Apple Is Finally Killing iTunes

[6Foot2]

Link: Apple Is Finally Killing iTunes [Rolling Stone]

 

It’s the end of a music era. Nearly two decades after launching iTunes and ripping up the retail-store model of album purchases, Apple is ready to retire the iconic product, according to Bloomberg. During the software keynote at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California next Monday, the tech giant is set the replace iTunes with standalone music, television and podcast apps.

 

The move, which has been rumored for years now, will align Apple’s media strategy across the board: iPhones and iPads already offer separate Music, TV and Podcast apps in lieu of the centralized iTunes app that lives on Macs and Macbooks. Users can expect the new Music app to offer some of the same functionalities that iTunes currently does — such as purchasing songs and syncing phones — just with a sleeker interface that’s free of the outdated and oft-bemoaned features of the heritage product...

[DrBeaker]

OOOOOOOOoooooooooo interesting.

 

How are iPads going to be setup/wiped/restore mode etc?

How are the legit purchases through the store going to be manged?

 

[elsiegee40]

And what about all those CDs painstakingly uploaded to it over the years?

[tg12]

Personally don’t see this obsession with spinning everything off into its own app. I’d rather have the one app, rather than a load of new icons cluttering things up

[Arthur]

And what about all those CDs painstakingly uploaded to it over the years?

The new standalone Music app will import tracks from your local music library and still allow you to rip CDs.

 

Exclusive screenshots reveal new Music and TV apps on macOS 10.15

 

Music on macOS 10.15 retains the ability to sync a user’s devices such as iPhones and iPods. Devices show up in the sidebar just like they do on iTunes. The search bar has been moved to the sidebar, which integrates both Apple Music categories as well as the user’s local Music library, inherited from iTunes.

 

New macOS 10.15 Music app code based on iTunes, not iOS

 

The new standalone Music app on macOS will actually be an AppKit application, based off of iTunes. It will include many of the advanced features iTunes users are accustomed to, including things such as smart playlists, advanced library management, syncing with iPods and iOS devices, and even disc reading and burning.

 

This new version would be the final step in the process that started with iTunes 12.7, which was updated to focus on music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks. With new standalone apps for all media types on macOS 10.15, iTunes becomes focused on just music and gets renamed to Music, like its counterpart on iOS.

 

It’s possible that an older version of iTunes will be kept available for users who need extra features, as with the current version that’s available for download and includes the App Store, support for ringtones, and other legacy features.

[Arthur]

Personally don’t see this obsession with spinning everything off into its own app.

Consistency with iOS? Creating new apps will probably make the transition to ARM-based Macs easier too.

[MkII]

#cheers loudly# but the pain will surely not go away

[Arthur]

the pain will surely not go away

Nope!

 

Answers to some of your iTunes questions: Old libraries, Windows, and more

 

Many people use iTunes to manage their media libraries in Windows—not just music, but videos and podcasts, too. Apple announced today that iTunes will be broken into multiple applications in macOS, but the company didn't specify onstage what will happen to the same program in Windows.

 

The answer, it turns out, is not much. Apple says users of iTunes under Microsoft Windows will not see any changes. It won't be broken up into several apps; it will work just like it does now. However, Apple did not provide any clarification about what support will be like for future features. The company simply says that Windows users will continue to have the same experience as before and that it is not announcing any plans to end support for iTunes in Windows.

 

But keep in mind: that only means for now. Apple might one day bring an Apple Music application to Windows just as it has to Android. But just as the iTunes era seems to be ending for the Mac, it will continue for the immediately foreseeable future in Windows—so iTunes is not really dead. At least not yet.

[GREED]

And yet... those separate apps will still be a PITA to use on Windows devices...