Apple Misses iTunes Match Launch Target as iTunes 10.5.1 Developer Beta Expires

[MacRumors]

At its "Let's Talk iPhone" media event early last month, Apple announced that it would be launching its iTunes Match service in the United States at the "end of October". That launch date was itself apparently a slight delay from Apple's original plans given that support for the feature had been built into developer builds of iTunes 10.5, which was released in mid-October to support iOS 5 and iCloud.

Eddy Cue announces "end of October" launch for iTunes Match (Source: This is my next / The Verge)

But with Apple apparently pushing back the iTunes Match launch slightly, the feature was removed from the public release of iTunes 10.5 and moved to a new iTunes 10.5.1 that was released for developer testing.

Sources have indicated that Apple is close to a launch of iTunes Match, with retail store staff having been briefed on the service in preparation for its debut. But with the calendar now having turned to November, Apple has missed its public launch target for iTunes Match. The company has not yet commented on the status of iTunes Match, leaving some questions about its plans even though a launch still seems near.

iTunes 10.5.1 beta expiration notice (Source: @dmoren)

One group that may have been caught off-guard by the delayed iTunes Match launch is Apple's developers, who have been testing the service for a number of months. Apple has repeatedly wiped users' iTunes Match libraries during the beta testing process, with the most recent wipe occurring last Thursday.

But those developers who have continued testing the service are now discovering that their iTunes 10.5.1 betas have expired, leaving them unable to launch the application as of today with no public launch and no new beta release. Apple routinely advises developers to only install beta builds of its software on machines dedicated to development, but some users undoubtedly have installed iTunes 10.5.1 on their primary machines and may now be experiencing difficulties.

Article Link: Apple Misses iTunes Match Launch Target as iTunes 10.5.1 Developer Beta Expires

[pewra]

Set your system clock back a few days and the beta will be active again, no need to panic.

[theheadguy]

Disappointing. I wish these "surprises" would be ready just a little sooner.

[mattburley7]

i wonder why it has been delayed and if there is a possibility it will show up today?

[canyonblue737]

The fact they haven't updated the beta before it expired to me indicates that this was a last second delay and further it should be released almost immediately. I doubt we get through today without a public release of 10.5.1 and iTunes Match unless they release a fresh beta of 10.5.1, also would have to be today.

[dubprocess]

I am bummed..I cancelled my Spotify so I could use this service..Oh well have to wait now

[CIA]

Steve dies and the company starts falling apart.



/sarcasm

[Jerome Morrow]

Obviously Apple is not satisfied with accuracy.

[kavika411]

Originally Posted by canyonblue737

The fact they haven't updated the beta before it expired to me indicates that this was a last second delay and further it should be released almost immediately. I doubt we get through today without a public release of 10.5.1 and iTunes Match unless they release a fresh beta of 10.5.1, also would have to be today.

I like your analysis. I hope you are right.

Maybe I'm biased because of all the ways that iTunes Match will help me and my iTunes library, but I think that iTunes Match - as described by Apple so far - is insanely impressive. The flip side of that coin, however, has been my ongoing concern, and increasing belief, that Apple has promised too much regarding iTunes Match, and that these ongoing delays demonstrate the difficulty in implementing this weighty endeavor.

But again, I hope you are right, and that we'll see a stable release in the next little bit.

[pjhamill]

Tim Cook really is doing a poor job. First no new iPhone 5 and now iTunes match is delayed. This would never have happened under Steve. #Sarcasm

[massada]

You can optionally download and reinstall the same beta and it will work just fine.

[WannaGoMac]

Originally Posted by CIA

Steve dies and the company starts falling apart.

My first thought too... just watch, bit by bit Steve's influence will disappear and we'll be stuck with Microsoft again

[kcswanko]

Maybe all hands are on deck to fix the 4s battery issue first.

[steviem]

You're on an old beta.

Download the latest one from the Developer site and iTunes will work again. Match won't though...

[justinfreid]

Originally Posted by canyonblue737

The fact they haven't updated the beta before it expired to me indicates that this was a last second delay and further it should be released almost immediately. I doubt we get through today without a public release of 10.5.1 and iTunes Match unless they release a fresh beta of 10.5.1, also would have to be today.

Very optimistic view of the situation, I hope you're right. I think it's also possible that the iCloud rollout has been rockier than expected and dealing with that's sapped resources (human and technical) from iTunes Match.
Or, Eddy Cue is asleep at the switch.

[kjs862]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

I really hate comments like this, please stop.

[bushido]

Originally Posted by dubprocess

I am bummed..I cancelled my Spotify so I could use this service..Oh well have to wait now

what? why? its 2 completely different things. thats like cancelling ur cable provider bc u can download shows on itunes

[AtomicEdge]

Originally Posted by kcswanko

Maybe all hands are on deck to fix the 4s battery issue first.

I expect there is 0 crossover between the people working on iTunes Match and any iOS battery bugs. What, you think there are like 10 guys working for Apple or something?!

[Unggoy Murderer]

Well, developers were well warned that they should not install it on a primary machine. In my opinion, if someone can't develop their App further, that's a real shame and they should not have to go through something like that.

If it's someone who just joined the developer so they could access pre-release software, and are now wondering why they can't access their library, tough *****, you were warned.

[840quadra]

Originally Posted by WannaGoMac

My first thought too... just watch, bit by bit Steve's influence will disappear and we'll be stuck with Microsoft again

Do some digging and you will see this isn't the first time Apple has been late on an expected deployment. Many examples of this when Steve was at the helm too.

This is Business as usual for Apple, or really any other tech company.

[jinjo235]

Originally Posted by WannaGoMac

My first thought too... just watch, bit by bit Steve's influence will disappear and we'll be stuck with Microsoft again

Originally Posted by CIA

Steve dies and the company starts falling apart.

It's only been November for 12 hours guys. And the "end of October" date was meant to be a rough estimate for developers utilizing and testing iTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud. I'd much rather them take their time and get it right the first time.

Also, if you think Steve had no influence on this service you are crazy...they have been working on getting iTunes in the cloud for years now and a majority of it has been under Steves wing. Much like MobileMe was. Did the company fall apart after MobileMe was introduced? No. The company took a step back, apologized and fixed it.

[pjhamill]

Originally Posted by 840quadra

Do some digging and you will see this isn't the first time Apple has been late on an expected deployment. Many examples of this when Steve was at the helm too.

This is Business as usual for Apple, or really any other tech company.

Exactly, an example would be the first generation of the iPad. They said 'late March' but it didn't launch until April. This has got nothing to do with the loss of Steve.

[LimeiBook86]

It's a beta, things aren't supposed to be working 100% perfectly. I'm sure they'll fix this very quickly.

[RobQuads]

Originally Posted by Unggoy Murderer

If it's someone who just joined the developer so they could access pre-release software, and are now wondering why they can't access their library, tough *****, you were warned.

While I agree in part there is still a large %age of people testing thier products on the primary system. If they got rid of all these testers the end result would just be a longer testing phase. So the more they can do to help people like these the better. The fact is they are helping the product cycle by testing out and feeding back issues.

[iJcaP]

We all know that at 1 PM on a TUESDAY or WEDNESDAY, Apple releases software updates.
Just so happens October ended, its the first week of November and it's Tuesday and tomorrow is Wednesday. Hmmm.. I wonder what could come out at 1 PM today or tomorrow.....