Newly Discovered 'Radio Buy' Buttons Hint At Apple's Own Music Streaming Service
February 5, 2013
Just a few hours after the arrival of the iOS 6 untethered jailbreak, an iOS object of interest has already been unearthed by 9to5Mac.
The object in question is a new set of buttons in the iPad Music app, which 9to5Mac stumbled upon while checking the files in a jailbroken iPad. This file set, notes 9t05Mac, is nowhere to be found in the Music app of a jailbroken iPhone.
The buttons, which are stored in the Music app's directory as PNG images, appear to be variations of a radio button.
The radio button contains a transmission tower icon similar to the icon previously used for the Radio function of iTunes for desktop. Note, though, that it also contains a plus symbol.
But perhaps the most curious thing about it is that it is labeled with "buy" in the filename, e.g. a variation of "radio-buy-button."
Hmmm, radio and buy. Sounds like Apple is indeed on its way toward releasing its very own radio-style music streaming subscription service.
In October last year, Bloomberg reported that Apple would be getting into the music streaming business in early 2013, effectively competing with Spotify, Pandora, and the like.
And just last month, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield suggested that Apple's so-called iRadio is still on track for arrival this year. Greenfield noted that the service will launch once Apple completes negotiations with music labels.
While they're likely meant for buying radio subscriptions (duh), I guess we'll just have to wait until Apple's iRadio finally debuts to see exactly what these "radio buy" buttons are for.
Source: 9to5Mac
