Apple looks to reinstate Home Sharing with iOS 9, Eddy Cue says
Following revelations that Apple disabled the popular music Home Sharing feature with its latest iOS 8.4 update, SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue on Monday said the company is working to restore services for iOS 9.
In response to a question regarding the Home Sharing situation on iOS 8.4, Cue tweeted out, "We are working to have Home Sharing in iOS 9," suggesting the feature will be at least partially reinstated with Apple's next-generation mobile operating system.
Apple quietly removed Home Sharing for music from iOS 8.4, an unfortunate decision given Apple Music's launch that same day. The company has not officially commented on the matter.
Home Sharing was carried over from Mac in iOS 4.3 as a way stream content to mobile devices from a central computer connected to a common network. Its removal left iPhone, iPad and iPod owners without an in-house solution for streaming tracks from Mac-based iTunes libraries.
Cue's comments are consistent with early iOS 8.4 beta release notes that listed Home Sharing as "not currently available" under known issues. When the OS shipped, the feature's music streaming component was indeed absent from iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, though video sharing was still available. Owners of desktops and Apple TV can still share both music and video.
For now, Apple Music offers a $14.99 Family Plan with full access to Apple's music catalog for up to six people, in some ways replacing Home Sharing for a cost. As previously noted, however, Apple Music's current offerings, while expansive, are not complete and could pose a problem for certain users.
In response to a question regarding the Home Sharing situation on iOS 8.4, Cue tweeted out, "We are working to have Home Sharing in iOS 9," suggesting the feature will be at least partially reinstated with Apple's next-generation mobile operating system.
Apple quietly removed Home Sharing for music from iOS 8.4, an unfortunate decision given Apple Music's launch that same day. The company has not officially commented on the matter.
Home Sharing was carried over from Mac in iOS 4.3 as a way stream content to mobile devices from a central computer connected to a common network. Its removal left iPhone, iPad and iPod owners without an in-house solution for streaming tracks from Mac-based iTunes libraries.
Cue's comments are consistent with early iOS 8.4 beta release notes that listed Home Sharing as "not currently available" under known issues. When the OS shipped, the feature's music streaming component was indeed absent from iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, though video sharing was still available. Owners of desktops and Apple TV can still share both music and video.
For now, Apple Music offers a $14.99 Family Plan with full access to Apple's music catalog for up to six people, in some ways replacing Home Sharing for a cost. As previously noted, however, Apple Music's current offerings, while expansive, are not complete and could pose a problem for certain users.
Comments
Sadly this type of thing seems to occur in Apple betas all the time, which implies a broken development process altogether.
I can't imagine any acceptable development process that allows such a regression in functionality in a release version. Someone was dead at the switch here.
Sadly this type of thing seems to occur in Apple betas all the time, which implies a broken development process altogether.
Because it's a beta. It's not ready for full release.
Clearly getting the app out supporting Apple Music was more important than releasing a half baked feature that in the grand scheme of things isn't that important for the music side. It still works for the video side.
You can access the music directly from AppleTV so the issues isn't really that huge on the scale of things.
I can't imagine any acceptable development process that allows such a regression in functionality in a release version. Someone was dead at the switch here.
Sadly this type of thing seems to occur in Apple betas all the time, which implies a broken development process altogether.
That is very unlikely to be the case. There are certainly licensing issues here, at least for some of the content available for streaming now. Home Sharing allows for some constellations which are not 100% in line with Apple Music's terms and conditions.
What they must be blamed for is, not for the first time, piss-poor communication. Just as with iMovie, Final Cut X and iWorks before, 99% of the people being miffed now would have totally accepted that and kept their old software running, until the features they depend on have been restored.
Because it's a beta. It's not ready for full release.
Well, FWIW, iOS 9 Beta is certainly less "beta" than iTunes 12.2, which is a full release version... People are rightfully confused.
I worry that Apple is losing it. With all its success, it seems to to be taking less interest in the vital usability / user experience issues that once made it so much better than anyone else.
All the Apple Music, streaming, cloud-orientation, deprecating home sharing, the need to actively remove "Connect" and the streaming service, indicates a lack of usability understanding.
Not everyone listens to music all day, and if even if they do, I suspect nobody would like their personal iTunes music library setup to be unexpectedly reorganized by an external agency.
Jony Ive does great hardware design, but if it is he who is directing the software user experience these days then it is a failure and he should step aside. Its like Jony handed over hardware design to Dr. Dre ;-(
+1 on this. I was never able to get my library to load via Home Sharing. It's a big library, granted. But I was using up to date hardware through the whole device chain: iPhone, airport & Mac hosting iTunes. Seems like it needed some extra help. Hopefully Apple spotted issues during the development of apple music that caused the to revisit home sharing.
Maybe the fix is the Apple Music App coming back to the Mac?
A guy can hope, right?
8.4 was a GM release...
I can't imagine any acceptable development process that allows such a regression in functionality in a release version. Someone was dead at the switch here.
Sadly this type of thing seems to occur in Apple betas all the time, which implies a broken development process altogether.
Nonsense. Nothing Apple does is without a reason. If you think somebody was dead at the switch on this you are deluded.
Because it's a beta. It's not ready for full release.
It's 8.4 that removed Home Sharing, not 9 Beta. In other words, they fully released it.
Taylor Swift got to him.
I can't imagine any acceptable development process that allows such a regression in functionality in a release version. Someone was dead at the switch here.
Sadly this type of thing seems to occur in Apple betas all the time, which implies a broken development process altogether.
Fortunately, you use Android.
I can't imagine any acceptable development process that allows such a regression in functionality in a release version. Someone was dead at the switch here.
Sadly this type of thing seems to occur in Apple betas all the time, which implies a broken development process altogether.
Talk about brain-dead commenting here... ?MUSIC was a joint venture that heavily involved the record labels and artists the service was promoting. Did you not stop to think for one second that perhaps this was a condition on the part of the record labels in order to get ?MUSIC launched and off the ground? Just like they've had to re-institute FairPlay DRM on cached offline content?
No, of course not, you just went and ran your mouth blaming Apple as the first possibility of this. Way to troll!
Final Cut Pro X, iMovie '11, iCloud 1.0, Photos, iCards...
Yep, as soon as I saw these headlines I instantly assumed this was obviously a condition of the labels. Apple will re-instate the feature after further negotiation or after modifying the implementation. Of course, if one's main goal is to shit on Apple in a knee jerk way, this possibility would not even occur to you.
And did YOU stop to think that if it were such, how could Apple possibly roll back so quickly on the matter after the negative reaction? Way to be blinded to reality by your own rabid fandom!
And did YOU stop to think that if it were such, how could Apple possibly roll back so quickly on the matter after the negative reaction? Way to be blinded to reality by your own rabid fandom!
How is several months "so quickly"? Apple Music terms have been finalized for probably months at least, there was a deadline for which to unveil and release Apple Music, and Apple has very well been working on this after the fact. Stop accusing others of "rabid fandom" when you're nothing but an Anti-Apple troll, as evidenced by so many of your other posts, and can't use logic or reason when it contradicts your trolling agenda.