Apple Pushing Record Labels for More Exclusive Beyonce-Like iTunes Albums Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:13 PM PST Apple's iTunes chief Robert Kondrk met with record label executives during Grammy Week in January about the potential of more exclusive album releases, like Beyoncé's iTunes-exclusive album last December, according to Billboard.
While digital movie sales fell from 1.34 billion units to 1.24 billion units in 2013 due to the rise of streaming services like Spotify and YouTube, Beyoncé's album sold 1 million copies globally on in a week iTunes alone. Kondrk is using the album's success to sell label executives on the prospect of exclusively releasing albums on digital storefronts like iTunes. He told executives the exclusives don't have to be limited to iTunes as long as they weren't on streaming services like Spotify. The move would be to preserve sales on digital storefronts. Finally, Kondrk asked executives if they could lock down individual track sales until after a certain window of time, which would then allow users to purchase individual music tracks and listen to albums on streaming services. This is in stark contract to Steve Jobs' sell of unbundled legal access to music when the iTunes Music Store was introduced in 2003. In January, it was reported that digital music sales declined year-over-year for the first time since the opening of the iTunes Music Store as more users opt for streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and iTunes Radio. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Excerpt From New Book Offers Look at Tim Cook's Management Style Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:23 PM PST  The Wall Street Journal today published a new excerpt from former WSJ reporter Yukari Iwatani Kane's new book Haunted Empire, Apple After Steve Jobs, offering a new look into the management style of Tim Cook.Kane notes that when Cook started at Apple in 1998, he set high expectations for everyone working for him, asking them to act like Apple was a $20 billion company when they were a $6 billion company and to procure the best yields, delivery and prices on components.
Cook ran his operations meetings in an orderly and disciplined fashion, going through every item and finding any possible error in meetings that could last up to six hours long. These meetings, according to Kane, could sometimes be terrifying for employees.
Unlike Jobs, Cook apparently used deafening silence when he wasn't happy with something. For instance, the excerpt explains an incident where someone was unable to answer one of Cook's questions so Cook didn't say a word and let the silence fester, causing everyone in the room to stare at the table. The atmosphere of the room would grow to intense levels as Cook kept his eyes on the person who wasn't able to answer until Cook pulled out an energy bar from his pocket to eat as he waited for an answer. However, once Cook became CEO he made moves to make Apple feel more open internally than it had under Jobs. He opted to communicate with employees more often via emails and town-hall meetings. And, unlike Jobs, who opted to have lunch with Jony Ive, Cook would have lunch at the cafeteria and introduce himself to employees he didn't know and ask to eat with them. Haunted Empire, Apple After Steve Jobs will be published on March 18. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Launching 'iOS In The Car' Next Week With Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz Posted: 28 Feb 2014 05:27 PM PST Nearly a year after it was announced, Apple appears ready to introduce launch partners for its "iOS in the Car" initiative, according to a report in the Financial Times. The piece claims Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari -- where Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue is a board member -- will be Apple's initial partners. Though it does not mention iOS in the Car by name, the article claims drivers will be able to use Apple Maps for navigation on the car's in-dash screen, as well as watch movies, listen to music, make calls and send text messages through the system with full Siri integration. The FT says the announcement will be made at the Geneva Motor Show next week, one of the premier motor shows on the calendar.
Apple executives have said in the past that iOS in the Car is and is an essential "part of the ecosystem". At it's WWDC keynote last year, Apple claimed it was working with a number of partners including Honda, Nissan, Chevrolet, Hyundai, and more, in addition to Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes. It was reported earlier this year that iOS in the Car had been plagued by organizational issues but, if the FT report is accurate, it would appear the project is quickly moving towards a public launch. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Tim Cook Angrily Rejects Political Proposal Asking for Profits-First Policies Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:50 PM PST  During Apple's annual shareholder's meeting today, CEO Tim Cook angrily rebuffed a representative from the National Center for Public Policy Research or NCPPR -- a conservative think tank -- that asked the company to disclose the costs of its sustainability programs, such as solar energy facilities, and to embrace a corporate policy that focused on profits above all else.The representative asked Cook about the impact of the company's renewable energy programs on its bottom line, and also asked Cook to commit to only undertaking projects that were explicitly profitable. The CEO did not take this well, according to a report from MacObserver , which said that Cook's body language changed significantly and his gentle and controlled speaking style gave way to a rapid-fire response.
Finally, Cook looked at the questioner and said "if you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock." Following the meeting, the NCPPR released an incendiary press release that is heavily critical of Cook, flaming that shareholder value is destroyed in favor of efforts to combat climate change. Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Upcoming Apple TV Product Will Include Video Game Support, Launch Date Unclear Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:36 PM PST  Apple's much-rumored revamped Apple TV product will be revealed "any week now" according to a new report from the Financial Times , though notable Apple journalist Jim Dalrymple poured water on a separate report, saying an Apple TV will not be launching soon.Though a launch date is uncertain, rumors have indicated the redesigned Apple TV product will include support for games, which the Financial Times confirms. It may also include a fully-fledged App Store, bringing apps to the set-top box for the first time.
Rumors of a revamped set-top box first began appearing in early 2013, with TechCrunch's MG Siegler pointing towards an Apple TV product with a focus on gaming. Later in the year, hints of a delay surfaced, and it appears that the product was indeed scheduled for a 2013 launch that was later pushed back to 2014. A recent report from Bloomberg suggested Apple was on the verge of revealing a new set-top box, possibly at some point in April, but indicated an actual product launch might come somewhat later in the year, which could potentially account for the discrepancy between launch reports from the Financial Times and other media outlets and a "Nope" from Jim Dalrymple. In addition to games and support for Apple's iOS 7 controllers, other Apple TV rumors have pointed to a hardware product that combines the Apple TV with the router features of the existing AirPort Express. It has also been suggested that Apple is planning to work in conjunction with cable companies to build an Apple TV interface over existing cable content, essentially replacing the cable box. Earlier today, Tim Cook told shareholders that the Apple TV generated $1 billion during 2013, counting hardware sales and movie/TV show rentals. He also noted that it was "a little more difficult to call [the Apple TV] a hobby these days" given its ever-increasing growth. The company has also began offering a $25 gift card with the purchase of an Apple TV, possibly in an effort to clear out existing inventory ahead of a new product launch, and the Apple TV has also gained its own product section on Apple's online storefront. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Tim Cook Says Apple's Sapphire Facility Is for 'Secret Project' Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:19 PM PST  When asked about Apple's U.S. manufacturing efforts during a question-and-answer session with Apple shareholders today, CEO Tim Cook said the company's new sapphire production facility was for a "secret project" that he couldn't talk about, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.Cook did not give any more information, but did say separately that the company is working on "extensions of what we're already doing" and also "things you can't see". He reiterated that secrecy is important because Apple is "getting ripped off left, right and sideways" by competitors.
Apple routinely denies having any particular new project in the works, so it's possible that a future iPhone model with an ultra-durable sapphire screen is the "secret project" to which Cook is referring, though there are a number of other possibilities for sapphire crystal including a potential smart watch product. Cook previously confirmed that the plant would make sapphire, but the company has thus far refused to say anything more about it. He also said that investors should plan to hold Apple stock for the long term, saying to investors looking for a quick turnaround, "I encourage you not to invest in Apple." Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple to Charge Fees for Out-of-Warranty Chat Support Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:58 PM PST Apple is planning to institute fees for users that are seeking online chat support for out-of-warranty products, reports 9to5Mac . The company has reportedly been working on a new web payment system that includes a paid chat support feature as well as a function allowing customers to schedule product repairs and replacements.
All of Apple's products receive 90 days of phone support at purchase, which can be extended to three years with AppleCare. Customers seeking over-the-phone help for out-of-warranty products must pay a fee between $29 and $49. A similar fee of $19.99 will be required for chat support going forward, though users will be able to request an exception to the fee. Apple has also developed a system that will allow customers to make payments via its support website, and that system will be used to set up hardware repairs and replacements via chat.
Chat fees reportedly began appearing in August following Apple's support site redesign that introduced 24/7 live chat, but thus far, employees have been instructed to grant exceptions on all support requests up to the official launch of the paid service. Apple's new chat support policies may go into effect as soon as next week, but the company will reportedly be waiving fees for iCloud issues and accidental damage cases where users are requesting to purchase repair or a replacement via chat. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple TV Business Generated $1 Billion in 2013, Cook Says 'Difficult to Call It a Hobby' Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:31 AM PST During Apple's annual stockholders meeting in Cupertino today, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple sold more than $1 billion worth of its Apple TV set-top box in 2013, putting sales at close to 10 million units for the year. This is a roughly double the 5 million it sold in fiscal 2012, which was double its Apple TV sales in 2011. Cook has traditionally called the Apple TV a "hobby", but said today that "it's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days". Horace Dediu created a chart showing the impressive growth of Apple TV sales over the past several years, making it the fastest growing device in Apple's hardware lineup.
Apple also launched a sale on the Apple TV at the company's online and retail outlets in the U.S., giving out a $25 iTunes Gift Card with purchase of the $99 device -- an unusual move for the company which only rarely offers sales on its devices. Update 11:21AM: Re/code's Peter Kafka says the $1 billion number includes content sales on the Apple TV box, including movie rentals and TV show purchases. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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