Apple releases iOS 8.4 beta to developers with new Music app
Following the release of iOS 8.3 last week, Apple on Monday issued the first iOS 8.4 beta to developers featuring a "sneak peek" at its revamped Music app.
According to Apple's release notes, iOS 8.4 build 12H4074d comes with an all-new Music app that combines a fresh new look with powerful features, including a new MiniPlayer, improved "Now Playing" screen and Global Search integration.
Music's redesign lets users personalize playlists by adding custom images and descriptions, while new functionality allows for direct playback from the app's album list. In addition, a Recently Added section surfaces tracks and albums that were recently imported or purchased to the top of a user's library.
Other improvements include a MiniPlayer that allows playback controls while browsing Music's library, streamlined iTunes Radio navigation, a new Up Next icon to see what song is coming up and tweaks to the Now Playing pane. New Global Search integration pulls in results from anywhere in the Music app and allows for iTunes Radio station creation directly from Search.
The first iOS 8.4 beta is available now through Apple's Developer Portal.
To go along with the new iOS build, Apple released a new Xcode 6.4 beta with software development kits for iOS 8.4 and OS X versions 10.9 and 10.10. The latest Xcode software is also available on Apple's developer webpage.
According to Apple's release notes, iOS 8.4 build 12H4074d comes with an all-new Music app that combines a fresh new look with powerful features, including a new MiniPlayer, improved "Now Playing" screen and Global Search integration.
Music's redesign lets users personalize playlists by adding custom images and descriptions, while new functionality allows for direct playback from the app's album list. In addition, a Recently Added section surfaces tracks and albums that were recently imported or purchased to the top of a user's library.
Other improvements include a MiniPlayer that allows playback controls while browsing Music's library, streamlined iTunes Radio navigation, a new Up Next icon to see what song is coming up and tweaks to the Now Playing pane. New Global Search integration pulls in results from anywhere in the Music app and allows for iTunes Radio station creation directly from Search.
The first iOS 8.4 beta is available now through Apple's Developer Portal.
To go along with the new iOS build, Apple released a new Xcode 6.4 beta with software development kits for iOS 8.4 and OS X versions 10.9 and 10.10. The latest Xcode software is also available on Apple's developer webpage.
Comments
It would be nice if they improved the scrubbing feature so that it's smoother and a bit more accurate.
And also make the target larger. Some of us have fat fingertips. But scrubbing is my #1 complaint. #2 is that it defaults to iTunes Radio upon app launch.
I hope this is the end of the useless landscape "album view" mode.
You can say that again. I absolutely hate that mode. On the subject of music, it would be nice if Apple added the iTunes Visualizer to Apple TV.
It would be nice if they improved the scrubbing feature so that it's smoother and a bit more accurate.
And if they'd adhere to their own HIG, which dictates a button should be no smaller than 40x40 pixels. Attempting to grab and scrub using the tiny red marker is nigh on impossible.
No, that's "Material Design".
I hope not.
For someone who is visually oriented the removal of cover flow from iTunes was already a disaster.
I'm the kind of person who will end up buying an album multiple times if they change the cover picture only to realize later I already have it when listening to the songs: I can remember visuals and sound, but not names; and I'm not the only one.
I want cover flow back!
Landscape mode is useless. It shows the first few album covers my collection, not even the one is currently played! For someone that exercises with audiobooks, you cannot place your phone on the treadmill because the headphone plug is at the button. If you place it sideways, you loose your 15 second skip back and then it shows a completely different album cover. If you place it upside down to have the headphone plug at the top, then the screen does not rotate and you are looking at the landscape mode sideways.
Apple fix these things before adding new features! Enough of bad design already..
And add the new beats service in there if you're a subscriber. No separate app.
As far as the Landscape View, it should be Optional in iOS Settings, and same with the Shuffle Icon in the Lower Right corner! It's very easy to hit it unintentionally, when raising the Volume to the Max, i.e. all the way to the right, and thus bumping into Shuffle Icon!
My Biggest Concerns are:
Syncing Larger Library from iTunes, with lots of Playlists! Lot's of problems there! The Sync gets a lot slower, as the Total Number of Synced Songs goes up! At that point, around 15-18 Thousand Songs, I have to Sync in batches under 700-900 Songs! And, even with iPhone 6, 128 GB, and MacBook Pro, SSD, it's still is unbearably Slow!
The Good News is that, with iOS 8, after iTunes Sync is Finished, I can Eject my iPhone 6, and the Sync will Finish Processing without having to be plugged into Mac! When the Clockwise Arrows at the Top of the Screen stop spinning, the Sync is done! Until then, I play it safe and avoid using Music App!
Hopefully my iOS 7 Music Sync Nightmare never comes back! That was a HORRIBLE OS for Music Syncing!
Battery, as always, is a Priority!!!
Clarification -
This Large Number of Songs Sync comes up every several month, if I have to clear some corruption, and Restore from Backup! At that point, Deleting All Songs can take a long time too! So, it might be faster to Set Up as iPhone as New Device, and then Restore it from Backup. That way the iOS gets a Clean Installation! Currently I am on iOS 8.2.
I am yet to figure out how I can stay with iPhoto on my Mac, OS 10.9.5, and continue using Photo Stream. The other Discussion on this site about that topic and iOS 8.3 was not very clear to me! Thus I am holding off from Yosemite 10.10.3 Update, and staying with Mac OS 10.9.5 and iOS 8.2, iTunes 12.1.0.50, even though there is iTunes Update available.
If you have some Great Articles Link regarding iOS 8.3, Photos Stream and Yosemite 10.10.3, please Share them in your Replies! Thanks in advance for your help!
I hope this is the end of the useless landscape "album view" mode.
This is why, if I must use landscape mode, I turn to a third-party app, like EQu... even if it is a bit of a battery hog. (If my phone is in landscape, it's probably plugged into a charger, too.)
Looks gorgeous. Nice to know Apple is not staying still on this.
As far as the Landscape View, it should be Optional in iOS Settings, and same with the Shuffle Icon in the Lower Right corner! It's very easy to hit it unintentionally, when raising the Volume to the Max, i.e. all the way to the right, and thus bumping into Shuffle Icon!
My Biggest Concerns are:
Syncing Larger Library from iTunes, with lots of Playlists! Lot's of problems there! The Sync gets a lot slower, as the Total Number of Synced Songs goes up! At that point, around 15-18 Thousand Songs, I have to Sync in batches under 700-900 Songs! And, even with iPhone 6, 128 GB, and MacBook Pro, SSD, it's still is unbearably Slow!
The Good News is that, with iOS 8, after iTunes Sync is Finished, I can Eject my iPhone 6, and the Sync will Finish Processing without having to be plugged into Mac! When the Clockwise Arrows at the Top of the Screen stop spinning, the Sync is done! Until then, I play it safe and avoid using Music App!
Hopefully my iOS 7 Music Sync Nightmare never comes back! That was a HORRIBLE OS for Music Syncing!
Battery, as always, is a Priority!!!
Clarification -
This Large Number of Songs Sync comes up every several month, if I have to clear some corruption, and Restore from Backup! At that point, Deleting All Songs can take a long time too! So, it might be faster to Set Up as iPhone as New Device, and then Restore it from Backup. That way the iOS gets a Clean Installation! Currently I am on iOS 8.2.
I am yet to figure out how I can stay with iPhoto on my Mac, OS 10.9.5, and continue using Photo Stream. The other Discussion on this site about that topic and iOS 8.3 was not very clear to me! Thus I am holding off from Yosemite 10.10.3 Update, and staying with Mac OS 10.9.5 and iOS 8.2, iTunes 12.1.0.50, even though there is iTunes Update available.
If you have some Great Articles Link regarding iOS 8.3, Photos Stream and Yosemite 10.10.3, please Share them in your Replies! Thanks in advance for your help!
There are 25 exclamation marks in your post. Just thought I'd point that out.
Also, 18K songs is really on the extreme end of things. So yes, I would expect some issues and slow speeds in that scenario.
There are 25 exclamation marks in your post. Just thought I'd point that out.
Also, 18K songs is really on the extreme end of things. So yes, I would expect some issues and slow speeds in that scenario.
According to AppleCare Senior, Level 2, Advisors, who inquired with Apple Engineers, there is No Limit on the Number of Songs, and Playlists, as long as one has Disk Space! Since I have iPhone 6 128 GB, the space is not at all an issue. In the past I had 30K Songs.
The iOS Sync and iTunes are just in need of improvement as far as Music Sync! That is an Old Issue that has effected Countless People out there, with a lot less Number of Songs!
But I am not at all looking to argue with anyone here, please! I just tried to Share some of my experiences, which I thought were relevant to this topic, in case others readers on this site had similar issues! If someone did, I'd be curious, even if they used 250 Exclamation Marks, ha ha ha
Best Wishes to you and all... Peace ???? !!!
It would be great finally to get handover for Music... I always hate when I stop listening to one playlist in iTunes because have to leave from home, I take my iPhone, and have to start the same playlist again. So I often have to listen to songs already played...