Apple to reportedly debut music streaming service at WWDC

Apple’s event on Monday is largely believed to be the official unveiling of the Apple Watch. Tim Cook has already promised us a mid-April release for the Apple Watch so the timing fits. However, there has been speculation that Monday’s event may bring a ‘one more thing’ in the form of Apple’s music streaming service.

That’s not to be, according to 9to5Mac. The Apple news site is reporting that Apple will not debut the iTunes-flavoured version of Beats Music on Monday and will instead save that reveal for WWDC in June. 9to5Mac cites music industry sources briefed on the launch timeline that say the beta version of its new music streaming service in early June. WWDC 2015 usually takes place in the first week of June.

Apple’s streaming service, based on Beats Music technology but revamped to fit with the Apple brand, will run on both iOS and Android and will offer monthly subscriptions for unlimited music streaming, just like Spotify. Though the service had initially been rumoured for an early-2015 debut, it will reportedly be part of an iOS 8.4 upgrade for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, so it makes sense that Apple would introduce the product at its developer conference (where it typically talks all things iOS and OSX).

This move also leaves Apple open to focus on just the Apple Watch for the March 9th event. When we got our first taste of the watch last September, Tim Cook mentioned that the device was capable of much more than we saw — there just wasn’t time to get into it all at the iPhone 6 and 6S event. Indeed, the Apple Watch is Cupertino’s first wearable and it represents an entirely new product line. If any Apple product deserves a dedicated event this year, it’s this watch.

We’ll be at the event next week to bring you all of the coverage live from San Francisco, so stay tuned!

[source]9to5Mac[/source]