps is better in almost every single possible way. So is Spotify.

Apple, you dropped the ball on streaming music because you got comfortable with your iTunes format. Admit that, suck it up, and innovate new services or products that might actually catch on. This is reminiscent of Google trying to make Google+ and Google Play 'happen'. It won't.

To a certain extent, this doesn't really matter too much. Beats is profitable--very profitable--without the music service. Apple loses nothing by trying; it's literally all profit for them as long as they can keep Beats headphones at the top of the market for a while.

Also, I agree this is a lot like Apple Maps. Tonnes of people complain bitterly about it and make jokes, when it's actually the most used mapping application on iOS. (I know the link is old. I doubt the numbers have changed much.)

So, yeah. Power of defaults. iTunes Radio isn't doing very well, I'll grant you, but I suspect that AppleBeats will do just fine.

 

[Padmini]

Please no. Please stop forcing more bundled apps with iOS.

At the very least, Apple should include a delete function for stock apps we don't want/need. Then this becomes a non-issue, and the people who want Beats can be happy, while the people who don't want it are not affected.

I always get a chuckle out of this...as if you the consumer have any right to dictate what Apple include on the iOS device.

Your lack of appreciation for what you have is astonishing.

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Apple, stop trying to make Beats Music happen.

It will not happen. It is not going to happen. IT WILL NEVER 'HAPPEN'.

Spotify already has 50 million subscribers - 12.5 million of them Premium. And way more music, features, offline listening, etc.

Just stop trying to make it happen. I get secondhand embarrassment - the same way they tried to make their "Maps" app happen. Google Maps is better in almost every single possible way. So is Spotify.

Apple, you dropped the ball on streaming music because you got comfortable with your iTunes format. Admit that, suck it up, and innovate new services or products that might actually catch on. This is reminiscent of Google trying to make Google+ and Google Play 'happen'. It won't.

What? Apple hasn't even tried music subscription yet. That is the only reason Spotify still exists, at all.

 

[Carlanga]

Woohoo another app I can't deleted taking up space. Pretty soon I will have more Apple apps hidden in a folder than the ones I use.

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I always get a chuckle out of this...as if you the consumer have any right to dictate what Apple include on the iOS device.

Your lack of appreciation for what you have is astonishing.

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What? Apple hasn't even tried music subscription yet. That is the only reason Spotify still exists, at all.

I don't get you. Appreciation? For what? If one is paying for a premium device one should get basic options like being able to delete nonessential apps. I like Apple products, but that doesn't mean they can't be improved. Hell, even the atv works better w it you can at least hide completely the apps even though they still take space while in an iOS device you have to stick it in a folder. somewhere.

Btw spotify is the standard so Apple wil have to scale and beat the standard. In other digital products Apple tends to be the creator but not on this and will make it very hard to dent an universal product.

 

[Patriot24]

Btw spotify is the standard so Apple wil have to scale and beat the standard. In other digital products Apple tends to be the creator but not on this and will make it very hard to dent an universal product.

If Apple can lower that cost from $9.99 to $4.99 and integrate it into iOS in an elegant way, they will have two very significant advantages over every other streaming service.

Experience + Price + Convenience = Winner