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Why do we still have an iTunes app?

I

Ipadonly1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 8, 2023
73
47
Why do we still have an iTunes app on iOS and iPadOS when most of it doesn’t work? We have tabs for movies and tv shows, but these just tell us to go to the TV app. The music tab has lots of ads for Apple Music. Tones are still available to buy (does anyone buy these?!) and they’re squirrelled away in the genre drop down.

I get you might need to direct people to a new app for a bit after a change, but movies and shows have lived in TV for a couple of years now right? Will iOS 19 finally mark the end of the iTunes app?

I must also say that, even though I’m an Apple Music user, I definitely think we still need a music store, but the current version is not it. I still can’t download the actual files of the music I purchase through iTunes on an M4 iPad Pro. I can download the music to the Music app, but it gets so mixed up with my Apple Music library, it’s just unworkable. If I lived in the EU I’d try and file a complaint or something around this to the EU’s Digital Rights team or something, because it seems like it shouldn’t be allowed - that a Mac user has more rights to their content than an iPad user.
 
You know you can delete the app if you find it useless. I deleted the iTunes Store app as soon as it became possible (almost five years ago in iOS 14).
 
Well if I want to own my music I do have to use it. I believe there’s some validity in my argument. If Apple actually committed to killing off the iTunes Store app, maybe they’d actually think of how to replace it and maybe they’d open up a new web store for music. That way those of us without a Mac might actually be able to download the files for the music we’ve purchased.

It’s not that I find it useless, even if objectively 50% of the app is, it’s that the remaining 50% is so undercooked, I just question why Apple, even if Apple Music is their priority, have left this app in this weird limbo.
 
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Ipadonly1 said:
Well if I want to own my music I do have to use it. I believe there’s some validity in my argument. If Apple actually committed to killing off the iTunes Store app, maybe they’d actually think of how to replace it and maybe they’d open up a new web store for music. That way those of us without a Mac might actually be able to download the files for the music we’ve purchased.

It’s not that I find it useless, even if objectively 50% of the app is, it’s that the remaining 50% is so undercooked, I just question why Apple, even if Apple Music is their priority, have left this app in this weird limbo.
Click to expand...
As tech advanced old tech gets left behind.
Physical keyboards. Removable batteries. I’ve learned to go with the flow.
 
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Ipadonly1 said:
Well if I want to own my music I do have to use it. I believe there’s some validity in my argument. If Apple actually committed to killing off the iTunes Store app, maybe they’d actually think of how to replace it and maybe they’d open up a new web store for music. That way those of us without a Mac might actually be able to download the files for the music we’ve purchased.

It’s not that I find it useless, even if objectively 50% of the app is, it’s that the remaining 50% is so undercooked, I just question why Apple, even if Apple Music is their priority, have left this app in this weird limbo.
Click to expand...

If it is music and I can't download it...I don't buy it. I am old, that is how I am.
 
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Ipadonly1 said:
If Apple actually committed to killing off the iTunes Store app, maybe they’d actually think of how to replace it and maybe they’d open up a new web store for music.
Click to expand...
They could just do what they did for Apple TV+ and add a Store tab. I purchase seasons of a certain favorite TV show and watch episodes the day after airing, instead of having to subscribe to a specific service for months.

The only music library I need to curate is for my workouts, downloaded to Apple Watch, so buying those selections in iTunes makes the most sense for me.
 
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Ipadonly1 said:
I just question why Apple, even if Apple Music is their priority, have left this app in this weird limbo.
Click to expand...
Because they want everyone to use Apple Music. That’s why every page on iTunes includes big banners to subscribe, and they haven’t updated the UI for iTunes Store in probably 15 years. But they can’t kill off iTunes Store, because people have existing purchases. That leaves it in this limbo state where they neglect it.
 
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Isn't that the only place to get new ringtones for the iPhone in an easy way?
Have bought a few movies as well. Haven't seen them in ages tho and think they are available from the Apple TV app these days right?
 
01cowherd said:
Because they want everyone to use Apple Music. That’s why every page on iTunes includes big banners to subscribe, and they haven’t updated the UI for iTunes Store in probably 15 years. But they can’t kill off iTunes Store, because people have existing purchases. That leaves it in this limbo state where they neglect it.
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yes I think you're right - I think I was naively thinking that Apple would hate having this weird zombie app, but they probably just don't care
 
Reverend Benny said:
Isn't that the only place to get new ringtones for the iPhone in an easy way?
Have bought a few movies as well. Haven't seen them in ages tho and think they are available from the Apple TV app these days right?
Click to expand...
unless you dl an mp3 and use the garageband app to make a ringtone
 
colodane said:
I don't subscribe to Apple Music (zero interest) but do use iTunes several times a week - either to just explore the content or to purchase songs and manage PodCasts. Probably purchase one or two songs per month and enjoy "owning" them for convenient playback on iMac or iPhone.

And Yes, I'm one of them "older people" 🙂
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🙌🙌🙌 purchaser of music - I hope you get to continue doing this as you are. No one should have to subscribe to Apple Music. I do and think its fantastic, but Apple should properly be supporting the alternative way of getting music, buying it
 
Apple Music opens me up to a range of choices that I may never have purchased. It broadens my musical scope. It’s well worth it.
 
I can’t imagine that I will ever subscribe to Apple Music or any other streaming music service. When I listen to music, I want to listen to songs and albums that I have purchased. I agree with the OP and others that we should ideally have some way to import our music into the Music app, just the way we can import epubs and pdfs into the Books app.
 
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Ipadonly1 said:
unless you dl an mp3 and use the garageband app to make a ringtone
Click to expand...
I buy ringtones, not a ton, but I like having special ringers for certain people. Probably only a couple a year, but for the $1 that a ringtone costs, it's kind of not worth it to go through the hassle of finding one to download, converting it & uploading it.
 
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