Apple has released iOS 8.4 Beta 3, offering a look at the revamped Music app that is expected to be used in conjunction with Apple's new streaming service.
The service will be unveiled next month at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and will be a big step for Apple, which has largely remained behind the times since music streaming started becoming popular.
While the current update is somewhat of a minor one for iOS 8.4, it does offer a look into what we should expect from Apple at WWDC. In the new app we can see a new mini player and new playlist features that make it far easier to access iTunes Radio. It is likely that we will see Apple's new streaming offerings alongside iTunes Radio or as a part of it starting in June.
Apple has remained relatively quiet about its new streaming service, save for a few leaks and reports. Rumors about the service have been rampant ever since Apple bought beats music for a massive $3 billion. Of course Beats will likely be rebranded completely and integrated into iTunes in some way, but it is not yet known exactly how Apple plans to do this.
Apple's entrance into the music streaming market could have huge implications for the music industry in general. The service will directly compete with the likes of Spotify and Google Play Music, and will leverage Apple's massive user-base in order to popularize the service. Of course with this user base, it makes sense that Apple would be the one to dethrone Spotify.
Of course, while Apple has had wild success in the music industry, it has also missed the mark on a number of occasions. iTunes Radio was one of Apple's first attempts at combatting the rising popularity of music streaming, and was not near as popular as Apple would have liked. While Apple may end up integrating its streaming service into iTunes Radio, it is more likely that it will introduce it as a new service entirely in order to start from scratch in marketing the platform.
Only time will tell if Apple's music streaming service is actually able to save the company's reputation in digital music.
Apple's beta program has given insight into future versions of its operating systems in the past; however, the last few beta releases have mainly been to address bugs and small tweaks needed. Apple also introduced a number of bugs, especially in the Music app, with subsequent releases fixing many of these bugs.
