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ExtraBITS for 6 June 2016

In ExtraBITS this week, Apple has updated its WWDC apps for iOS and Apple TV, Amazon isn’t coming to Apple TV anytime soon, and Spotify gets more competitive with Apple Music family plans.

WWDC App Adds Apple TV Version — With the Worldwide Developer Conference coming up on 13 June 2016, Apple has updated its iOS WWDC app with a version for the fourth-generation Apple TV. That’s less compelling for WWDC attendees, who will be most interested in the app’s maps of the venues and a schedule of events. For Apple developers not attending WWDC, though, the app will provide live streams of sessions and the Apple TV support will make watching easier to do in the living room. Considering the number of developers who don’t win the WWDC ticket lottery, we’re glad to see Apple
improving the experience of not being there for those who can’t make it.

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Amazon Playing Hardball on Apple TV App — Even though Amazon has previously hinted at making a Prime Video app for the Apple TV, don’t hold your breath for it to appear anytime soon. When asked at this year’s Code Conference why Amazon doesn’t sell streaming media boxes from Apple and Google, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, “When we sell [streaming] devices, we want our player — our Prime Video player — to be on the device, and we want it to be on the device with acceptable business terms.” As many have suspected, there appears to be some concession Amazon wants from Apple
before releasing an Apple TV app. What that could be is unknown; Apple does require a 30 percent cut of sales made through apps, but Amazon could easily circumvent that by requiring users to sign up for Amazon Prime outside the app.

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Spotify Updates Family Plan to Match Apple Music — Streaming music service Spotify is now cheaper for families, matching Apple Music in both price and number of family members. The Spotify family plan now covers up to six people for one monthly $14.99 fee. Previously, $14.99 included only two members, though you could pay $5 extra for each additional person up to a maximum of five. Spotify’s new plan is thus no different for two-person families, but could be more than half off for a household of six. As a bonus, Spotify families aren’t locked together in a Family Sharing group,
as is the case with Apple Music.

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