The company is also touting a feature called “Connect,” which artists can use to share notes, recordings and photos with their fans who subscribe to Apple Music. The live radio station, called “Beats 1,” puts a twist on Internet radio, a field led by Pandora, by having human DJs host a constant stream of talk and music from Los Angeles, New York and London, led by former BBC host Zane Lowe. It will be available this summer for Apple devices and Windows PCs, and in a break from Apple’s usual practice, it will also be released as an app for Android devices this fall. With a lengthy three-month free trial, a $15-a-month plan for up to six family members, and the ability to push the app to 100s of millions of iPhone and iPad users, the launch could mark a major milestone in digital music.īesides offering the new subscription plan, the app also will continue to allow download purchases from iTunes. The service represents a chance for Apple to come from behind in a digital music field that it once led. It pulls text, photos and video from a variety of sources. The app will feature a personalised feed based on a user’s interests and choices. Apple is also adding “multi-tasking” capability for iPads, allowing users to split the screen between two different apps and use both at the same time. The update will also bring better battery life and improved security. Here’s a look at the new features Apple announced at WWDC 2015:Īpple Maps will get public-transit information as part of an update to the iOS 9 mobile operating system due out in September. But perhaps more importantly, they may help keep customers from defecting to rivals like Google, which showed off new features for its competing Android mobile software at its event last month.

Some of the new features could provide new profits for the tech powerhouse.

While many companies make smartphones and computers, “Apple’s crown jewels are its software and online services,” said analyst Daniel Ives, who follows tech companies for FBR Capital Markets. Craig Federighi, Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering, demonstrates the multitask feature on an iPad at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Executives also mentioned a new streaming TV service that Apple is reportedly hoping to announce later this year.Īnalysts say the new services and upgrades, which will be available when Apple releases free updates to its iOS and Mac OS software this fall, are part of a broader strategy to make Apple’s devices indispensable. The new features including enhancements to Siri, the company’s voice-activated digital assistant, as well as Apple Pay, Apple Maps and the Apple Watch. The music service was the biggest news of the company’s five-day conference, but Apple also announced a host of new upgrades and services coming later this year to the operating software for its popular iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.

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