Apple’s developer community can now put the new iTunes Radio streaming service through its paces on their MacBooks and iMacs thanks to a new beta version of the media player.
The feature, which Apple announced at WWDC in June, has reared its head for the first time for Mac OS X devices and is Apple’s big to rival streaming giants like Spotify, and Pandora in the United States.
“This version of iTunes includes the new iTunes Radio – a great new way to discover music,” the company’s release notes for iTunes 11.1 beta read.
Previous beta versions of iOS 7 and iOS for Apple TV had allowed users to take a look at the free-to-play service ahead of its expected launch this autumn.
The app will allow users to listen to unlimited tracks by starting a radio station based on an artist, album or song, with the company hoping encouraging them to buy said tracks from the iTunes store.
Today’s beta launch isn’t much use to UK-based developers as iTunes Radio will only be available in the US, until Apple can reach deals with international record labels.
However, it does give us another opportunity to see how the service will look within the desktop software.
Apple has been busy on the beta software front on Monday, throwing out a new version of iOS 7 to developers, that appear to confirm the presence of a a fingerprint sensor within the Home button of a future iPhone handset.
There’s also a new version of iOS for Apple TV that fixes bugs and offers the ability to set up an Apple TV through an iOS device.
Can iTunes Radio win the streaming war with Spotify? Check out our head-to-head comparison.
Via Engadget
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
