Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,194
30,135



Last year, Apple removed the App Store from iTunes. Soon after, however, Apple quietly released a special edition of iTunes that retains access to the App Store for "certain business partners" who "might still need to use iTunes to install apps."

macos-mojave-itunes-apple-configurator.jpg

Apple provides a download page on its website for the special edition of iTunes, which originally had a version number of 12.6.3. Two updates have since been released, including version 12.6.4 and the current version 12.6.5.

As brought to our attention by a MacRumors reader, and confirmed by our own testing, however, iTunes 12.6.5 fails to install on Mac systems updated to the public release of macOS Mojave this week. It also appears that the previous 12.6.3 and 12.6.4 versions do not function properly on macOS Mojave.

It's unclear if Apple does not plan on supporting the special edition of iTunes on macOS Mojave, or simply hasn't updated it yet. In the meantime, Apple Configurator can be used to mass-deploy apps on iOS devices from a Mac.

Article Link: Apple's Special Version of iTunes That Still Has an App Store Currently Incompatible With macOS Mojave
 

delhifox

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2018
42
22
TheSix



Last year, Apple removed the App Store from iTunes. Soon after, however, Apple quietly released a special edition of iTunes that retains access to the App Store for "certain business partners" who "might still need to use iTunes to install apps."

macos-mojave-itunes-apple-configurator.jpg

Apple provides a download page on its website for the special edition of iTunes, which originally had a version number of 12.6.3. Two updates have since been released, including version 12.6.4 and the current version 12.6.5.

As brought to our attention by a MacRumors reader, and confirmed by our own testing, however, iTunes 12.6.5 fails to install on Mac systems updated to the public release of macOS Mojave this week. It also appears that the previous 12.6.3 and 12.6.4 versions do not function properly on macOS Mojave.

It's unclear if Apple does not plan on supporting the special edition of iTunes on macOS Mojave, or simply hasn't updated it yet. In the meantime, Apple Configurator can be used to mass-deploy apps on iOS devices from a Mac.

Article Link: Apple's Special Version of iTunes That Still Has an App Store Currently Incompatible With macOS Mojave

Even the server app is not compatible with Mojave.
 

B4U

macrumors 68040
Oct 11, 2012
3,552
3,966
Undisclosed location
And Apple just flat out refused to fix some of the issues with this version of iTunes (which is far superior with the AppStore). For example, reset plays for multiple songs at the same time.
It has turned into a tedious process that takes hours to do now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LizKat and katbel

69Mustang

macrumors 604
Jan 7, 2014
7,895
15,043
In between a rock and a hard place
Why is this surprising? Mojave moved things so it doesn't have to be within iTunes. Should one expect it to be available in two places?
Yes, yes they should. It's why the special edition exists.
...that retains access to the App Store for "certain business partners" who "might still need to use iTunes to install apps.
Mojave doesn't obviate the needs of those business partners.
 

Charles Whitmore

macrumors newbie
May 17, 2016
1
0
Southend UK
Even the server app is not compatible with Mojave.
it's not only that the 12.6.3.5 version dose not work with Mojave you won't get it to connect to a new phone Xs ether as even the current version requires a further system download in order to connect to any iPhone Xs or Xs Max. it leave me thinking that Apple is lost the trust of small businesses like mine.
[doublepost=1537972635][/doublepost]
Yes, yes they should. It's why the special edition exists.

Mojave doesn't obviate the needs of those business partners.
it's not only that the 12.6.3.5 version dose not work with Mojave you won't get it to connect to a new phone Xs ether as even the current version requires a further system download in order to connect to any iPhone Xs or Xs Max. it leave me thinking that Apple is lost the trust of small businesses like mine.
 

dannys1

macrumors 68040
Sep 19, 2007
3,638
6,711
UK
How about apple make a special version of iTunes which only contains music?
Nothing else, note even the connect thingy or other “social media” features, just music.

One can dream

That's all it really contains now - it has tabs for movies, audiobooks and podcasts but you have to change the interface to get to them. Mine sits on the music tab the majority of the time and all it contains is music, doesn't even mention "social media" features as you say anywhere.

I'm not sure how anyone could complain about the way iTunes is laid out now.
 

NMBob

macrumors 68000
Sep 18, 2007
1,893
2,398
New Mexico
12.6.5!? I'm still on 12.6.3.6. Is 12.6.5 still "The Good One"? 12.6.3.6 has a heck of a time figuring out how much free space is on my iPad (Air 1) running 10.3.3. I guess I won't be taking this MacBook to the desert. I'll just keep falling farther behind until I move on to some other company.
 

zorinlynx

macrumors G3
May 31, 2007
8,133
17,434
Florida, USA
Apple configurator is somewhat broken for deploying apps to iOS devices.

For example, I deployed a free app using it to 25 iPads, but when you try to launch the app on the iPads you have to sign in with your Apple ID. This makes it fairly useless for deploying apps to be used by a large number of people for an event (the usual purpose of these iPads) unless you have someone go through each iPad first and manually log in with the Apple ID used to install the apps.

When you'd install an app downloaded with iTunes, it would install the necessary certificates so this was not necessary.

Apple seems to be breaking the tools used by organizations to manage iOS devices. The sad thing is that even in their broken state they're still superior to similar tools for Android and Windows devices. How much longer they'll be able to coast on this is anybody's guess, though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4509968

manu chao

macrumors 604
Jul 30, 2003
7,219
3,031
Why is this surprising? Mojave moved things so it doesn't have to be within iTunes. Should one expect it to be available in two places?
What exactly has Mojave moved out of iTunes? What is this it you are referring to?

If you mean the iOS App Store, it was iTunes 12.7 that removed it from iTunes, and iTunes 12.7 was released even before High Sierra.
 

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,314
6,908
I'm not sure how anyone could complain about the way iTunes is laid out now.

I am, because I hate it. I much preferred seeing a permanent list (of my choosing) in the sidebar, instead the stupid drop-down list that I have to select another section from every time. It’s a small additional step (especially using a keyboard shortcut), but I far prefer the old layout.

I agree with your answer in terms of someone who only wants to use music in iTunes though, if you only want to use music in iTunes then... just do that?!
 

MauiPa

macrumors 68040
Apr 18, 2018
3,429
5,078
I am missing something.

I am in Public Beta for Mojave, it has been working fine. iTunes is version 12.9.0.164

The Music section is nicely laid out with a look and feel sillier to Apple Music on the iPhone
 

Dj64Mk7

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2013
1,248
444
I am missing something.

I am in Public Beta for Mojave, it has been working fine. iTunes is version 12.9.0.164

The Music section is nicely laid out with a look and feel sillier to Apple Music on the iPhone

This is the special edition of iTunes that still has the App Store built-in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ShinyDren

Janichsan

macrumors 68040
Oct 23, 2006
3,024
10,994
Why is this surprising? Mojave moved things so it doesn't have to be within iTunes. Should one expect it to be available in two places?
The iOS App Store and iOS app management under macOS is not available in two places. It always only was in iTunes and since the initial removal of these features in iTunes 12.7 (which lead to a significant backlash) has never been available anywhere else on the Mac. In fact, with the current iTunes 12.9, these features are available at no places at all.
 

lec0rsaire

macrumors 68000
Feb 23, 2017
1,525
1,450
The reason why they killed this off is because 100mbps internet and faster is now standard in America. Hell there are many people with gigabit connections. I would have one myself but I don’t want to stop using my Surfboard modem and AC Time Capsule. I also really don’t need a connection that fast for just myself.

I know many people live in areas where this isn’t offered (some can’t even stream Netflix!) but Apple is a company that forces people to adopt new standards faster than others.
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
Reactions: SocialKonstruct

mdwsta4

macrumors 65816
Jul 23, 2007
1,300
175
THIS. I don't care how fast my connection is, why should I have to manually download the app onto every single device in my house? Downloading it once on my MBP and then syncing all necessary devices is so much easier.

For example, I deployed a free app using it to 25 iPads, but when you try to launch the app on the iPads you have to sign in with your Apple ID. This makes it fairly useless for deploying apps to be used by a large number of people for an event (the usual purpose of these iPads) unless you have someone go through each iPad first and manually log in with the Apple ID used to install the apps.

When you'd install an app downloaded with iTunes, it would install the necessary certificates so this was not necessary.

Internet speed has nothing to do with it. How is it easier to download the same app 5x (1x for each device) rather than downloading it a single time on your computer and syncing your devices? The answer: it's not.

The reason why they killed this off is because 100mbps internet and faster is now standard in America.


Looks like I'll hold off on installing Mojave for a few weeks in hopes they do release an updated version of iTunes that retains the app store.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.