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iOS 8.4 in Development With Possible Support for New Music Service

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Apr 12, 2001
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Along with iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3, both of which have been seeded to developers in beta form, Apple is also said to be working on an iOS 8.4 update. According to 9to5Mac, the beta is codenamed "Copper," and set to be released later this year at some point after the Apple Watch becomes available for purchase in April.

Given the release timing after iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3, it's possible that iOS 8.4 will be the update that introduces Apple's new streaming music service. Recent rumors have suggested that Apple's existing Beats music service will be rebranded, revamped with a lower price tag, and integrated into iOS and OS X. A timeline is unclear, but Apple could be aiming for a June launch, sometime around its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

iOS 8.4 began appearing in MacRumors site logs towards the end of January, with usage spiking up at the beginning of February. The number of visits from devices running iOS 8.4 from both Apple IPs and non-Apple IPs remains relatively low, however, suggesting that development on iOS 8.4 is in the very early stages.

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Visitors to MacRumors.com via Apple's networks from devices running iOS 8.4​
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Overall visitors to MacRumors.com from devices running iOS 8.4​

iOS 8.2 has been in developer testing since November, and iOS 8.3, with wireless CarPlay support, a new emoji picker, and Apple Pay for China was just seeded to developers this morning. Along with its iOS 8 projects, Apple is also working on iOS 9, an update that may heavily focus on stability and optimization.

Article Link: iOS 8.4 in Development With Possible Support for New Music Service
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/09/apple-working-on-ios-8-4-new-music-service/
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
 
So much iOS news today. So would 8.4 come out around WWDC, with iOS 9 in September? They could show the new music service and have it immediately available.

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farewelwilliams said:
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Click to expand...

I doubt that would happen, because that would drop support for the iPhone 5, and in doing so they would drop support for the 4S and the 5. Usually they would only drop support for one generation. iOS 10 (X?) will be all 64-bit.
 
I would think the streaming service would be the logical flagship feature of iOS9. Why release it as iOS8.4?
 
Baked into ios and OS X and for a lower fee?

I better be able to delete it as I'm not paying to be advertised to.
 
farewelwilliams said:
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Click to expand...

Seeing as they're still selling iPad mini 1 and iPhone 5C, I don't think this will be the case.

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Tomorrow's headline: iOS 8.4 Beta released to developers.
 
interesting rumour, though not keen on the Beats streaming service, I hope they don't try to make a huge deal out of it.
 
lowercaseperson said:
I would think the streaming service would be the logical flagship feature of iOS9. Why release it as iOS8.4?
Click to expand...

Judging by the earlier story, iOS 9 is going to be the "Snow Leopard" of iOS, focusing on under the hood optimisations and performance tweaks rather than features.

About time too if you ask me. Long overdue.

Although I find the fact iOS 8.2 is in beta 5, iOS 8.3 is in beta 1, and iOS 8.4 is under development to be utterly confusing and sums up iOS 8 in its entirety: a mess.
 
farewelwilliams said:
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Click to expand...

Nah, if iOS 9 would be the snow leopard of iOS then Apple would drop support for 32 bit iphone in the next iOS version just like lion drop rosetta for powerpc.
 
MH01 said:
interesting rumour, though not keen on the Beats streaming service, I hope they don't try to make a huge deal out of it.
Click to expand...

For as much as they spent to acquire Beats, I'm sure they will make a big deal out of it.

Personally I'm just tired of paying more monthly fees for various services.
 
Zxxv said:
Baked into ios and OS X and for a lower fee?

I better be able to delete it as I'm not paying to be advertised to.
Click to expand...

MH01 said:
interesting rumour, though not keen on the Beats streaming service, I hope they don't try to make a huge deal out of it.
Click to expand...

Who cares if they do? No one will force you to use it....

Throw it in a "Music" folder and be done with it. Not a terribly difficult thing to do, nor a horrible solution.
 
farewelwilliams said:
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Click to expand...

Wait, you're suggesting they'll stop supporting the iPhone 5c just 2 years after its introduction?

No chance of happening. For comparison, they're still supporting the iPad 2 now, 5 years after its introduction.

It's possible however that the iPhone 4s, iPad mini original and iPad 2 stop getting support, but even then it's possible they won't given that the iPod touch is also A5-based and I don't see them selling a new product with an unsupported OS (unless they update/discontinue it by then).
 
Possible Timeline
Currently iOS 8.1.3

Late March Apple event announces iPad Pro, more info about Apple Watch pricing, battery life, and features, iOS 8.2 release the following week before :apple: Watch is released to make sure there are no bugs

WWDC 2015 around June 8th?: Release of 12 Retina Macbook, announcement of iOS 9 and OS X ?; release of iOS 8.3 for bug fixes, a few minor changes like new emojis etc.

iOS 8.4 release in Summer 2015 for Beats/iTunes Radio hybrid service support after a few betas

iOS 9 in September with iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus
 
farewelwilliams said:
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Click to expand...

That would be very surprising if true. While not unprecedented for a "clean up release" to cut off older platforms (Snow Leopard cut off PPC support and I believe was 64-bit only, so it even was not available for the very first Intel macs... If I recall correctly), Apple still sells 32-bit iOS devices (iPhone 5C and original iPad Mini).
 
farewelwilliams said:
probably because iOS 9 is going to only be for 64 bit users, but Apple still wants beats subscription numbers to go up, so 8.4 will be the last iOS update for 32-bit hardware.
Click to expand...

Damn, that sounds about right. My 4S has been a real warrior, sucks to see it terminated.
 
longofest said:
Jeeze... iOS 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 9.0 all in simultaneous development...

I feel bad for the guy who gets to do the code merges.
Click to expand...

Eh. It depends on their policies. I've worked at places where maintaining that many branches was easy. I've worked at places where maintaining 2 branches was hell.
 
Too much, too fast, too soon! Work on making iOS WORK. Don't wait till iOS 9 for optimization and stability. Start now!
 
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