14 DAY TRIAL // As part of a retooled Beats Music service for its customers, Apple has started up work on an Android application that will bring its new music streaming service to hordes of smartphone owners, not just its own loyal fanbase.
This week news broke out that Apple is finally ready to start winning back some of that $3 billion (€2.6 billion) it spent on acquiring Beats Electronics, by developing a service that deeply integrates with iDevices, Apple TV, and even Android smartphones to stream music for cheap.
Apple users come first
Sources familiar with the development of Beats for iOS and Apple TV tell 9to5mac Gurman that there will be “new Beats-infused versions of the Music application for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, as well as an updated iTunes application for computers that deeply integrates Beats functionality. A new Apple TV application is also in the works.”
The technology will be the one Apple bought, but the interface will be designed in-house by the Cupertino giant. The iPhone makers want the UI to be consistent with the rest of the Apple ecosystem.
Users will be able to merge their Beats Music accounts with their Apple IDs, as well as migrate their Beats libraries. iTunes Match, iTunes Radio, and iTunes Store will remain intact. Pricing will be set around $7.99 (€7.04) per month.
Apple goes for the kill with Android app
The effort includes a little something for the Android user base. Although this is something Steve Jobs would have probably never commissioned, it has been revealed that Apple’s engineers are actively working on an Android app for the new Beats service.
Android users already have a Beats app at their disposal, which Apple will probably kill once the new one comes out. The new app will likely steer even more attention towards Apple’s hardware.