Beats 1: Apple radio station goes live – with Zane Lowe on Apple Music

Apple releases full schedule of who will be DJing on the station and when

BBC Radio One disc jockey Zane Lowe pictured in his studio (Susannah Ireland) (Susannah Ireland)

Apple has officially launched its Beats 1 radio station, introduced by Zane Lowe, and has revealed the full schedule of who will be presenting at what times.

“We spent the last three months trying to build this radio station,” Zane Lowe said as he introduced the station. “Now we can build no more.”

Lowe said that the always on, global station would feature "breaking news" and culture, as well as music.

The radio station sounded a lot like Radio 1 — Lowe’s old station — at launch.

Apple has launched a new Tumblr, where the company advertises upcoming features and shows. That includes upcoming interviews — with Joshua Homme and Eminem, among others — plus shows like those presented by Julie Adenuga and Jaden Smith.

Beats 1 is accessed by clicking the “Radio” button at the middle of the bottom row of icons in the app. The Music service is activated when users download iOS 8.4, which can be got through a software update in the Settings app.

The radio station actually went live alongside the service, which was made available at about 3.45pm UK time. But it was just playing ambient Brian Eno tracks until 5pm, when it went live properly.

The first song to play on the service was City by Spring King. Songs by artists including Beck and Jamie XX followed.

“We’re broadcasting live to the early adopters,” Zane Lowe said during the first minutes on the station.