Year: 2023

Apple Music Voice Plan ends

Dan Uff November 2, 2023 0

Apple support is sending email notices to customers who subscribed to the Apple Music Voice Plan at $4.99 per month that the feature is ending, and it gives some alternative options.

The email reads:

Beginning in November, Apple will discontinue the Apple Music Voice plan. We are focused on delivering the best, most robust music experience possible for our customers, with features like immersive Spatial Audio, Apple Music Sing with real-time lyrics, intuitive browse and discovery features, and so much more. All Apple Music plans already work seamlessly with Siri, and we will continue to optimize this experience.

We will be turning off auto-renew for existing Voice subscribers. If you’re a current Voice subscriber, you can continue on your plan for the duration of your final billing cycle. Or you can switch to another Apple Music plan: Individual, Student, or Family, as well as Apple One — which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, and more. You’ll receive a notification prior to the end of your final billing cycle with more information.

Learn how to switch to a different subscription plan here.

Disney’s ESPN could be worth $24 Billion – Apple likely the buyer?

Reuters News November 2, 2023 1

According to BofA Global Research, Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network could secure an enterprise value of $24 billion and attract significant investment interest from Apple, Verizon, major sports leagues, and more.

n a bid to lure an outside investor, the media giant last month disclosed the financials of ESPN that revealed declining sales and profit at the network considered to be the crown jewel of its traditional TV business.

CEO Bob Iger has said Disney wants to keep ESPN and will try to create a streaming app for it by either forming a joint venture or finding a buyer for a minority stake in the network.

That means a 36% interest in ESPN would be up for sale, assuming Disney intends to retain a 51% majority interest and accounting for media company Hearst’s 20% stake, BofA analysts led by Jessica Reif Ehrlich wrote in a note published Wednesday.

Interested parties could include leagues like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, newcomers like Apple and Amazon.com, which are jostling to get into live sports, and distributors like Verizon and Comcast, the note said.

Via: Reuters

Apple rolling out firmware updates for its AirTags

Dan Uff November 2, 2023 0

Early in the week, Apple began pushing out a firmware update for its AirTag hardware.

It's been nearly a year since Apple has updated the device. It is unknown what the update(s) include as Apple doesn't disclose that information.

The firmware release will be rolling out on a staggered basis. One percent of users will [received] the update [on Tuesday], and then it will expand to 10 percent of users on November 7. On November 14, an additional 25 percent of users will see the update, and then it will be available to all on November 28.

At present, it is not possible to manually update the device.