According to published reports, the growth of Apple’s hardware business is slowing and Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is looking to the company’s services business, such as the App Store and iCloud storage, as a way to generate increased revenue.

Apple has failed to successfully launch social-media services in the past, including an iTunes-focused social network called Ping in 2010. The company is said to be motivated by the fact that social apps generate the greatest level of engagement on the iPhone, Facebook users averaging 50 minutes a day, Snapchat users 30 minutes.  Bloomberg reports:

The goal behind the project’s development is to offer simple video editing with tools that appeal to the generation of users growing up with Snapchat and Instagram, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.

Apple’s current plan calls for its project to become a stand-alone app, presumably as a download via the App Store, but the company may decide to package the functionality into the iPhone’s existing camera application, the people said.

Apple is starting to develop a video sharing app that allows users to record video, apply filters and drawings to the media — much like Snapchat does — and send it to contacts or via existing social networks such as Twitter Inc., according to the people familiar with its development. The software is currently being designed to be used mostly with one hand and with the intention that video could be shot, edited, and uploaded in less than 1 minute, the people said.

Apple has made preparation for this transition, introducing third-party animated sticker packs to iMessage as part of iOS 10.

For example, two friends could be able to see all text messages, e-mails, and social network interactions between each other in a single window, one of the people said.

 Suggested Articles:

Pandora is Now Allowing Users to Pick Their Own Songs

Are The Knicks a Playoff Team? 

The post Apple Is Starting Its Own Version Of Snapchat, With New App Planned For 2017 appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The post Dr. Dre’s album “The Chronic” is now available on iTunes appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

UK based multigenre fusion band Courts is back with their new single, “Sanatana.” The live instrumentation utilized on the track is a nice touch in combination with the overlay of rapped verses. With such diversity, Courts is definitely an act you’ll want to look out for. Not to mention, the Essex band’s last single managed to make BBC Radio One host Zane Lowe‘s last ‘Next Hype’ before he left the station for his new position at Apple.

Check out the latest single from Courts, “Sanatana” below:

The post New Music: Courts – “Sanatana” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

TIME revealed their TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people and with Yeezy Season in full effect, it’s no surprise that Kanye West made the cut. From music to fashion, and everything in between, the guy is everywhere. Not to mention his scarce, but extremely powerful presence on social media and a new album that’s set to drop any day now. Although Kanye was the lone Hip-Hop artist on the list, this is still a victory for our culture.

Some other notable names that made the list were President Barack Obama, Tim Cook (because you’re probably reading this from your Apple device), Kevin Hart and Kanye West’s wife, Kim Kardashian.

Expect the TIME 100 issue to hit newsstands tomorrow.

The post Kanye West Named To The TIME 100, Because DUH! appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Apple releases the latest OS X update seed to developers, revealing a pleasant surprise.

Apple is working with the Unicode Consortium, the group that standardizes emojis, to bring a brand new selection of racially diverse emojis. Developers have reported that it looks as though these emojis will have interchangeable swatches that can change a Caucasian emoji to a variety of different skin colors. There will be six different options for hair and skin, accessible through a dropdown menu on each icon in apps such as Messages for Mac. The new emojis will only show up on supported devices, so do not forget to update your iPhone/iPad.

What are your thoughts on this much needed update?

Check out the new emojis and a screenshot provided from a developer below:

Source: HighSnobiety

The post Apple Releasing Diverse Emojis On New Update appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The day is finally here, the watershed moment that will bring us from the stone age of desktop computers to the future of one do-all device.  Apple introduced several other changes to both software and products, but the most important news of the day was Apple’s release of the OS X Lion operating system.  In layman’s terms, the new operating system allows you to bring together your portable touchscreen devices for use on the computer.  Picture the iPad on steroids, now we’re talking.  Over 250 new features are at your disposal with this new system, some more useful than the rest.  With the hope of encouraging you to hit the link below, here are a couple snippets from OS X Lion’s new introductions.

Mission Control: This feature gives you an overview look of all activity on your computer.  A three-finger swipe zooms out to show all open apps and windows.

Launchpad: By hitting the icon in your Dock, any open windows will fade away revealing all the apps on your computer at once.  No time spent wading through open programs and documents; you need an app, you got an app.

Auto Save: Need I say more.  Not having to hit Command + S anymore is sure save you some four-letter epithets.

Read more about Mac OS X Lion HERE

The post Apple Releases Mac OS X Lion appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.