Apple May Be Planning to Break Up iTunes With New Music and Podcast Apps for Mac

[TheIntruder]

Well as long as no functionality gets lost along the way, no problem.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been Apple's MO when they can old versions of apps and rewrite them (QT7 to QTX, iPhoto to Photos, AirPort Utility, FCP/X, Disk Utility, etc.). The new iterations are dumbed down and lacking the same amount of functionality.

And with Apple's current focus on services, any new "Music" app is likely to be geared more toward selling and serving the subscription service rather than a user's personal library. The crappy iOS revamp has already provided ample evidence of that. iTunes has its faults, but it has always been a very capable program.

Apple users from the 80s and 90s may be loathe to admit it, but Apple has taken on many of the qualities that we hated of Microsoft in those days. Buggy, unpolished product, and being able to coast as a large company that can throw its weight around.

 

[mikethemartian]

Also, why am I still purchasing and watching movies and TV shows in an app called “iTunes”? None of the branding or functionality makes sense in 2019.

Or a video viewing device called iPhone.

 

[Traverse]

As long as there is a way to sync my content over a cable to my devices I’m fine

 

[reyesmac]

Sounds like Apple is fixing their current problems with iTunes and calling it a planned upgrade to the OS that extends functionality. What it is in reality is most OS changes are under the hood and not that existing to consumers so they can just repackage what they had in iTunes into new apps that stop people from complaining about itunes and call that an OS upgrade. I wonder if they will introduce something new this time around or are they just going to put a new name on the same stuff we already had for years. I'm willing to settle for ease of use as long as its not tied to some new payment scheme to get you using their credit card. Paying for things should not become complicated for everything other than an apple card, but I wouldn't put it beneath them to try.

 

[Maigrais]

I still and only really use iTunes on Mac to back up my idevices..

Other than that, they can do what they want with it.

Yes but they cannot touch iTunes Store yet. Please Apple.
[doublepost=1554511181][/doublepost]

Can you explain how? I use iTunes all the time and don't find it bloated or useless at all.

I keep hearing people say this and I'm completely confused because I have exactly the opposite experience.

In fact I'm terrified of Apple screwing up iTunes because it's perfect right now. They haven't had a good track record of redesigning apps in the past few years.

No, obviously it is a mess. You know it. Play count don’t sync across devices anymore. The UI is like from another planet. Some apps are way better on iOS compared to their Mac counterpart. iTunes is an example of that.

 

[travelsheep]

iTunes should have been buried on January 10, 2001. But money was to be made...

 

[dogslobber]

Traditional macOS apps are pretty much dead. The days of those being written specifically for the Mac are virtually over as the underlying OS can't be differentiated between Windows 10 and macOS nowadays. What it's all about is the apps and this is where the Mac will lose. The future for the Mac is ported iOS apps running atop Marzipan and electron apps. Only Apple will produce native macOS apps for the native UI.

 

[Loge]

Play count don’t sync across devices anymore.

Mine do, and I would certainly notice if it wasn't working. My play counts go back to 2003.

 

[nazaar]

Assuming it's true this will be the smartest move they've done since SJ... albeit late.

iTunes is a mess, I hate using it.

 

[iRutherford]

They should create a Files app that includes the functionalities not being carried over to the separate apps, then merge the iTunes Store with Apple Music, TV and Books by having a Store tab in each of these apps for the type of media they serve.

 

[cmichaelb]

Can you explain how? I use iTunes all the time and don't find it bloated or useless at all.

I keep hearing people say this and I'm completely confused because I have exactly the opposite experience.

In fact I'm terrified of Apple screwing up iTunes because it's perfect right now. They haven't had a good track record of redesigning apps in the past few years.

I have a few issues with iTunes since they dumbed it down some but like you, it works well for me.

One caveat I do spend time curating my content so I put the work in to make it work well for me.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

Finally.

 

[ob81]

Be careful what you wish for. You have been enjoying podcasts for free. It will be sold to you on an angle supporting the podcasters.

 

[rschech13]

This can only be good news, really. iTunes is a pain.

 

[Icaras]

Segue doesn’t mean what you think it means.

I’m fairly certain it means a transition from one thing to another, and in this context, from iTunes to another app, and hopefully without interruption.

 

[Megan4323]

iTunes has gotten so bloated and practically useless almost since the iPhone was introduced. Fingers crossed this actually happens and Apple can get it done right.

[doublepost=1554514708][/doublepost]What do they mean when they say they are getting rid of iTunes

 

[outskirtsofinfinity]

Did Eddie come in to work, this week, for once?

 

[Megan4323]

Did Eddie come in to work, this week, for once who’s Eddie

 

[imageWIS]

iTunes just for music would be great.

 

[bladerunner2000]

Mac users have been begging for the bloated garbage that is iTunes be broken up for over a decade.

 

[CyberBob859]

If the answer to getting rid of iTunes is Marzipan apps, then the Mac-pocalypse is upon us. Not impressed with the results of porting iOS apps to macOS. I hope this is only the beginning, and Apple will demonstrate further refinements at WWDC.

 

[musicmachine]

itunes is how i was introduced to apple while on a pc. now i have a mac and all house hold has iPhones. we where sold by the apple ecosystem solely because of iTunes and its features of play counts and smart playlists. and it's personally the only reason keeping me from getting a samsung s10 as they seem like much better devices. so we'll see i guess.

 

[rumornot]

I Sync my Music via USB to iPhone 6 128 GB , iOS 12.2, from MacBook Pro, macOS 10.14.4

I have approximately 280 highly customized Smart Playlists for that Content, and more Playlist will be created!

Approximately 53 THOUSAND Tracks are part of that Music Sync from Mac to iPhone 6.

I would have liked to Sync additional almost 30-40 THOUSAND of those personal music files to my iPhone, but that would leave me with too little Free Space on iPhone 6 for other stuff!

Most of those personal auto files have been recorded at 32K Mono. Why? Because the actual CONTENT is more important to me than the audio quality of those Song/Tracks!

The Total Size of all those Songs that are being Synced to my iPhone 6 is 54 GB

Thus I have almost Half of my 128 GB iPhone 6 available for Photos and Video

In order to meet current Apple Music Requirements, I’d have to:

Convert all those Tracks to 256 K, which would Increase the Total Files Size of that Content by the factor of 8, on both my Mac and iOS! Thus, I’d almost instantly use up most of my next iPhone, 256/512MB/1 GB GB on iPhone X Max, or Whatever Is The Next Top iPhone Model, for just my Music, with too little Free Space Headroom left for Newer Content yet to be Synced!

Even if I was to max out my next iPhone, 256 GB iPhone X Max to 512 GB, or Whatever Is The Next Top iPhone Models someday to 1TB, it would only delay the inevitable - running out of Space on my Newest iPhone! The contributing factors for such limitations are:

Apple Music does not allow anything less than 256 K Song Files

Apple Music does not allow me to Select which Songs I want to Sync to Apple Music!

In Contrast, in iTunes, I can Select Which Songs I DO Want to Sync via USB from my iTunes to my iPhone 6!

The workaround would be to use Spotify, instead of Music, but I’d rather not do that, and give my $10 to Spotify, instead of Apple!

Apple Music is part of Music App, and I can only Stream its Content, assuming that I have Internet Connection, and do NOT Sync my iTunes Songs to Apple Music Servers! The Downloading to iPhone is not possible!
Till the Separation of iTunes from Apple Music is available, my Workaround Choices are:

Carry 2 iPhones! - a Newest iPhone 256 or 512 GB, and keep my old iPhone 6, 128 GB

Buy and wear the second pair of Beats X, so that I can listen to Apple Music Albus Downloads on iPhone 6


When the phone call comes in on the Newest iPhone, I will hopefully feel the phone ring, and hear it, then I'll have to switch earphones!

Or and, I’ll have to rely on Apple Watch, which I was delaying buying, because of all this Apple Music dilemma! Hopefully the Apple Watch will help me not to miss a call! But then still, switching between 2 Beats X earphones would be a drag!

Or pay Spotify $10, against my Apple LOYALTIES!

Or buy a software that converts Apple Music Downloads, stripping the DRM from it, and then have to Import those Downloads into my iTunes, and then sync it to iPhone! That’s too much effort, and requires advanced planning, vs just Stream and Play on new iPhone!

Dear Apple,

Please separate Apple Music from iTunes, so that it’s on the same even playing field with Spotify!

Or, build in a Option to be able to Download Apple Music, without being REQUIRED to Upload my own Music Library to iCloud, and having to deal with the limitations!

Eventually, when 5GB is everywhere, at least in the USA, maybe Apple Music would be OK, if:

I can store Unlimited Number of Songs there, as long as my iCloud Account has Disk Space, I guess.

But then again, I might be bumping into a Limited Disk Space on my iPhone and SSD on my Mac!

53 GB of my Present Content at 32K Mono x 8X = 424 GB! Even if the Next iPhone is 1TB, 424 GB, is almost Half of that 1TB. But that 424 GB will keep growing!

Thus, I’ll have to be able to Control which Content I want only Local on my Mac, and which Content is to be in the iCloud!

But even then, 5G will take YEARS to be available everywhere in the USA, and a lot longer to be available everywhere worldwide...

The Cellular Carriers are going to charge a lot more for 5G than for LTE!

In either case, I want to always have a Local Back up of ALL my iTunes Audio Content on my Mac, and external HDs, as opposed to just in iCloud!

iCloud Backups and Storage sound good, except the ISP Speeds are too slow for that, compared to Hard Drives Backups!

It’s easy to get theoretical about stuff, but the devil is in details!

In short, I want my Music Content to be Separate from Apple Music.

I want to use it all with 1 iPhone, not multiple iPhones and Earphones!

I want to be able to Stream Apple Music to my iPhone and Mac, and have it independent of my Own Personal Content!

I hope Apple is monitoring this Thread, and other Discussion on this iTunes Topic, and factor our opinions into their decisions!

But then again, the old axiom will apply -

Can’t be all things to all people, can’t please them all...

And that, basically, allows Apple, or other developers to do what they want!

It’d be sad, if I’d have to achieve this separation of my Personal Music Library and Apple Music by paying Spotify, or Amazon, my $10 per Month, because those would be Separate Apps on my iPhone!

Ironically, Apple is trying to grow their Services $$$! That’s great, but just:

Allow me to Keep My Own Music SEPARATE from Apple Music!

Allow me to Sync My Own Music to iPhone!

Allow me to Stream and Download Apple Music to the same iPhone, instead of it having to be a Separate iOS Device, like iPad, iPod touch, or Spare iPhone!

 

[Glockworkorange]

About damn time. Thank you Apple if this is true!!!

And once the TV app comes out this fall, just finally get rid of iTunes altogether!

A confusing mess, but iTunes will always have a place for me as my introduction to Apple in the early 2000's.

Used to be a fantastic app.
[doublepost=1554518216][/doublepost]

I Sync my Music via USB to iPhone 6 128 GB , iOS 12.2, from MacBook Pro, macOS 10.14.4

I have approximately 280 highly customized Smart Playlists for that Content, and more Playlist will be created!

Approximately 53 THOUSAND Tracks are part of that Music Sync from Mac to iPhone 6.

I would have liked to Sync additional almost 30-40 THOUSAND of those personal music files to my iPhone, but that would leave me with too little Free Space on iPhone 6 for other stuff!

Most of those personal auto files have been recorded at 32K Mono. Why? Because the actual CONTENT is more important to me than the audio quality of those Song/Tracks!

The Total Size of all those Songs that are being Synced to my iPhone 6 is 54 GB

Thus I have almost Half of my 128 GB iPhone 6 available for Photos and Video

In order to meet current Apple Music Requirements, I’d have to:

Convert all those Tracks to 256 K, which would Increase the Total Files Size of that Content by the factor of 8, on both my Mac and iOS! Thus, I’d almost instantly use up most of my next iPhone, 256/512MB/1 GB GB on iPhone X Max, or Whatever Is The Next Top iPhone Model, for just my Music, with too little Free Space Headroom left for Newer Content yet to be Synced!

Even if I was to max out my next iPhone, 256 GB iPhone X Max to 512 GB, or Whatever Is The Next Top iPhone Models someday to 1TB, it would only delay the inevitable - running out of Space on my Newest iPhone! The contributing factors for such limitations are:

Apple Music does not allow anything less than 256 K Song Files

Apple Music does not allow me to Select which Songs I want to Sync to Apple Music!

In Contrast, in iTunes, I can Select Which Songs I DO Want to Sync via USB from my iTunes to my iPhone 6!

The workaround would be to use Spotify, instead of Music, but I’d rather not do that, and give my $10 to Spotify, instead of Apple!

Apple Music is part of Music App, and I can only Stream its Content, assuming that I have Internet Connection, and do NOT Sync my iTunes Songs to Apple Music Servers! The Downloading to iPhone is not possible!
Till the Separation of iTunes from Apple Music is available, my Workaround Choices are:

Carry 2 iPhones! - a Newest iPhone 256 or 512 GB, and keep my old iPhone 6, 128 GB

Buy and wear the second pair of Beats X, so that I can listen to Apple Music Albus Downloads on iPhone 6


When the phone call comes in on the Newest iPhone, I will hopefully feel the phone ring, and hear it, then I'll have to switch earphones!

Or and, I’ll have to rely on Apple Watch, which I was delaying buying, because of all this Apple Music dilemma! Hopefully the Apple Watch will help me not to miss a call! But then still, switching between 2 Beats X earphones would be a drag!

Or pay Spotify $10, against my Apple LOYALTIES!

Or buy a software that converts Apple Music Downloads, stripping the DRM from it, and then have to Import those Downloads into my iTunes, and then sync it to iPhone! That’s too much effort, and requires advanced planning, vs just Stream and Play on new iPhone!

Dear Apple,

Please separate Apple Music from iTunes, so that it’s on the same even playing field with Spotify!

Or, build in a Option to be able to Download Apple Music, without being REQUIRED to Upload my own Music Library to iCloud, and having to deal with the limitations!

Eventually, when 5GB is everywhere, at least in the USA, maybe Apple Music would be OK, if:

I can store Unlimited Number of Songs there, as long as my iCloud Account has Disk Space, I guess!

But then again, I might be bumping into a Limited Disk Space on my iPhone and SSD on my Mac!

53 GB of my Present Content at 32K Mono x 8X = 424 GB! Even if the Next iPhone is 1TB, 424 GB, is almost have of that 1TB. But that 424 GB will keep growing!

Thus, I’ll have to be able to Control which Content I want only Local on my Mac, and which Content is to be in the iCloud!

But even then, 5G will take YEARS to be everywhere in the USA, and a lot longer to be available everywhere worldwide!

The Cellular Carriers are going to charge a lot more for 5G than for LTE!

In either case, I want to always have a Local Back up of ALL my iTunes Audio Content on my Mac, and external HDs, as opposed to just in iCloud!

iCloud Backups and Storage sound good, except the ISP Speeds are too slow for that, compared to Hard Drives Backups!

It’s easy to get theoretical about stuff, but the devil is in details!

In short, I want my Music Content to be Separate from Apple Music.

I want to use it all with 1 iPhone, not multiple iPhones and Earphones!

I want to be able to Stream Apple Music to my iPhone and Mac, and have it independent of my Own Personal Content!

I hope Apple is monitoring this Thread, and other Discussion on this iTunes Topic, and factor our opinions into their decisions!

Lot of exclamations there.

Hope they make a work around for you, but I think they see your use type as legacy and I don't think Apple cares too much about legacy.

 

[hybroid]

GOOD. iTunes is the worst part of the Apple experience.