Apple Details iTunes Changes Coming in macOS Catalina

[thisisnotmyname]

Just as expected, the sky has not fallen. We can still sync our devices and back things up. I don't know why people thought that would cease to exist.
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Tell me there’s finally a “choose backup location” button so I can choose where to put my iPhone backups.

I created a link to replace the folder location and my backups happen out to networked storage. I agree it would be nice if this were easily configurable but if you'd like you can override it with this method.

 

[markymarcf]

Does anyone know if the visualizer is still part of Music? I still love it and use a lot of 3rd party plugins (G-force), etc.


macOS Catalina does away with the iTunes app, a longtime staple of the Mac operating system, which, unsurprisingly, has left many with questions on just how that's going to work.

To answer questions about the imminent sunsetting of iTunes, Apple has created a support document that explains all of the upcoming changes.

Apple is planning to split iTunes into three apps in macOS Catalina: Music, Podcasts, and TV, which, when combined, will replicate much of the functionality that's currently available through iTunes in macOS Mojave and earlier versions of macOS.

One of the most frequent questions concerns device management and syncing, which is currently done through iTunes. In Catalina, Apple is transitioning device management functionality to the Finder app, and when you plug an iOS device into your Mac, it will be listed as an available device on the left side of the window, with all of the same controls and information.

The Music app is going to feature all of the music that you've imported or purchased, and the iTunes Store is still going to be available in the Music app for making music purchases. Apple Music will also be available in the Music app right alongside your purchased music or music ripped from CDs and other sources. iTunes Music purchases will also continue to be available on iOS.

Likewise, TV shows and Movies that you've purchased or rented from iTunes will be listed in the upcoming Apple TV app, and it will also be used for future purchases and rentals.

All of your subscribed podcasts will be transitioned over to the Podcasts app, while audiobooks can be purchased and accessed in the Apple Books app for Mac.

iTunes Gift Cards and iTunes credits will be usable in the new TV and Music apps and in the App Store, so there's no significant change there.

Though iTunes is gone in macOS Catalina, all of the iTunes functionality is available through the Music, Podcasts, Books, and upcoming TV apps, so in practice, there are few changes for end users. In many ways, the split makes a lot more sense than having all of those features in one spot, and most users should be able to adjust to the changes quickly.

Article Link: Apple Details iTunes Changes Coming in macOS Catalina[/QUOTE]

macOS Catalina does away with the iTunes app, a longtime staple of the Mac operating system, which, unsurprisingly, has left many with questions on just how that's going to work.

To answer questions about the imminent sunsetting of iTunes, Apple has created a support document that explains all of the upcoming changes.

Apple is planning to split iTunes into three apps in macOS Catalina: Music, Podcasts, and TV, which, when combined, will replicate much of the functionality that's currently available through iTunes in macOS Mojave and earlier versions of macOS.

One of the most frequent questions concerns device management and syncing, which is currently done through iTunes. In Catalina, Apple is transitioning device management functionality to the Finder app, and when you plug an iOS device into your Mac, it will be listed as an available device on the left side of the window, with all of the same controls and information.

The Music app is going to feature all of the music that you've imported or purchased, and the iTunes Store is still going to be available in the Music app for making music purchases. Apple Music will also be available in the Music app right alongside your purchased music or music ripped from CDs and other sources. iTunes Music purchases will also continue to be available on iOS.

Likewise, TV shows and Movies that you've purchased or rented from iTunes will be listed in the upcoming Apple TV app, and it will also be used for future purchases and rentals.

All of your subscribed podcasts will be transitioned over to the Podcasts app, while audiobooks can be purchased and accessed in the Apple Books app for Mac.

iTunes Gift Cards and iTunes credits will be usable in the new TV and Music apps and in the App Store, so there's no significant change there.

Though iTunes is gone in macOS Catalina, all of the iTunes functionality is available through the Music, Podcasts, Books, and upcoming TV apps, so in practice, there are few changes for end users. In many ways, the split makes a lot more sense than having all of those features in one spot, and most users should be able to adjust to the changes quickly.

Article Link: Apple Details iTunes Changes Coming in macOS Catalina[/QUOTE]

 

[markymarcf]

Does anyone know if Music still has the visualizer feature? It was one of the coolest parts of iTunes when launched.. I use G-force and a few other plugin's..

 

[Talik3]

I’m still hoping for a Hi-Res audio streaming like Tidal. 256kps is getting old.

 

[Brandhouse]

So, three or four, or maybe it's five apps or something, to do what one app, iTunes, does in one place.

That's just dumb.

 

[EdT]

"Apple is planning to split iTunes into three apps in macOS Catalina: Music, Podcasts, and TV, which, when combined, will replicate much of the functionality that's currently available through iTunes in macOS Mojave and earlier versions of macOS."

So what will be missing with the new combination of apps that replace iTunes?

 

[Shirasaki]

It should be noted that (at least as of now) the iTunes Store is hidden by default in the Music app. You have to select View > Show iTunes Store to see it in the sidebar. (This could also be because I'm an Apple Music subscriber.)

Simply because you subscribe to Apple Music. Just like an Apple Music user from the start will not even see “star rating” at all across the board. Same thing.
I see iTunes Store straightaway when I open the new music app after upgrading.

 

[jagolden]

"Apple is planning to split iTunes into three apps in macOS Catalina: Music, Podcasts, and TV, which, when combined, will replicate much of the functionality that's currently available through iTunes in macOS Mojave and earlier versions of macOS."

So what will be missing with the new combination of apps that replace iTunes?

The convenience of having and using just one app instead of three.

 

[Shirasaki]

"Apple is planning to split iTunes into three apps in macOS Catalina: Music, Podcasts, and TV, which, when combined, will replicate much of the functionality that's currently available through iTunes in macOS Mojave and earlier versions of macOS."

So what will be missing with the new combination of apps that replace iTunes?

That’s a good question. How many features have been taken away because of this split? AppleScript support? Terminal command for some level of automation?

 

[Shirasaki]

Also, I see a decent amount of “iTunes is a bloated mess.” How so? We have Macs that date all the way back to 2011 and iTunes runs great on them. Why is it a bloated mess?

There are several threads and a bunch of nerds already in this forum beating this topic to death. All I can say is certain people demand the demise of the legacy.

 

[341328]

What about device management on Windows?

 

[TrenttonY]

Can you enable Music 'Genres' to be displayed on the Music.app sidebar, like you can in the new TV.app?

 

[Donnation]

There are several threads and a bunch of nerds already in this forum beating this topic to death. All I can say is certain people demand the demise of the legacy.

Lol understood.

 

[B4U]

But it still took out the ability to manage the apps on the iOS devices.
We shall not need to re-download everything on the phone side when we get a new device or restore an existing one.

 

[Boyd01]

OK - thanks for those who pointed out that sharing is now part of System Preferences. That actually makes a lot of sense. So why didn't Apple just explain that in the support article? And why didn't the MacRumors article point it out?

 

[jayducharme]

I would think we want Finder nice and Lean

Since Finder shows connected devices anyway, to me this solution makes perfect sense. I'm looking forward to it!

 

[saytheenay]

...or all of my shuffles, iPod Mini, and iPod Nano.
I still think this whole "break out" thing is silly. iTunes was one stop for many things, now it’s many separate apps.
As long as it runs on Catalina, it looks like iMazing, here I come!

Except iMazing syncs iOS devices (iPod touch) not all non-iOS devices (iPod mini, classic or shuffle--not sure about nano).

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Will you still be able to import CDs?

Rip the disc and all the folder into Music.app. It's a lot faster and removes a lot of bloat from the iTunes backend.
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From the article it sounds like it.

“Apple Music will also be available in the Music app right alongside your purchased music or music ripped from CDs and other sources.”

I think people need to read, RTFM, every time they can't be bothered to read the document themselves.

 

[jagolden]

Except iMazing syncs iOS devices (iPod touch) not all non-iOS devices (iPod mini, classic or shuffle--not sure about nano).

Yep, I was thinking along those lines after visiting the iMazing site.
Still love those shuffles and would hate to see them just junked.
Might just fill them with random favorite music and stories before making the switch later this year.

 

[Rigby]

They will do the same as with books - formerly integrated in iTunes. All of your local content will be moved to a hidden directory, all files wil become renamed and encoded to ease the database handling and upload to their servers for Music Match management.

So: Your old album "Yellow Submarine" will be stored in a folder like
(9as752'908zsdfg7z20'4958zw

as well as all tracks will look like:
01 09ds8'2345qoigh
02 aso93'8475w0e98rzt
03 1'203984asdfiu1(=9
and so on.

And it will be mandatory (and not editable), to store them in the hidden default folder.
Yes, I am joking, but who knows, they did it with all our Ebooks, when they transferred them to the new "Books"-App.

Don't joke about that.

Can anyone with the Catalina developer beta confirm how local files are stored in the Music and TV apps, as well as audiobooks in Books? I would really hate if they obfuscated the file names. Is there still a "show in finder" option in the context menu like in iTunes?

The other thing I'm concerned about is losing the very versatile sorting and management of iTunes for music and movies/TV shows. If all the new apps have are the dumbed down iOS lists, I'll probably keep iTunes around on one of my computers as long as I can.

 

[ryedarrow]

It’s fine. Movies sit inside the Apple TV app on the computer. It’s streaming fine. The break away from “iTunes” is awesome once you run through. I also updated my phone and iPad to ios13 via the new options without iTunes and once more it’s a heaps better experience. I have around 2000 movies ripped to my hard drive and all is perfectly fine.

Im in a similar situation. Right now the finder path is iTunes Media > Movies / Music / Tv Shows folders

Did it move all your stuff to different folders? I have Plex pointed to my iTunes media folder so this might be a problem

 

[Shirasaki]

Im in a similar situation. Right now the finder path is iTunes Media > Movies / Music / Tv Shows folders

Did it move all your stuff to different folders? I have Plex pointed to my iTunes media folder so this might be a problem

It moves all your books and potentially audiobooks to its own container, which I hate (seriously, no space for those type of things in my Mac). For music and video, as of now, they do not move anything.

 

[ignatius345]

I hope this doesn’t kill Apple’s Remote app on iOS as a way to control playback from a ripped music library. I use it to control a headless music server, and doing it any other way would be a pain.

Same. I use this a great deal and it's very awesome. I also use Home Sharing to serve up video to my Apple TV, and that works wonderfully too. I believe there was a "Computers" app in the screenshots of the new tvOS, so hopefully that's good news at least on the video front.
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First world problem, I know but here goes...my Koehler shower system currently hooks right into my iTunes and plays music automatically as I shower. Will functionality like this be retained? I won’t upgrade to Catalina If this is in danger.

One might hope that Koehler would update their system if not? Sounds pretty cool. I'm just using a water resistant bluetooth speaker in the shower, like some kind of caveman.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Hope this doesn’t ruin support for old iPods.

 

[1rottenapple]

How will this change work with my old school scroll wheel iPod? That’s going to suck if it breaks functionality. I hope they keep iPods in mine.
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Hope this doesn’t ruin support for old iPods.

Wow I just posted my comment