Tech giant Apple is reportedly planning to create a custom-radio service to take on popular music streaming sites like Pandora and Spotify.
Such services create virtual ‘stations’ that plays music of the user’s choice, either on Web browsers or smartphone apps. Like traditional radio, they are typically free for users, but incorporate advertisements. According to the Wall Street Journal, the move will help the US based hardware maker to expand its dominance in online music.

People familiar with the matter revealed that Apple’s service would work on its sprawling hardware family, including the iPhone, iPads and Mac computers, the paper said. According to a source, it would not work on smartphones and tablets running Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

Apple’s outsize presence in online-music sales and massive installed base of MP3 players, smartphones, tablets and computers could make it a much more serious threat to Pandora than any of its current would-be rivals, the paper said.