Apple is about to sunset one of its most popular and long-standing media software products to make way for new dedicated media apps, reads a recent Bloomberg report. It refers no doubt to Apple iTunes, a media library and player that has been around for nearly two decades, allowing users to purchase, manage, and play multimedia files on their Macs and Windows PCs. The official news of its closing is expected to come tomorrow at Apple's WWDC 2019 event.
“This year, Apple is finally ready to move into a new era. The company is launching a trio of new apps for the Mac – Music, TV, and Podcasts – to replace iTunes. That matches Apple’s media app strategy on iPhones and iPads. Without iTunes, customers can manage their Apple gadgets through the Music app,” writes Bloomberg in its Apple WWDC prediction report. The Apple TV app was recently made available in India on iOS 12.3, MacOS 10.14.5, and watchOS 5.2.1.
While Apple Music patrons can currently listen to music and internet radio on the Apple Music app on their iOS and Android devices, they still have to use iTunes to do the same on their Macs and Windows PCs. Unlike Spotify and Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music cannot be accessed through a website. But the upcoming dedicated app could change this. We will know more about Apple's plans for Apple Music tomorrow.
iTunes was launched for macOS in early 2001, followed by a Windows version in 2003. Every iPod model that does not support Apple Music natively (i.e., every iPod except the iPod Touch line-up) is, to this day, dependent on iTunes for media management. iTunes allows a user to transfer songs, videos, photos, and other data to their iPods and even iPhones. Apple has yet to announce how users will be able to manage media on their iPods after it pulls the shutter on iTunes.