Apple confirms the ‘Apple One’ subscription bundle in its own Apple Music app’s code

It looks like those reports about Apple’s forthcoming subscription bundle were accurate. According to strings of code found within the latest release of the Apple Music app for Android devices (ver. 3.4.0 beta), Apple references a new product it’s calling “Apple One.” The code, which was discovered by 9to5Google, also indicates that Apple Music will be included with the Apple One subscription bundle.

These aren’t just good guesses based on vague code references, either. In one part, Apple makes a very clear statement about what Apple One will be and how it involves Apple Music.

It says:

<string name=”aristotle_main_more_info”>Your Apple Music subscription will be included in Apple One starting %s. You will not be charged for both subscriptions.</string>

<string name=”aristotle_renewaloption_subtext”>You can manage your Apple One subscription using your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.</string>

The reference to “aristotle” is likely Apple’s internal code name for the new product.

The other key sections of code read, as follows:

<string name=”applemusic_with_aristotle_subtext”>Included in Apple One %s</string>

<string name=”aristotle_main_subtext”>Subscription Bundle %s</string>

The finding essentially confirms Bloomberg’s reporting from earlier this year which said Apple was poised to launch an Apple One subscription bundle this fall, likely alongside the iPhone 12. The idea with the new bundle is to encourage Apple customers to subscribe to multiple services by offering discounts on various groups of services. Bloomberg had said a basic package would include Apple Music and Apple TV+, while more expensive tiers would add in other services like Apple Arcade and Apple News+, and even an iCloud subscription.

Unfortunately, none of the newly discovered code detail the new bundle’s pricing or what else it may include.

It’s somewhat funny that Apple, a company that notoriously seeks out ways to crack down on product leaks, has been the source for several recent leaks itself. In addition to this latest confirmation of Apple One, the company in April accidentally confirmed the existence of an unreleased product, “AirTags,” via a support video it uploaded to its own YouTube account.

This wasn’t the first time Apple’s own code hinted at its services bundle, either. 9to5Mac had earlier discovered internal files within iOS 13.5.5 that included mentions of a “bundle offer” and “bundle subscription,” that hadn’t been seen in prior iOS versions.

However, today’s leak does confirm Apple has actually settled on the name “Apple One” for its bundle product.

Perhaps we’ll learn more at Apple’s event next week, where it’s expected the company will focus on iPad and Apple Watch. Or perhaps we won’t hear about Apple One until October, when Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 12.

 

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Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox probed over ‘unfair’ T&Cs in Italy

Italy’s competition authority has opened an investigation into cloud storage services operated by Apple, Dropbox and Google, in response to a number of complaints alleging unfair commercial practices.

In a press release announcing the probe, the AGCM says it’s opened six investigations in all. The services of concern are Google’s Drive, Apple iCloud and the eponymous Dropbox cloud storage service.

As well as allegations of unfair commercial practices, the regulator said it’s looking into complaints of violations of Italy’s Consumer Rights Directive.

A further complaint alleges the presence of vexatious clauses in the contract.

We’ve reached out to the three tech giants for comment.

All three cloud storage services are being investigated over complaints of unfair practices related to the collection of user data for commercial purposes — such as a lack of proper information or valid consent for such commercial data collection — per the press release.

Dropbox is also being accused of failing to clearly communicate contractual conditions such as procedures for withdrawing from a contract or exercising a right to reconsider. Access to out-of-court dispute settlement mechanisms is also being looked at by the regulator.

Other contractual conditions probed over concerns of unfairness include clauses with sweeping rights for providers to suspend and interrupt the service; liability exemptions even in the event of loss of documents stored in the user’s cloud space; the possibility of unilateral modification of the contractual conditions; and the prevalence of the English version of the contract text over the Italian version.

In recent years the European Commission has made a pan-EU push for social media firms to clarify their T&Cs — which led to Facebook agreeing to plainer worded T&Cs last year, as well as making some additional tweaks, such as amending its power to unilaterally amend contracts.

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Apple expands its podcast footprint with Oprah’s Book Club series

Apple is expanding its investment in podcasts. Today, Apple Books and Oprah announced the launch of “Oprah’s Book Club” podcast, an eight-episode series that will explore themes related to Oprah’s Book Club pick and bestseller, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson. The podcast is the first to cross over from Apple’s streaming TV service, Apple TV+.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg had reported Apple was looking to make original podcasts related to programs on Apple TV+. These podcasts would serve as companions to Apple TV+ content, helping to market Apple’s growing slate of Apple TV+ originals.

Other podcasts were also in development, later reports had claimed. In an interview with Forbes, for instance, an executive producer of the Apple TV+ anthology series “Little America,” Lee Eisenberg, had said the show would have its own podcast as well. But that one hasn’t yet launched.

Apple declined to talk about any other podcasting efforts.

“Oprah’s Book Club,” however, would make for an obvious start for any expansions on this front.

Image Credits: Apple Podcasts, screenshot via TechCrunch

Today, Apple already streams the “Oprah’s Book Club” series on Apple TV+. The company also has a number of ways to cross-market Book Club content. In addition to the new podcast series, for example, customers can also buy Oprah’s book selections on Apple Books, access a discussion guide for the book on Apple Books, and read and listen to an exclusive excerpt from “Caste” on Apple News, among other things. Apple Music Radio (formerly Beats 1) also features an author interview.

The premiere episode of the new podcast will focus on a conversation where Wilkerson talks about what inspired her to write “Caste” and how she believes society needs a new way to talk about racism, Apple says. Subsequent episodes will focus on specific pillars of caste, as described in her book. The new episodes will be released twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting today.

Apple so far has only made limited investments in podcasting, compared with the sizable efforts from rivals like Spotify, Pandora and Amazon. Spotify has hundreds of originals and exclusives available to its users. It also acquired several podcast networks and podcast startups, including Gimlet, Parcast, Anchor and The Ringer.

Pandora, meanwhile, tapped into parent company SiriusXM’s assets to turn its talk shows into podcasts and developed a new podcast-and-music format, Pandora Stories. Amazon wraps in a premium collection of Audible podcasts with a Prime membership.

Apple, on the other hand, releases more standard corporate fare as podcasts, like its Apple Keynotes and quarterly earnings call. Apple Retail had previously offered podcast-focused events at the Apple Store, but these are no longer updated. Apple News produces “Apple News Today,” and Apple Music produces “The Zane Lowe Interview Series” and “Songs for Life,” which also stream on Apple Music.

Apple Books, however, is the partner producer on the Oprah podcast, not Apple TV+, so this one may not “officially” count as the first Apple TV+ companion series, we should note.

Unlike Spotify’s efforts, Apple’s podcasts are truly podcasts. That is, they’re made available for free on Apple Podcasts and can be added to any other podcast listening app via RSS, as the podcast format requires.

 

 

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As the smartphone market declines, 5G models are set to see continued growth in 2020

Things have gone from bad to worse for a stumbling smartphone market in 2020. Already plateauing and decline figures have taken a big hit from COVID-19. The pandemic has hampered sales of non-essential items, particularly those best enjoyed outside of the home. According to new figures from Canalys, smartphone shipments are set to experience a 10.7% decline for the year.

There are a couple of silver linings worth noting. For starters, 5G adoption continues to growth. The firm projects that some 280 million units will be shipped in 2020, with the Greater China market making up a majority at 62% of the total figure, thanks in part to lower cost devices like the Realme V3, which retails for less than $150 U.S. — a remarkable price for a product with next-gen wireless.

Image Credits: Canalys

North America is in second place, with around 15% of shipments, while EMEA and Asia Pacific (sans Greater China) are projected to each make up around 11%. A 5G-enabled iPhone 12 should help speed up adoption as well, when it’s launched in the next month or so.

“Smartphone vendors have relentlessly pushed new product launches, as well as online marketing and sales during the post-lockdown period, generating strong consumer interest for the latest gadgets,” analyst  Ben Stanton says in a release. “Gradual reopening of offline stores, improving logistics and production have provided necessary uplift for most markets to move into a more stabilized second half of 2020.”

5G was expected to have a rebounding effect for the industry — though the pandemic quickly hampered those plans. Likely it has gone a ways toward helping prohibit a further slide in sales. And numbers are still expected to rebound somewhat in the 2021, at 9.9% year over year. That’s not quite enough to return things to pre-2020 levels, but would no doubt be a welcome sign for an industry that has shown signs of decline for some time now.

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Yubico unveils its latest YubiKey 5C NFC security key, priced at $55

Yubico, a maker of hardware security keys, has unveiled its newest YubiKey 5C NFC, which the company says offers the strongest defenses against some of the most common cyberattacks.

Security keys provide a physical security barrier to your online accounts. Hackers can steal usernames and passwords, and two-factor authentication codes sent to your phone spoofed or bypassed. But plugging in a physical security key to your computer or phone tells the online service that it’s really you logging in to your account.

In the age of working from home, security keys make it practically impossible for hackers on the other side of the world to break into your accounts.

Yubico’s latest YubiKey 5C NFC is the latest iteration of the company’s lineup of security keys, which comes with a dedicated USB-C connector that works across different computers and phones. And for devices that don’t, it also comes with an in-built NFC chip allowing users to wirelessly tap their key against their device to log in.

YubiKeys pack in a ton of open security and authentication standards, making it work on the “majority” of computers and phones — including Macs, iPhones, Linux machines, and Windows and Android devices, said Guido Appenzeller, Yubico’s chief product officer.

Its keys also work with many enterprise apps, as well as consumer services like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter.

Yubico priced its newest YubiKey at $55.

Yubico now lets enterprises ship security keys directly to their employees

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Yubico unveils its latest YubiKey 5C NFC security key, priced at $55

Yubico, a maker of hardware security keys, has unveiled its newest YubiKey 5C NFC, which the company says offers the strongest defenses against some of the most common cyberattacks.

Security keys provide a physical security barrier to your online accounts. Hackers can steal usernames and passwords, and two-factor authentication codes sent to your phone spoofed or bypassed. But plugging in a physical security key to your computer or phone tells the online service that it’s really you logging in to your account.

In the age of working from home, security keys make it practically impossible for hackers on the other side of the world to break into your accounts.

Yubico’s latest YubiKey 5C NFC is the latest iteration of the company’s lineup of security keys, which comes with a dedicated USB-C connector that works across different computers and phones. And for devices that don’t, it also comes with an in-built NFC chip allowing users to wirelessly tap their key against their device to log in.

YubiKeys pack in a ton of open security and authentication standards, making it work on the “majority” of computers and phones — including Macs, iPhones, Linux machines, and Windows and Android devices, said Guido Appenzeller, Yubico’s chief product officer.

Its keys also work with many enterprise apps, as well as consumer services like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter.

Yubico priced its newest YubiKey at $55.

Yubico now lets enterprises ship security keys directly to their employees

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Daily Crunch: Apple files countersuit against Epic

Apple strikes back at Epic Games, Android 11 is here and Microsoft announces a new stripped-down Xbox. This is your Daily Crunch for September 8, 2020.

The big story: Apple files countersuit against Epic

Apple has made the latest move in a legal battle against Epic Games, filing a lawsuit claiming that the company behind Fortnite is in breach of contract.

“Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store,” Apple wrote in its suit.

This follows Epic’s attempt in August to avoid Apple’s 30% App Store fee, which led to Apple removing Fortnite and eventually Epic from the App Store. (Accounts tied to Epic’s Unreal game engine have not been removed.) Epic then launched a lawsuit and a PR campaign against Apple, arguing that the company is abusing its market power.

The tech giants

Android 11 has arrived — Android 11 isn’t a radical departure, but there are a number of interesting new user-facing updates that mostly center around messaging, privacy and giving you better control over all of your smart devices.

Microsoft confirms compact, $299 Xbox Series S arriving on November 10 — The Series S is essentially a stripped-down version of the upcoming Series X, without true 4K rendering and with a lot less processing power.

Apple’s next event is September 15 — The event will almost certainly feature the new Apple Watch.

Startups, funding and venture capital

General Motors takes $2 billion stake in electric truck startup Nikola — Through the deal, GM gets 11% ownership in startup Nikola, and will, in turn, produce Nikola’s wild fuel cell pickup truck by the end of 2022.

Silver Lake leads $500 million investment round in Indian online learning giant Byju’s — The round values the Indian online learning platform at $10.8 billion.

Progress snags software automation platform Chef for $220M — Progress, a Boston-area developer tool company, is boosting its offerings in a big way.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

How to respond to a data breach — How a company responds to a data breach can make or break its reputation.

9 proptech investors talk co-living, home offices and other pandemic trends — TechCrunch surveyed nine firms that are writing checks today, and this second installment focuses on the opportunities and risks for startups.

JFrog’s IPO strong initial price range values it ahead of the larger Sumo Logic — The IPO wave continues to crest as a number of well-known technology companies line up to float their equity on American exchanges.

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

‘Mulan’ drove Disney+ app downloads up 68% week-over-week, but didn’t beat ‘Hamilton’ — According to early data, the launch helped grow Disney+ mobile installs by 68%, compared with one week prior.

Original Content podcast: ‘Teenage Bounty Hunters’ is more interested in relationships than bounty hunting — Despite the show’s silly name, we ended up surprisingly invested in the characters.

Drew Houston will talk about building a startup and digital transformation during COVID at TechCrunch Disrupt — This is next week!

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 3pm Pacific, you can subscribe here.

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