Apple Discontinuing iTunes U at the End of 2021

[TGM85]

They want to phase out the iTunes-brand name and associated products and to be honest, I can't blame them.

It was a great brand name in the early 2000s, but that time has gone.

Steve Jobs has been dead for almost 10 years now. I loved his vision and the devices he created with Apple will remain legendary forever, but he's gone. And the world hasn't stopped moving forward in the mean time. Apple needs to stay current and can't remain stuck in the 2007-2012 era forever, although I, and many others do consider that period peak-Apple.

I expect that Apple will also keep replacing the i-branding with Apple-branding in the coming years, e.g. Apple Watch, Apple TV, Apple Music, ... those are just the start. I imagine the iPhone and iPad names will also be dropped at some point as the Jobs-era recedes further into the past.

 

[cflem]

Ok, take a deep breath Apple has lost the education market with its ham fisted approach so far. There is little evidence Apple has any clue what the education market needs, wants and can afford.

I completely agree... Google Classroom is fantastic and CROSS PLATFORM.

 

[Packers1958]

So will I still be able to earn my degree from iTunes U?

 

[Tarantularock]

iTunes U, if I understand it correctly, is a brilliant idea, but it was poorly marketed, poorly explained, and never mentioned by Apple. Seems like 2020 would have been a huge year for iTunes U and/or the team behind it, but with iTunes being rebranded and so many alternative services sprouting up so rapidly, I'm not surprised it's going away.

As a parent I was really hoping to go back to iTunes U as a tool I could use while my kids were home and we were responsible to provide instructional learning. I have a kindergarten age child, and was hoping iTunes U would have some good educational structured material. What I found was a dumping ground for educational institutions with no easy way to search manage their content. I'm hoping a group like apple/google are working on better educational tools as this pandemic has proved itself as a huge opportunity. Education is currently in need of disruption and a great online delivery system (LMS) could be invaluable.

 

[the-msa]

Apple:
lists why their product is so good

also Apple:
with this in mind, we'll discontinue it


sooooo.... someone thought "this product is fantastic, therefore we should get rid of it"?

 

[Osamede]

likely AR glass will revolutionize education

This is Apple - surely you meant to type MON-etize?

 

[phgreer]

How and I supposed to sneak into University classes for free now?

 

[whyamihere]

Wow. Two articles in a row about discontinuing services! Almost thought I was on a Google rumors blog for a second there.

 

[Stella]

Some schools here are using Google Classrooms, along with Google Hangouts for remote learning. I'm sure that Google Classrooms is being used frequently elsewhere too.

Had Apple had a good educational strategy, they could have been using an Apple solution instead, instead of Google.

Seems a good opportunity missed by Apple.

 

[urnotl33t]

Further agenda of Tim Cook making Apple 'Cooks Apple' (anyone else see the similarities of current vs former presidents here)? Books still exists though, Apple Photo Books now that was really nice. Anyone have those?

Yep, well sort of; me and my ex gave her dad one filled with photos of the kids one year. When we saw it in person when we visited, it was incredibly gorgeous and very well done. Apple should've kept this one alive, and marketed it better. They do some dumb stuff sometimes...

 

[CausticSoda]

A lost opportunity for Apple to lead in this market, rather than pass out with a feeble whimper whilst looking the other way, especially as content and services is increasingly their thing.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I know no one who used iTunes U.

Me. It's a big loss. As a matter of fact I am following a course this week.

 

[topdrawer]

Some schools here are using Google Classrooms, along with Google Hangouts for remote learning. I'm sure that Google Classrooms is being used frequently elsewhere too.

Had Apple had a good educational strategy, they could have been using an Apple solution instead, instead of Google.

Seems a good opportunity missed by Apple.

an apple solution requires expensive apple hardware, just won't fly in a public school setting.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Some schools here are using Google Classrooms, along with Google Hangouts for remote learning. I'm sure that Google Classrooms is being used frequently elsewhere too.

Had Apple had a good educational strategy, they could have been using an Apple solution instead, instead of Google.

Seems a good opportunity missed by Apple.

Ooh Apple tried, very early on in the iPad lifecycle. Unfortunately they and the state of California was caught red-handed with NOT following protocol for assessment and receiving loans (products) from Apple during assessment and was shut out. This led the door wide open for Google to jump right in. BTW this was when Jobs was still around and famous for stating teachers should be 'elected' and would result in the best teachers whom are passionate for teaching would remain. I'm skeptical Apple will rebound to the glory they had in the 80's in educational marketplace.

 

[Mydel]

Problem is that apple is completly behind in the education these days. in the covid time im forced to have lectures and examine students online. And apple have no tools. Even skype is better than facetime as cross platform. There is no edu software that can be used online. And Teams is the worst and most confusing thing ever.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

So homeschoolers can’t use the new stuff, and I know quite a few that used iTunes for high school classes.

i really hope they go further with the new stuff,

As a homeschool mom, I would love to use an Apple Solution. I can only hope the “crisis schooling” pushed some buttons and we get better stuff.

 

[lazyrighteye]

Ok, take a deep breath Apple has lost the education market with its ham fisted approach so far. There is little evidence Apple has any clue what the education market needs, wants and can afford.

While I don't disagree... As a parent to both kindergarten and elementary school kids during a global pandemic that saw our district scramble to leverage Google Classroom as the "passs-the-buck" remote learning tool of choice, I can say from first head frustration - I mean, experience - that there is a gaping hole of opportunity in the remote learning segment.

Will Apple step up to fill? Nope. Unfortunately, it all comes down to education budgets - which are embarrassingly low in the U.S. and getting lower every year. Thus, free will always take priority over what's best for the students. Every time. And that approach only yields one type of outcome (hint: it's not a good one). So unless Apple were willing/able give away their hardware/software, there's no way they can hang with the freecosystem™ trap that Google has set. Seriously, Google's UI is such a nightmare... Judging from the threads, it was a significant challenge for most parents to wrap their busy brains round. And no one could argue that Classroom was ever designed with/built for an audience of 5-12 year olds. If it was, boy did they botch that one.

 

[ZMacintosh]

iTunes U, iBooks Author, Apple photo books and letterpress cards...



View attachment 923065

Yes, very unfortunate. the alternatives at least for the Photo books suck, its really hard to find a good quality intuitive platform that iPhoto had previously.

I see Apple turning more and more into a mix of enterprise and commercial business (Cisco, IBM, etc) but with actual products and less services, nothing seems "organic" anymore with Apple.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Sadly, I've never even heard of iTunes U, but reading the comments: A) it sounds like I have missed out, B) I wonder if it even existed in my country anyway, stupid effing $#*@ &7$$T^#, why does Apple even restrict products by country in the first place in this electronic age.

 

[katbel]

Apple keeps discontinuing valuable "jewels", without supplying good alternatives.
😖

 

[Neodym]

iTunes U, iBooks Author, Apple photo books and letterpress cards...



View attachment 923065

Good picture! Because Steve also did a thorough clean-up of the product portfolio when he (re-)started at Apple, which had lost focus. After that Apple went to great heights again.

Hopefully this is now a positive example of „history repeating“.

 

[mikethemartian]

I know no one who used iTunes U.

I used to use it to watch the iPhone programming class that Apple engineers taught at Stanford.

 

[BuffaloTF]

I completely agree... Google Classroom is fantastic and CROSS PLATFORM.

If classroom is your idea of “fantastic”... I’d hate to see what qualifies as bad. That thing is utter garbage, unintuitive, and blah to look at.

 

[incoherent_1]

Very sad to see iTunes U go. Maybe they can reproduce/move that catalogue of information elsewhere (such as Podcasts)?

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

This is sad news. iTunes U was a great place for the public to be able to watch and digest University lectures.