Apple reportedly talking to HBO, Showtime, and Starz for its upcoming video service

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Ahead of the company’s March 25^th event for the rumoured video subscription service, Apple is reportedly in talks with HBO, Showtime, and Starz to provide content. The company’s own original programming is reportedly not far along enough to be ready when the service launches. And that’s why it needs partners to provide content for its service. These three aforementioned networks are reportedly still negotiating over things like user experience and marketing, but a deal might be reached with some of them by Friday. Netflix and Hulu were reportedly in talks with Apple before but neither wanted anything to do with the service.

Bloomberg’s report suggests the service will live inside the Apple TV app for iOS and Apple TV, but it isn’t clear yet what this is going to look like or how it’ll affect non-subscribers who have Apple TV. We’re set to find out answers to these questions soon. We’re also geared to hear more about Apple’s new magazine subscription service. It’s being reported that these two will be separate subscriptions but there might be bundles to entice users to get both. The magazine subscription service is expected to be part of the Apple News app.

Source: The Verge

Google rumoured to put a pause on its premium laptops and tablets

The Clean Slate: The Google Pixel Slate Review

Looks like Google is rethinking how it’s approaching the laptop/tablet-hybrid business. A Business Insider report claims that the company is rethinking its strategy in this arena. Its internal “Create” team—which is responsible for the R&D and manufacturing of products like the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate—had its ranks slashed by “dozens” in the past couple of weeks. This is reportedly because of cancelled projects, which Pocket Now claims could mean that Google is likely to “pare down the portfolio” of its laptops and tablets.

Everyone from hardware engineers, technical program managers, and managerial support staff have been told to look for “temporary” roles within Google or the bigger Alphabet organization. This “temporary” move suggests Google just might be regrouping in the space. It also comes at a time when Google is rumoured to be working on a non-Java operating system called Fuchsia OS, so we’re keeping our eyes peeled for any updates in this area.

Editor's Note: Signing off from Canadian Reviewer

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla 

After 10 years of living and breathing Canadian tech news, reviews, and opinions, the time has come for me to switch gears and begin a new adventure.

I started Canadian Reviewer as a personal blog in 2008. I was in between jobs, having worked as an editor for university-level textbooks and wanting to continue covering consumer technology as I had done as a reporter in the writing for national newspapers and monthly magazines. The world and the media landscape has changed so much since then and my journey has come full circle. 

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Spotify files antitrust complaint in the EU over the ‘Apple tax’

Spotify thinks the heavily-criticized “Apple tax” is the company’s way of edging out its competition.  It has taken to filing an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Union. Spotify alleges that Apple is stifling innovation and limiting consumer choice with the rules it imposes on the App Store. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek zeroed in specifically on the 30 percent cut Apple imposes on subscriptions. According to Ek, this “tax” is designed to harm the streaming services that compete against Apple’s own service. Ek says it forces their company to “artificially inflate” prices “well above the price of Apple Music.” But if it doesn’t comply, then Apple applies “a series of technical and experience-limiting restrictions” against Spotify, which makes the experience on its app an inferior one. Ek adds that Apple “routinely blocks our experience-enhancing upgrades” and locks them and other competitors from Apple products and services like Siri, Apple Watch, and HomePod. 

On top of launching the complaint, Spotify launched a press campaign that includes a dedicated website that focuses on Apple’s “unfair behaviour” as well as a YouTube video (which you can see above) that explained the company’s grievances. We’re not sure what would come out of the complaint but a spokesperson for the European Commission acknowledged that it had received the complaint and is “assessing [it] under our standard procedures.” 

Source: The Verge