Apple are reportedly set to scrap iTunes next year as they begin to focus on building a service similar to Spotify.
According to industry insiders, Apple will be getting rid of iTunes Store downloads on March 31, 2019, although Apple have strongly denied the reports.
Apple say they’ve no immediate plans to shut down the service, although have now admitted they’ll no longer take LP submissions from bands attempting to feature on iTunes.
The move has prompted people to believe this is the first step of many, as iTunes begins to fade out, reports the Daily Mail.
However, one positive is, if iTunes is to shut down, all albums and songs bought on the store will still be playable on the iTunes platform, as well as on Apple devices.
An anonymous source who leaked an email to Metro last month, claimed:
Existing LPs will be deprecated from the store during the remainder of 2018.
Customers who have previously purchased an album containing an iTunes LP will still be able to download the additional content using iTunes Match.
It’s clear that streaming is the future. Apple wants to push people to take out subscriptions.
While nothing is certain yet, the move to shut down iTunes certainly feels plausible and sensible.
This news comes at a time of intense productivity at the Apple HQ. Just recently, news came of an incredible new feature on the upcoming iPhone.
Despite innovation after innovation, the overall appearance of the iPhone hasn’t changed all that much in the years since 2007; when the world’s jaws simultaneously dropped at the sight of the original black mirror.
However, it now looks like the iPhone’s super sleek appearance is set to blow our collective minds all over again with a mind bending foldable model; a world apart from the iconic rectangle which has come to dominate modern culture.
According to CNBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch have revealed Apple is working alongside Asian partners to craft the striking iPhone design, and it could well land within the next two years.
Senior analyst Wamsi Mohan reportedly gave the following message to clients, after having met with multiple Apple suppliers throughout Asia:
We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past,
Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020.
What would a foldable iPhone actually look like, and how would it retain its smooth, seamless appearance?
Check out the following vid:
For those with their fingers on the tech world pulse, these latest developments will come as no great surprise.
Back in 2017, Apple was awarded a patent for a phone which had ‘a flexible display’ and folding abilities.
According to Mashable, the patent described how the phone ‘may be formed from shape memory alloy or amorphous metal and may have openings to facilitate bending.’
Ideal for doubling as a tablet – and much easier to transport – this kooky design makes a whole lot of of practical sense – it’ll make us feel like beings from the future, which is always fun.
Bye bye iTunes. Hello new iPhone. The technical world moves on at an incredible rate.
