Square to unveil Apple Pay-compatible wireless reader in the fall

Square will be unveiling a new version of its card reader this fall that will accept Apple Pay. Announced at Apple’s WWDC event, the battery-powered wireless reader will also work with EMV chip cards and other services (possibly support for Android Pay at a later date). The new reader will work with Square Stand for businesses as well. Square is offering 250,000 of the wireless readers for free, or you can already preorder it for US$49, plus a $49 card processing credit.

Source: Square | Via: The Next Web

HTC’s Vive VR headsets are now with developers

And the development phase for HTC’s virtual reality headset goes into full swing. The Valve and HTC-made Vive has finally started making its way to developers. The developer kits are being shipped to the likes of movie studios and game developers with key components like two Lighthouse base stations, which is the mounted hardware the Vive needs to locate and track users in a room; two wireless Steam VR handheld controllers; cables; and “everything else needed to get started.”

Although it is a bit worrying when it comes to the timeframe these developer kits started to arrive to the developers. HTC Vive was touted with a late 2015 release so with half of the year done, there isn’t that much time left to ship the apps. All we can do now is wait and see.

Source: ReadWrite.com

The reason behind DJ Zane Lowe’s move to Apple

It was evident when BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe announced he was moving to Apple that it had something to do with the Cupertino-based company’s new music platform. What wasn’t clear was what he was doing exactly. Curate playlists for them? Well, with the announcement of Apple Music we could see that he will be the main man for Apple’s new Beats 1, live radio station. The first-ever radio station from Apple will pump out music 24/7 to over 100 countries starting June 30^th. He’ll be fronting the show in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden will be doing that from New York, and Julie Adenuga from London. Beats 1 will be free for all listeners. It won’t be hidden behind the subscription paywall. So, users on iOS and Android will be able to listen to Lowe and his fellow DJs dish out the latest tunes from popular artists and up-and-coming musicians.

Source: Engadget

Sony Music CEO confirms Apple’s new music streaming service ahead of WWDC

It seems to be Apple is cooking up their new music streaming service, at least according to Sony Music CEO Doug Morris. He confirmed rumours about this service just ahead of WWDC keynote tomorrow. Morris made the announcement while speaking at the Midem music industry conference in Cannes, France and while he didn’t talk about the specifics, it definitely points to a high probability that a music related announcement is coming.

Morris believes that Apple’s entry into the music streaming game might boost the business for the company and its competitors. “My guess is that Apple will promote this like crazy and I think that will have a halo effect on the streaming business,” he said. 

Source: VentureBeat | Via: MacWorld