iTunes 11 to Include Improved iCloud Integration and iOS 6 Support

[NightStorm]

What I need is the ability for iTunes to run as a service (either on the computer or a more powerful Airport/Time Capsule)... I hate having to keep an account logged into my Mac 24/7 in order to access my very large iTunes library on my AppleTVs via home sharing.

I don't know about others experience, but iTunes and fast user switching seems to lead to a lot of random beachballs in Lion.

 

[tomegun]

My question is why is it still called iTunes? I'm pretty sure it does much more than just music at this point. It should be called like iHub or something haha

I agree. At this point it seems like Apple should make a lot of the iTunes functionality part of the OS. iCloud management, purchases (books, music, apps), AppleTV streaming (so iTunes doesn't need to be "on") and other settings could be removed from iTunes and become part of the OS. That would allow them to make iTunes more efficient.

Hey Apple, you got us...we have bought into the Eco-system. Now make our user experience better please.

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What I need is the ability for iTunes to run as a service (either on the computer or a more powerful Airport/Time Capsule)... I hate having to keep an account logged into my Mac 24/7 in order to access my very large iTunes library on my AppleTVs via home sharing.

I don't know about others experience, but iTunes and fast user switching seems to lead to a lot of random beachballs in Lion.

I guess I was two minutes too late with my post.

 

[BiggAW]

iCloud is so dumb. I just ended up turning it all off, and syncing everything through Google like normal.

 

[Boisv]

I hate having to keep an account logged into my Mac 24/7 in order to access my very large iTunes library on my AppleTVs via home sharing.

As Apple creeps further into our home theatre experience, and supposedly continues work on a true Apple TV, this seems inevitable. I feel like the iCloud is going to move them further and further into this direction. Just as iOS 5 cut the need for a cable connection to update apps and iOS, I predict that someday iCloud will allow us to access our music and movie libraries on iOS and Apple TV devices for home sharing without being tethered to iTunes on a Mac.

However, they probably won't be streaming. You'll have to download.

Here's to hoping.

 

[MonkeySee....]

iCloud is so dumb. I just ended up turning it all off, and syncing everything through Google like normal.

Dumb is a bit harsh.

I bought my 4S and turned it on, stuck in my iCloud details and all my mail, contacts texts, camera roll etc was all there. Just needed the Apps which I could access under recently purchased (which is held in iCloud). Also my photos I take sync accross my iMac and iPad.

Seems pretty smart to me?

 

[shurcooL]

What broken stuff are you referring to? (Actual question.)

I don't mean broken as in it doesn't work, just broken in terms of User Experience. iOS has some really refreshing ideas and things are natural, easy. In iTunes, something extremely simple can involve a huge number of steps and it makes no sense in a 2012 post-PC world.

 

[iBug2]

What makes you think that? Maybe there's some of that going on under the hood, but the app certainly locks out user input very often, doing a number of different things. And if you really want to see how the app only uses one core, try encoding video and look at Activity Monitor (and compare that to something like Handbrake).

Just because you haven't seen the problems personally doesn't mean they don't exist. Match in particular has a number of problems, many of them very common if not universal to all users, just look at apple's support board.

What makes me think that? I saw iTunes use over 200% CPU so many times. No app that isn't multi core aware can do that.

iTunes locks user input when it's tagging files, and I hate it too. But that has nothing to do with grand central or multi cores. It just locks out the user due to outdated services.

And how do you encode video on iTunes? iTunes can only encode audio. And it does it as fast as any other multicore encoding app like XLD.

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What's really scary is the knowledge that all the internals of iTunes are written in C - no, not Objective C or even C++ - and there's ****loads of crufty old code leftover from the original port of SoundJam into iTunes (1.0) back in 2000. (Actually one of the architectural aspects that made the port to Windows feasible.)

I don't think there's a single line of code left which was copy pasted from Soundjam anymore. Probably every single part of iTunes have been rewritten 10 times since then. That's not really an issue. What people are asking here is not that the code changes, but that the app changes. Rewrite the entire iTunes one more time in cocoa and you won't really get any benefits. It's already working quite fast.

 

[nutmac]

Frankly, I wish iTunes would become "just" iTunes once again (audio only), with Mac App Store doing double duty as iTunes Store and iSync resurrected for syncing and backup.

 

[kingtj]

Seriously?

I have to disagree with this. I know iTunes could be better (and on the Windows side, it's especially sluggish and bloated). But just how much hand-holding does a piece of software need to do for people?

At some point, I think you simply have those who have a mental block against learning anything new on a computer, and those who just don't seem capable of thinking the way computers want you to think about things while working with them. Some of them DO, in fact, still want to listen to a portable music player or watch movies or videos on their TVs or portable devices. So yes, THOSE types will forever be complaining about the likes of iTunes.

But all in all? If you're able to navigate around a Mac running OS X and get the basic concepts of manipulating software apps? I don't see why iTunes is so bad?

I'd say MOST of the problems or fears people have (especially when it comes to the syncing process) are due to the artificial limitations imposed on what they can/can't do with their files. (EG. Sometimes people expect that if their MP3s are on their iPod, there's no reason those shouldn't simply be duplicated back onto a new, empty installation of iTunes when they do a sync. That's just logical thinking -- but the *recording industry* went and imposed the barriers preventing that from happening.)

The only other big cause of confusion I see with iTunes is something Apple could fix with one simple change to the default settings. I think that by default, it should automatically copy tracks into its folder structure when they're added to iTunes. I've seen so many people fret over music in iTunes that's not playing/working, where they simply deleted or moved the songs, assuming iTunes already had another copy of them it was working from. But actually, it was simply pointing to their files, wherever they had them originally saved when they added the tracks to iTunes....

iTunes is one of the worst thing Apple has ever done.

The learning curve is super steep to most of the people, and many of them are scared away from using iPhone (i.e. jumped to the Android camp) solely because of iTunes.

Edit: It's interesting that people downgrade my post just because I said something bad about iTunes. Even myself as an experienced Mac and iPhone user find it difficult, or at least not friendly for users. A lot of the not so tech savvy friend of mine don't sync their iPhone or don't even know what syncing is and what are the benefits. Luckily, after iOS 5, we can actually ditch iTunes and still can use our iOS devices.

 

[milo]

iTunes locks user input when it's tagging files, and I hate it too. But that has nothing to do with grand central or multi cores. It just locks out the user due to outdated services.

And when it's looking for album artwork. And when it's checking about gapless playback. And in many other situations, seems like there are plenty of things in iTunes that cause at least a second or two where the user is locked out (usually beach ball).

Whether it's an issue of not using multiple cores or outdated services, I really don't care. The problem is that the app runs like a dog and is desperately in need of fixing.

And how do you encode video on iTunes? iTunes can only encode audio.

Select a movie, then Advanced>Create iPad or iPhone version.

And it does it as fast as any other multicore encoding app like XLD.

Considering that other apps use all cores while iTunes doesn't (looks like maybe it sometimes uses two cores now, gee, break out the champagne) that's doubtful. When I have a minute I'll compare. If you're not seeing a difference maybe you're just on a dual core machine?

 

[3282868]

Haven't read all the comments, but from the few:

iCloud: Not perfect, but an excellent start for a great service. As someone else stated, it's easy. Enter your iCloud info, turn on syncing, presto. Photo syncing is great, but the most interesting feature will be what Apple may do with Documents and iWork. As iWork Beta is to be discontinued, there must be something ahead, perhaps a Dropbox type service that would combine iDisk and iWork Beta.

iTunes: Agree with most. It needs a revamp. It hasn't been just "tunes" for a long time, it has evolved into a media hub. Music, Movies, Ringtones, Photo's, Apps, Books, iPhone syncing/backups. For the majority of us, we are used to it as we're (generally) tech savvy. However, general consumers tend to get fretful when using their iPhone's for the first time. In working with new iPhone owners, mostly older, it can be confusing with all the sections, syncing, organizing of media (iPhoto is especially tricky for Windows users to understand and requires a lot of hand holding to organize new photo databases and showing them how iPhoto works with iTunes).

In the end, Apple should consider a new method for media organization, especially as more and more content is being added to the iTunes store.

 

[iBug2]

Considering that other apps use all cores while iTunes doesn't (looks like maybe it sometimes uses two cores now, gee, break out the champagne) that's doubtful. When I have a minute I'll compare. If you're not seeing a difference maybe you're just on a dual core machine?

Now? iTunes have been multicore encoding for at least 6 years. (Was doing it on my 2005 G5). I'm on an 8 core machine and no app really uses 8 cores to do audio encoding because the bottleneck at that point is hard drive anyway.

About video encoding compared to handbrake, it's not an iTunes issue I bet. If you encode video using any Apple product be it Quicktime, Compressor, Final Cut, iMovie, whatever, it does it much slower than handbrake. It's due to different implementation of H.264 encoder and the one handbrake uses is much faster. Apple should put that in all their products.

 

[SirYossi]

Apple ID intergration

How about fixing it so that we can combine multiple apple IDs into one so that I can use icloud? I use my old .mac account for icloud and the mac app store but use my old itunes account for ipod touch and ipad apps. I want to merge the two into one. Please alow use to do so or at least transfre all apps from the one to the other at no cost. Till that is done icloud is of no use to me. If you will not allow merging of accounts into one then allow the Mac OS to support multiple icloud accounts under one user name!!!!

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

That's great for the 6 people who still use a 1st gen.

I think it's a heck of a lot more than 6 people. Why would I throw out of my 1st Gen iPod Touch when it's still perfectly useable as an iPod (i.e. portable music and photos are still the same). It means I can take it to work (where there is no WiFi anyway) and leave my iPod4G safely at home for remote control, couch surfing and to ensure it's available (and its battery life) for actual important trips.

 

[milo]

Now? iTunes have been multicore encoding for at least 6 years. (Was doing it on my 2005 G5). I'm on an 8 core machine and no app really uses 8 cores to do audio encoding because the bottleneck at that point is hard drive anyway.

About video encoding compared to handbrake, it's not an iTunes issue I bet. If you encode video using any Apple product be it Quicktime, Compressor, Final Cut, iMovie, whatever, it does it much slower than handbrake. It's due to different implementation of H.264 encoder and the one handbrake uses is much faster. Apple should put that in all their products.

Did you actually test any of this out before posting? Just did a comparison, 20 big wav files to 256k vbr AAC.

Max did it in 1:48. On an 8 core mac pro it not only used the 8 cores but the 8 hyperthreading cores as well for a total of 16 (and yes those 8 HT make a difference, I've compared with them disabled). In Activity Monitor it ran between 1200 and 1400+ cpu.

iTunes took 10:30, never used more than 2 cores or showed the CPU going over 200%.

So yes, iTunes does use more than one core...it uses two. So there is some use of multiple cores going on, but it's a flat out HORRIBLE implementation. 14 cores sitting there doing nothing, when other apps use all 16. And hard drive isn't a bottleneck at all.

And with video encoding it's the same thing, only using 2 cores while handbrake uses 8. Implementation of the encoder isn't going to make a difference when an app is limited to only two cores while others use 8 or more (you can run the HB encoder with only two cores enabled and the speed is similar to iTunes).

Have you ever actually tested iTunes and other audio/video apps on a machine with more than two cores? Sure doesn't look like it. And on a machine that has more than two cores have you EVER seen iTunes use more than about 200% CPU?

 

[iBug2]

Did you actually test any of this out before posting? Just did a comparison, 20 big wav files to 256k vbr AAC.

Max did it in 1:48. On an 8 core mac pro it not only used the 8 cores but the 8 hyperthreading cores as well for a total of 16 (and yes those 8 HT make a difference, I've compared with them disabled). In Activity Monitor it ran between 1200 and 1400+ cpu.

iTunes took 10:30, never used more than 2 cores or showed the CPU going over 200%.

So yes, iTunes does use more than one core...it uses two. So there is some use of multiple cores going on, but it's a flat out HORRIBLE implementation. 14 cores sitting there doing nothing, when other apps use all 16. And hard drive isn't a bottleneck at all.

And with video encoding it's the same thing, only using 2 cores while handbrake uses 8. Implementation of the encoder isn't going to make a difference when an app is limited to only two cores while others use 8 or more (you can run the HB encoder with only two cores enabled and the speed is similar to iTunes).

Have you ever actually tested iTunes and other audio/video apps on a machine with more than two cores? Sure doesn't look like it. And on a machine that has more than two cores have you EVER seen iTunes use more than about 200% CPU?

Ok here's my test. Single .wav file. iTunes encoded it to 256 AAC in 10 seconds with 54X speed. XLD (The fastest audio encoder I know) encoded it in 14 seconds with 37X speed. So iTunes actually beat it by a long shot. But then I tested multiple files and there XLD wins big time because it creates separate processes for each file where iTunes encodes it one by one.

So yeah, as a batch file encoder iTunes is very slow due to doing it one by one, but as a single file encoder, it was faster than XLD. (Which surprised me because I'd at best expect it to be as fast as XLD).

So Apple should indeed change the way iTunes handles multiple file encodes. Doing it one by one is very outdated.

About cpu usage, when encoding single file, iTunes maxed out around 212% CPU on my 8 Core while XLD was around 90% (looks like each process XLD launches utilizes single cores)

And about video encode, if it's using 2 cores, that's not because iTunes is "limited" to 2 cores. It just means the H.264 encoder component inside iTunes isn't using more than 2 cores. Like I said, Apple has several video apps that don't use all 8 cores on my machine while handbrake does. It's not specific to iTunes, it's about the H.264 encoder Apple uses in all their old apps. Even the new Compressor doesn't use 8 cores like Handbrake actually.

Oh and, hard drive speed certainly is important on encoding audio files. On my SSD I gain like 10% increase in single files and even more in batch encoding.

 

[MacFly123]

If Apple were to split iTunes I could see them replicating the app structure used on iOS devices. This would be in keeping with the upcoming Mountain Lion release and is separation of notes and reminders into their own apps.

So, I could foresee a new suit of apps.
iTunes - Just the store, same purple icon as iOS.
Music - The same orange icon as iOS, for music, podcast etc; organisation.
Videos - Again, same icon and feature use as iOS.
App Store - Consolidate the Mac App Store and the iOS App Stores together. Would allow for seeing truly ecosystem universal apps, along with those just for iOS or the Mac.

All of the above shouldn't be too difficult for users to adopt, as if they're familiar with iOS, the concept is already in place.

The only element that would the. Be missing would be syncing. For newer iOS devices this can all be done wirelessly, but a solution would be needed for the older iOS devices and legacy iPods. The reintroduction of iSync, used to communicate with all of the various programmes would allow the syncing to take place. Each tab referring to a different app, where it currently refers to a different element of iTunes.

If they really wanted to take things to their logical end, iBooks should be brought to the Mac, to be used for book organisation whilst a tighter integration with iPhoto would tighten the photo element.

It's only with the final two that I could see not being as simple, the four apps plus sync solution should work just as well orna windows machine as a Mac, it's only when working with Mac only software such as iPhoto where a compromise would be needed.

Haha, did you see my post right above yours??? I totally agree and said the same thing You outlined it nicer than me though.

Don't forget iTunes U though

P.S. One more request. Yes they need to use the same icons, or OS X versions of the same icons like Reminders & Notes in Mountain Lion, but also PLEASE for crying out loud, use the same music note on all icons instead of 4 different ones like right now lol!!! The best looking music note icon is in the current iTunes icon on the Mac. The one on the music app in iOS and iTunes on iOS and the others are ugly!

While I do like the idea, I don't believe this will happen. Why? Consider this: For an app to be iPhone/iPad/Mac OS universal, it would not only have to have around 3 different sets of graphics, but it would also have to have one binary for each architecture (universal binary). This would be incredibly wasteful, which on iOS would be a massive issue. Plus there's the fact that Mac OS development tends to be done with massive amounts of storage in mind, as in, hundreds of gigabytes to a few terabytes. It just wouldn't make any sense to throw the two together, even for the sake of simplicity.

I agree, but the STORES desperately need to be unified into one! It would be like in iTunes where it is ONE app store but iPhone & iPad are in their own tab or section. They would simply add a Mac section as well!

Steve Jobs such a perfectionist?

How could anyone put their name to this
Image

They can re-do that for a start - what an amateur job.

Can iTunes finally be re-written in Cocoa nao Plz?

Um, I think the current iTunes icon on the Mac is way sexy!

 

[appsforkids]

iCloud could benefit from better multiple device features for those with an iPhone and iPad as an example. Would be nice to have more control over what syncs where at download time.

 

[lupinglade]

I think it's time they dismantle iTunes into its constituent parts (at least on the Mac side; Windows can stay as is).

Audio, Video, and Apps should all be separately handled (or perhaps unified in an iCloud product) independently of the device they appear on. Merge the App Store and the Mac App Store.

Devices should each have independent portals for managing their contents, and sync should be a seamless background function in OS X.

Exactly right.

 

[Boisv]

Personally, I thought Apple was headed in the right direction with iSync.

Have separate, dedicated apps for different media (iTunes for music and maybe video, App Store for apps, Calendar, Contacts, etc.), and have one app that is dedicated to pulling all the info and media from the various apps and syncing it to all your devices.

Image

I agree. I really liked iSync. If they made an announcement that they were relaunching iSync as a new, more robust app that would take over the syncing duties from iTunes, I'd be thrilled. iTunes is doing too much. It's tired.

 

[satkin2]

Haha, did you see my post right above yours??? I totally agree and said the same thing You outlined it nicer than me though.

Don't forget iTunes U though

P.S. One more request. Yes they need to use the same icons, or OS X versions of the same icons like Reminders & Notes in Mountain Lion, but also PLEASE for crying out loud, use the same music note on all icons instead of 4 different ones like right now lol!!! The best looking music note icon is in the current iTunes icon on the Mac. The one on the music app in iOS and iTunes on iOS and the others are ugly!



I agree, but the STORES desperately need to be unified into one! It would be like in iTunes where it is ONE app store but iPhone & iPad are in their own tab or section. They would simply add a Mac section as well!



Um, I think the current iTunes icon on the Mac is way sexy!

no I'd not seen your post until mine was up. Great minds obviously think alike

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While I do like the idea, I don't believe this will happen. Why? Consider this: For an app to be iPhone/iPad/Mac OS universal, it would not only have to have around 3 different sets of graphics, but it would also have to have one binary for each architecture (universal binary). This would be incredibly wasteful, which on iOS would be a massive issue. Plus there's the fact that Mac OS development tends to be done with massive amounts of storage in mind, as in, hundreds of gigabytes to a few terabytes. It just wouldn't make any sense to throw the two together, even for the sake of simplicity.

Fair enough, I probably didn't phrase what I meant very well. I was meaning for apps that are available for OS X and iOS they are all viewable in the same area on the store, or just on the Mac/iOS sites.

So a product like Evernote, available on both OSs would show you a Mac/iPad/iPhone version. This way the less informed user may become aware that they can get an app for both platforms.

 

[fertilized-egg]

I'm not sure if that method you suggested would work with them as they're not used to using iTunes. They've learned through decades of me teaching them that a file in a folder can be dragged to another folder.

That's exactly how it works if you enable drag&drop and disable sync. Actually it should be easier for your parents because it no longer requires them to locate the folder on the device. Plug in the iDevice, iTunes pops up, drag & drop the files to where it says "Music" on iPod, that's it.

 

[Cod3rror]

I would really like for iTunes to have an option of configuring the output device on Windows.

Right now, if you have an external soundcard, you cannot use iTunes with it unless you make that card the default one for the system.

 

[TheSuperSteve]

That's exactly how it works if you enable drag&drop and disable sync. Actually it should be easier for your parents because it no longer requires them to locate the folder on the device. Plug in the iDevice, iTunes pops up, drag & drop the files to where it says "Music" on iPod, that's it.

I assume by disable sync, you mean the option that reads "Prevent iPhones, iPods and iPads from automatically syncing"? If so then I'll try it out.

But I can't find the option to enable drag and drop. Where is that?

 

[decafjava]

Dear Apple,

Fix longstanding bugs on smartplaylists on ios devices and then integrate them seamlessly in icloud and I might consider using icloud. Thanks in advance.