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

What they will probably do is have music, TV, podcasts, books, iTunes U, and then a backup panel in the system preferences for those who need it. And then, you can optionally download the old iTunes from their website, like you can currently do with older versions of it.
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Dranix said:
Please no - the iOS music app is so bad I never use it.
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There are many rumors of a redesign for iOS13
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Mascots said:
Please please please apple don't neuter the advanced features in iTunes that actually make it a decent audio player and solid library.
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I’m guessing they’ll add a “show advanced options option in the preferences for the Music app.
 
rumornot said:
Being at 53 K Songs Syncing now, I am will eventually reach the 75 K Apple Music Limit.
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Isn't the limit 100,000 songs nowadays?

Either way, I'm in a similar situation, my collection will not fit into the 128GB of my SE. I have uploaded it all and I think this works reasonably well, although I use the phone for music only when I am driving.

For other listening I always carry a dedicated mp3-player, with my full collection on its microSD card. Not only is it more reliable, I also find its button controls superior for mobile listening, much better than the inconvenient touchscreen only of the phone.

Sandisk is supposed to release its 1TB card this month. I am looking forward to that, a welcome upgrade that will keep my 13-year old mp3-player useful and relevant for years to come, probably beyond the SE. I like the idea of having one mobile device for everything, but at the moment phones are not there yet for me.
 
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iSayuSay said:
Of course I’m aware of that. Like you, I’ve been using iTunes way before Apple Music even existed.

The problem for me isn’t about minimized interface, just the overall sluggishness of the app. On a fast ssd and internet connection I can’t imagine I have to wait for spinning ball everytime I click something on Apple Music.

But that’s what happening with iTunes while music app for iOS is pretty slick and lightweight. A simple, spotify-style music app for Mac (and probably, Windows) would be a godsend.

I do agree that iTunes must still be there because you’ll never know when you need iphone or ipad plugged for diagnostic.

The consensus I think would be:

  • iTunes app for managing local music library, iOS device manager, and purchasing contents
  • The new app would be for dealing with Apple subscriptions in general, listening to Apple Music, and probably integration with the upcoming TV+ app. (As of now, News has its own app along with News+ subscription, but who knows it will be integrated also)
Just my personal guess. You'll never know.
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No. What will happen is, the Mac will be getting all of the iOS apps. Music, TV, iTunes U, books, podcasts, and a possible panel in the system preferences for backing up your iPhone or old iPod. Then, the old iTunes app will either be an optional download from their website, or hidden away in the utilities folder, where only power users can find it.
 
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I miss old iTunes. It used to be stable. But now it sucks. At least on my pc. It checks for downloads on launch and freezes. Music discovery sucks now, too. It’s stable on my Mac at least, but I switched to Spotify. I use iTunes for movies on my Apple TV.
 
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Icaras said:
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!
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The concept of iTunes isn't outdated. The app needs to be updated. It's been ignored for years and only refreshed with new bloat features.

I don't want the music collection that I've built over several decades to sit on someone's else' infrastructure with a subscription pay wall.

The need to have a purely music focused app that works with cloud technologies and mobile devices is what customers desire AND will pay for.

#MakeListeningtoMusicGreatAgain
 
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Icaras said:
They could easily just segue sync functionality into its own separate app if Apple wanted to.
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Or make it part of Time Machine.
Step 1: Plug in your phone.
Step 2: Click "yes" when the pop up asks "Do you want to backup your phone with Time Machine?"
Step 3: Offer encryption / enter password.
Step 4: Include a "You'll need to connect your Time Capsule to finish the backup" warning.
3 and 4 can be a one-time thing, with an additional change to the Time Machine warning dialog: "You haven't saved your iPhone backup / backed up your Mac in XY days".
 
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I don't get the iTunes hate. I love it. I love that I can customize the view of every playlist. I love Smart Playlists. Love the search function. I love the UI. AirPlay is beyond awesome. I never have problems with iTunes. I keep my library on an external 4-disk ThunderBay SoftRaid 5 and it just works.
 
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I dislike iTunes not because it tries to do so much, but because of all the UI changes and inconsistencies, which make it hard to remember how to do what I want every time I launch it.

I think there'd be value in having one, well-designed app that manages my iOS and macOS devices (apps, OS, and backup) and the media content that's either stored on or otherwise accessible on them (music, books, TV shows, other videos, movies, podcasts, photos, and so on), as well as manage my subscriptions.
 
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I hope that same team behind the Apple News+ app are not working on these.
 
iTunes has become a mess. Can't even keep my podcasts updated, or have correct settings.

Apple, start fresh and make some usable apps.
 
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iapplelove said:
I still and only really use iTunes on Mac to back up my idevices..
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Same here, and if this is true, and I really hope it is, another change that would make a lot of sense would be to put idevice backup into system preferences, where Software Update now resides. And while they are at it, make it easy to specify where the idevice backups go, to keep them off all of the 256GB and smaller Macintosh SSD's that are out there. It can be done now via the Terminal, but a lot of people would shy away from that.
 
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Not sure on the hate for iTunes. I've been using it since 2002 and I find it rock solid. Maybe some people have gotten so greedy that they'll moan at anything?
Surely it's more convenient to have one app to open and load rather than opening individual apps for film, music etc?
I love it! I've 17 years worth of playlists and 200+ surfing videos, travel vlogs, fashion, fitness on it and it's reliable and syncs well to iPhone and iPad Pro.
For me, it's excellent having everything downloaded and in ONE place :)
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zorinlynx said:
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.
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ABSOLUTELY! I agree 100%. For me, it's rock solid.
 
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mikethemartian said:
I’ve never been interested in it either. I don’t even know if the streaming services let you choose the individual songs you want to listen to or if everything is curated.
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I used to feel the same way, but I was won over by the huge library (I believe 100,000 songs) that Apple Music allows. And of course you can choose individual songs and combine them into playlists or just search for them and add them to the upcoming queue. I might feel differently if there was a sound quality difference, but as far as I can hear, iTunes downloads don't sound any better (or worse!) than Apple Music downloads or streams.
 
Mr Todhunter said:
Buy Swinsian. Only $20 for an amazing app. Download the demo and try it.
https://swinsian.com/
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Thanks for mentioning this Swinsian App!

This is what it says their FAQ
https://swinsian.com/support/faq/#itunes

Does Swinsian replace iTunes?
For managing and listening to the music on your Mac, and for users of older classic iPods, Swinsian can replace iTunes entirely. If you use an iOS device you will still need to use iTunes if you want to sync music, videos, books or apps, or to make backups.

Thus, it would only partially solve my issue - Syncing my own Songs to iPhone.

All I am asking Apple is:
  1. Let me Sync my own Songs to iPhone.
  2. Let me choose which of my Songs I want to Sync to iPhone, so that it's not All or Nothing!
  3. Allow Unlimited Number of Song to be Synced, as long I have enough Available Space in my iCloud Account.
  4. Allow me to use Lower Audio Quality of Songs, so that I can fit more of them on my iPhone! After all, right now, in iTunes (General/Import Settings) you have Custom Option, Spoken Podcast = 32 kbps Mono, 22.50 kHz! So Why Take It Away in Apple Music?!
  5. Allow me to Backup my iPhone and iPad to my Mac.
  6. Keep my own Songs separate from Apple Music Streaming.
  7. Allow me to Download Songs from Apple Music to my iPhone, and or Mac, for Offline Listening, in case the Internet Connection is bad.
Right now, the only way to accomplish all that is to pay Spotify $10 per Month, because it's a separate App! But I'd much rather give my $$ to Apple!

Thank you everyone for your support!

And Thank You, Apple, for not ignoring your loyal customers.... hopefully!
 
Icaras said:
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!
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It started all with iBooks :) Remember that. I just didn't realize it would take soo darn long 19 years later
 
mudflap said:
I don't get the iTunes hate. I love it. I love that I can customize the view of every playlist. I love Smart Playlists. Love the search function. I love the UI. AirPlay is beyond awesome. I never have problems with iTunes. I keep my library on an external 4-disk ThunderBay SoftRaid 5 and it just works.
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I think the music side (in particular when not using Apple Music) is still very good. It's the other stuff that's less developed. Though the old software frameworks iTunes still relies on (Carbon) also impose a few limitations here and there (eg, with the preferences window open, the rest of the UI is inaccessible).
 
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Sometimes the best way to force users to click on dialog buttons IS to make them modded windows though. I get the thinking, because everything else in the OS is fine.
 
mikethemartian said:
I don’t even know if the streaming services let you choose the individual songs you want to listen to or if everything is curated.
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There has been both. Generally the paid services like Apple Music and Spotify allow you to play any song you want, any time you want, in any order you want, ie, create your own playlists (in addition to playlists generated by them). Services with free offerings like Pandora might limit things to playlists (auto)generated by them (though of course with input from the user via more general selections like genre or possibly artist and by up(or down)voting songs as they are played).
 
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