Tag: Apple

Apple Music’s Top 100 albums list has everyone up in arms, and rightfully so

Lauryn Hill over Thriller?! Really????

Let me kick this off by saying this: I LOVE The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It has a spot in any greatest albums of all time list, without a doubt.

But the No. 1 album of all time? In the history of music? I say no.

But that’s what leads Apple Music’s list of top 100 albums, which the company release tweet by tweet on X (formerly Twitter), igniting a huge debate (and maybe that’s the idea).

My gripes: Thriller is No. 2 and should absolutely be No. 1. The Beatles’ Revolver (No. 21) and Abbey Road (No. 3) should be flipped (also, in my Beatles albums rankings, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is ahead of Abbey Road).

Blonde is an incredible Frank Ocean album, but it’s too high AND Channel Orange is arguably better. It goes on from there. Here’s a sampling of the reaction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A dystopian iPad Pro commercial has Twitter ripping Apple for literally crushing instruments and art

This was just awful.

Apple has obviously done dystopian before for a commercial (see: the 1984-themed Super Bowl ad), but this … is a little much.

In a new ad for their latest iPad Pro, a giant hydraulic press (that’s what it’s called, right) comes down and smashes a bunch of analog things, early tech and art — instruments like a trumpet and piano, paint, a Space Invaders console, a sculpture, and so on. The result? The iPad Pro! And it’s super thin!

People are ripping this ad and rightfully so — destroying art and culture for a machine is just too on the head right now:

 

How to watch ‘The Dynasty’ documentary

Here’s how to check out the #Patriots documentary everyone is talking about:

Ever been curious to pull the curtain back or wish to be a fly on the wall during the New England Patriots’ dynasty years?

Thanks to Apple TV+, now you can.

The rise and controversial much-debated end to the Patriots dynasty can now be found on Apple. From dominant success and Super Bowl titles to off-field to scandals and finally the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick split, catch it all on Apple TV+.

To exclusively learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Pats going all the way back to when Robert Kraft purchased the team, make sure to catch the documentary, which premieres on Feb. 16 on Apple TV+.

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Inter Miami owner: Messi arrival has doubled MLS subscribers on Apple TV

Messi seems to be having the desired affect, both on and off the field

Lionel Messi appears to be having the desired impact for MLS, both on and off the pitch.

Messi has only played four games with Inter Miami since his arrival last month, but has already scored seven goals as the Florida side has reached the Leagues Cup quarterfinal.

Off the field, Messi looks to be having a similarly profound impact for the league’s bottom line.

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, claiming that subscribers to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV have more than doubled just since Messi joined Inter Miami.

With Season Pass launching in February and Messi only joining in July, that would represent a significant jump.

Additionally, Mas said that more than half of the viewers for Messi’s matches have watched in Spanish.

The league has not publicized many details of its Apple deal this season, choosing to not release subscriber figures or details on viewers for individual matches.

Last month, Sports Business Journal reported that MLS Season Pass is “approaching 1 million subscribers, a number that includes season-ticket holders who are provided access as part of their purchase.”

At Apple’s quarterly earnings call this month, CEO Tim Cook said: “We are excited about our MLS partnership, and we’re thrilled to see Messi suiting up with Inter Miami.

“It’s clearly in the early days, but we are beating our expectations in terms of subscribers, and the fact that Messi went to Inter Miami helped us out there a bit – and so we’re very excited about it.”

The comments by Cook and Mas are the closest Apple or MLS has come to actually sharing subscriber details for Season Pass, which, starting this year, has the exclusive worldwide streaming rights for every MLS and Leagues Cup match.

MLS and Apple announced a landmark media rights agreement last summer in a deal worth $2.5 billion over 10 years.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Messi and Inter Miami on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3QxZQ3L”]

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Wayne Rooney and Apple are beefing over some stolen seats

Looks like somebody may not be getting that MLS Season Pass promo code

Wayne Rooney versus Apple wasn’t exactly the feud anyone was expecting, but maybe it’s the one we all need right now.

After his MLS side fell 5-0 to Arsenal in Wednesday night’s MLS All-Star Game at Audi Field, Rooney had several grievances to air out: against referee Ted Unkel (“he made the game a little bit about himself”), his team’s preparation for the game (“I told them I didn’t want them training at the National Mall but that’s where we trained and so we couldn’t do anything but head tennis”) and then, most strangely, against Apple.

As the D.C. United head coach told it, his assistant coaches were evicted from their seats by staffers from MLS’s media rights partner.

“Everything around the game is great and it’s great publicity for the league moving forward. Apple coming into the league has been great although they didn’t allow my staff to sit in their seats today,” Rooney charged in his post-game press conference.

“My staff got kicked out of their seats today by members of Apple. And I wouldn’t be doing my staff a service if I didn’t bring that up because if you are getting asked to do the game with your staff, you are expecting your staff to have seats to sit in, so that was very disappointing — but I do think Apple will help the league grow moving forward.”

The Athletic reported that the incident in question took place in a booth overlooking the field, rather than at field level itself.

On Thursday, MLS released a tersely worded statement that did not deny an incident took place, only that it was not in Rooney’s technical area.

“It is not true that any members of Apple’s staff were seated in the technical area during last night’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game,” the league said.

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Apple jumps the gun, confirms Messi move to Inter Miami

Did Apple accidentally have the scoop of the year?

There has been plenty of reporting suggesting that Lionel Messi will sign with Inter Miami, but the confirmation may have come from an unlikely source: Apple.

Multiple reports on Wednesday said that Messi had chosen Inter Miami as his next destination, despite a big-money offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal and interest from his former club Barcelona.

Apple, the media partner of MLS, added to that chorus when it posted and then quickly deleted a tweet that stated the Argentina legend’s next destination would be Miami.

The tweet came on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement that Apple TV+ is developing a four-part documentary series featuring Messi, which will feature behind-the-scenes access with the superstar on his journey to a World Cup title in Qatar.

Apple’s deleted tweet was a reply to its own tweet from Tuesday announcing the documentary series.

Oops!

Messi himself and Inter Miami would later confirm the move.

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Apple announced its Vision Pro headset, and the internet had so many Ready Player One jokes

Apple’s first virtual reality headset is here and the internet had jokes.

Virtual reality has been a long time coming for Apple and on Monday, the world got its first look at the company’s new headset.

During the 2023 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, an augmented reality/virtual reality headset to be released in early 2024. While virtual reality is nothing new for the tech space, with the Meta Quest 3 just recently announced at the start of the month, the Vision Pro is Apple’s first foray into the spatial computing frontier.

The announcement was Apple’s biggest of the day, with the ski goggle-like device set at a price point of $3,499 when it releases first in the United States.

There’s a lot the Vision Pro can do — from being able to browse menus, read texts, and watch movies with just your vision and hand tracking — but the internet was focused on one thing only: that the headset looked straight out of the movie Ready Player One.

Yeah, I can see it! With virtual reality expanding more into people’s daily lives with each passing day, it’s no surprise the Vision Pro was directly compared to a movie all about a virtual reality universe.

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F.C. Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew, how to watch, live stream, channel, time, lineups

How to watch the ‘Hell Is Real’ clash between FC Cincinnati and Columbus #AllForCincy #Crew96

The battle for Ohio is coming to Major League Soccer on Saturday.

The upcoming leg of the “Hell Is Real” derby between F.C. Cincinnati and Columbus Crew will feature two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference facing off–But this time the tables are turned.

During MLS play, Columbus has won five of the 10 meetings. Only one derby contest has been won by Cincinnati in addition to their lone U.S. Open Cup clash.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Cincinnati vs Columbus” link=”https://apple.co/3ogo72K”]

But in 2023, Cincy is the favorite. Cincinnati is pacing the Eastern Conference, holding down first-place having won seven-straight outings at home. Meanwhile, Columbus enters the weekend in fifth place, nine points behind Cincy.

However, the Crew will carry some momentum down to the Ohio River basin. Columbus snapped a four-game losing skid on Wednesday against L.A. Galaxy in 2-0 fashion. Is the Crew back on track enough to knock off their rival?

Ahead of the pivotal matchup for both teams, here is everything you need to know to stream the action:

F.C. Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew

  • When: Saturday, May 19
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
  • Watch: Apple TV

Major League Soccer Starting Lineups

F.C. Cincinnati possible starting lineup:

Celentano; Hagglund, Miazga, Murphy; Gaddis, Nwobodo, Kubo, Moreno; Acosta; Badji, Vazquez

Columbus possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Quinton, Vallecilla; Farsi, Morris, Nagbe, Amundsen; Ramirez, Cucho, Zelarayan

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Cincinnati vs Columbus” link=”https://apple.co/3ogo72K”]

Major League Soccer Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET.

F.C. Cincinnati (-115) vs. Columbus Crew (+260)

Draw: (+260)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch every MLS game on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3Bkh8su”]

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L.A. Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes, live stream, channel, time, lineups, how to watch MLS

How to watch the California clash between the #LAGalaxy & the #Earthquakes.

The California Clasico is coming to Major League Soccer this weekend.

On Sunday, the San Jose Earthquakes head down to face the Los Angeles Galaxy for a 6:30 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. ET) MLS kickoff.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch San Jose Earthquakes at LA Galaxy” link=”https://apple.co/42ztpoN”]

Surprisingly out of form, the Galaxy are looking to crawl out of the basement of the Western Conference as they sit in 13th place with just six points. But L.A. is fresh off a 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders in a midweek cup clash.

On the flip side, San Jose is the their best form at this point of the season with 18 points, good for a fourth-place position. The Earthquakes’ attacking approach is fun, but they’ve allowed 14 goals (11 on the road), which is the most of any team in the top seven.

Ahead of a pivotal matchup for both teams, here is everything you need to know to stream the action:

L.A. Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes

  • When: Sunday, May 14
  • Time: 6:30 p.m. PT
  • Location: Dignity Health Sports Park (Los Angeles)
  • Watch: Apple TV

Major League Soccer Starting Lineups

Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Calegari, Caceres, Coulibaly, Aude; Alvarez, Delgado, Puig, Edwards; Chicharito, Judd

Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Marie, Mensah, Beason, Trauco; Yueill, Gruezo, Monteiro; Espinoza, Ebobisse, Cowell

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch San Jose Earthquakes at LA Galaxy” link=”https://apple.co/42ztpoN”]

Major League Soccer Odds and betting lines

Premier League odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 4:00 p.m. ET.

L.A. Galaxy (-125) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (+280)

Draw: (+260)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch every MLS game on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3Bkh8su”]

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Pac-12 needs to bring Amazon and Apple into original football time-slotting

The #Pac12 hasn’t yet nailed down its media rights package, so if a deal hasn’t been reached, what could close the sale? We have ideas.

As we continue to explore what a Pac-12 media rights deal might look like, we need to be a little more specific about the final details.

We have spent time discussing what the Pac-12 needs to do, and we have stressed the larger overall point that the conference needs to be creative and bold. That sounds good enough in theory, but we need to put some meat on the bone and go deeper.

Let’s start with the point that the Pac-12 is not in position to get a huge windfall here. The Pac-12 does not have the leverage here. It is not going to make gains on the other Power Five conferences. The goal for this media rights deal is to be competitive with the Big 12 and provide a dollar figure which stabilizes the conference and ensures its survival. Then the Pac-12 can think about its next media rights package in several years and dream bigger.

This media rights deal should be a bridge to the future and give the conference something it can build on at the end of the 2020s.

If those are the goals attached to a 2023 deal, it naturally follows that the Pac-12 and George Kliavkoff should try to achieve a few specific feats:

  • Get deals with multiple outlets to establish relationships which can be built on in the next media rights deal several years later
  • Make use of time slots other conferences simply aren’t in a position to use
  • Give any prospective outlet something that can’t be found on other outlets

If those are pillars of a plan, here’s what that looks like in concrete form:

  1. Amazon Friday Night Football. A Pac-12 standalone game none of the other conferences have. Not the No. 1 game in the conference, but either No. 2 or No. 3. Not a great game, but a very good game. We put Amazon here, not Apple, because Apple has Major League Baseball on Fridays, which would include September.
  2. Apple Sunday Afternoon Football. Wait, what about the NFL? Yes, we know. Have you stopped to realize that a lot of NFL Sundays have a slow, boring late-game window? The 4:25 Eastern window often has dull or lopsided games, and only three total games. That window is dead several times per season. The Pac-12 shouldn’t have a game every Sunday, but when the NFL schedule is announced, and the Pac-12 can look at the 4:25 windows for October and November, it should take six of its games and flex them to Sundays at 5:30 Eastern, 2:30 Pacific. Why that specific time? It’s because the Pac-12 Sunday game would end during the 40 to 60 minutes between the end of the NFL 4:25 window and the start of the 8:20 Sunday Night Football game on NBC. Having a live game ending when no NFL action is taking place would be a way for the Pac-12 to own a not-insignificant part of the sports TV landscape on fall Sundays.
  3. ESPN Hawaii Time Pac-12 Football. That wouldn’t be the official name of the product, but it is essentially the idea we are putting forth. College football diehards love to stay up late on Saturdays and watch the Hawaii home game at midnight Eastern, 9 p.m. Pacific. The Pac-12 can get away with playing games in this time slot. No other conference can. ESPN could carry a 10 Eastern Pac-12 game, and then ESPN2 could show a midnight game. Ratings wouldn’t be huge, but ownership and usage of this time window would give Pac-12 football visibility other Power Five conferences would lack. It’s exactly the thing the Pac-12 should do to maintain visibility and relevance.

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