Apple’s first big move after purchasing Beats earlier this year – aside from firing people and removing competing products from its stores – reportedly involves pushing the subscription music service to all iPhones and iPads during an iOS update early next year.
Financial Times reports that Apple’s move to capitalize on its $3 billion investment into Beats’ hardware and streaming music service could happen as early as March.
This isn’t Apple’s first time forcing bloatware on consumers. Earlier this year it pushed out its iBooks app with the iOS 8 update. And just a few months ago the company outraged users when it sneakily installed U2′s new album onto devices without getting permission from consumers. The company later apologized and created a website that made it possible for consumers to remove the album.
Pre-installing or pushing apps through system updates is often seen as a speedy way to reach new customers, without them having to search for the service in the App Store.
And that could certainly happen for Beats Music, which is estimated to have just 110,000 subscribers, while Apple’s iTunes has nearly 200 million active users.
However, the ploy had a decidedly bleak outcome when Apple pre-installed iTunes Radio with iOS 7. The service has seen rather lackluster usage, Financial Times reports.
The inclusion of the Beats subscription service is part of Apple’s new three-pronged approach to music, which already includes iTunes downloads and iTunes Radio.
Apple first announced it would purchase Beats in May, marking the largest acquisition for the company to date. The deal included Beats’ iconic headphones and streaming music service.
Apple plans to push Beats to every iPhone [Financial Times]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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