The well-known music software has not been available on the Mac since 2019 – this year it could also hit Windows. Current developments indicate this. Which program will replace iTunes?
Apple’s iTunes software was introduced with the first iPod in 2001. Music management software could be used to transfer and sort CDs to Mac. Two years later, a digital music store and a Windows edition of the software were added. In the coming years, Apple continued to expand the app and expanded it to include media formats such as videos, radio, podcasts and apps. They also tried out new features such as the iTunes Festival and even integrated a social network into the app with Ping. Over time, however, the complaints increased. iTunes is too bloated and slow.
THE END OF ITUNES IS NEAR
In 2019, Apple announced it would discontinue iTunes on Mac . Individual apps for podcasts, TV (formerly videos) and music replaced the well-known app. The transfer of data with iPhone, iPad and iPod, on the other hand, has been integrated into the Finder (Apple’s file program). This option does not exist in Windows Explorer, so iTunes for Windows was left untouched. The separate apps for Windows were also not available. But that could change soon, as several entries in Microsoft’s App Store confirm.
THREE NEW APPLE APPS FOR WINDOWS
There are three new apps in the Microsoft Store, which are currently still marked as previews and cannot be downloaded: Apple Music , Apple TV and Apple Devices . The latter indicates that iTunes for Windows will soon come to an end.
The app, which has not yet been officially announced, is a program for synchronizing iPhone and iPad. This allows music, films and photos to be transferred to Apple devices, backups to be created, software updates to be loaded or a factory reset to be carried out in an emergency . Features that previously required iTunes.
Other iTunes functions are also outsourced to individual apps, just like they were on the Mac before. With the separate music and TV apps, Windows users finally get native programs to use Apple’s music streaming and video streaming subscriptions. Until now, you had to use your browser to do this and couldn’t download any content for offline use.
The minimum requirement for the new apps is that the latest version 22H2 of Windows 11 is installed. There is no support for Windows 10.
This further expands Apple’s presence on Windows computers. In addition to iTunes, an iCloud app is already available. This not only integrates Apple’s cloud storage into Windows Explorer, but also connects bookmarks and iCloud keychain to Chrome and Edge , synchronizes contacts and calendars and displays iCloud photos in the Windows Photos app.
