Apple to break iTunes into three different parts

[David Matthews]

Something to look forward to: The good news is that Apple is separating the music, TV, and podcast functionality from iTunes, so you don't have to use it as much. The bad news is that iTunes still isn't going away completely.

Let's face it: I hate iTunes, you hate iTunes. Fortunately, Apple is planning on breaking up the maligned software into TV, Music, and Podcasts in the next version of macOS, according to 9to5Mac.

Well-known Apple developers, Guilherme Rambo and Steve Troughton-Smith, have independently verified Apple's plans to split up iTunes into three separate apps. In addition to the standalone Music, TV, and Podcast apps, there will be a significant redesign of the Books app.

The new apps will be based on Apple's Project Marzipan, which aims to make it easier for developers to port iOS apps to macOS by allowing both platforms to share a common codebase. Apple got the ball rolling with the News app for macOS last year with the three aforementioned apps to follow suit this year.

The Books app, already out for macOS, will be redesigned using Marzipan to bring it in line with the iOS app. According to 9to5Mac, the new design will feature a sidebar similar to the News app that will list owned books, audiobooks, PDFs, and other collections. The title bar will have tabs for Library, Book Store, and Audiobook Store.

While that all sounds great, iTunes isn't going away. People who still use older iOS devices (including iPods) will need to continue using iTunes to sync music. The iPod Shuffle and Nano were still being sold up until 2017.

Look for Apple to unveil more about the next version of macOS at the company's Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/79605-apple-break-itunes-three-different-parts.html

 

[PEnnn]

Even if they break it into a 1000 pieces, it is still a piece of crap.

It boggles the mind that a company like Apple would still inflict misery on its users with such a piece of putrid manure. Give a few kids a few bucks and they'd produce a worthy replacement in a week!!

I stopped using it after version 1.0 (which was actually good!). Now I just transfer music to my IPhone via a third party music app with WiFi and screw Apple and their ITune BS.

If there were ever a reason to dump Apple and go Android, it is ITune!

 

[Squid Surprise]

But how am I supposed to sync all my quasi-legal stuff in one go?

 

[trgz]

I'm still (deliberately) stuck on 10.7.021 to sync my two iPods (5th & 7th gen) - sadly it works very well. I'd rather use something like foobar but nothing else seems to fit with my needs.

 

[JamesJamesJames]

It's almost as bad as Snapchat... They both have the most useless user experiences of all time.

 

[A Jay Sutton]

When articles are written this way, the author immediately loses credibility. To begin with such a broad (and in my opinion) false assumption that is stated as fact is presumptuous and arrogant.

I actually don’t hate iTunes. Are there things I’d do differently with it? Maybe. I could even say probably. But I certainly don’t hate it. I use it the way the developers at Apple intended it to be used, and am happy to work within those confines specifically so that I don’t have to rely on third party apps.

I like using native apps and not relying on third party developers. I’ve found over the years that when I do that (work with something the way the maker intended it to be used) it generally works pretty well. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, but I really don’t know what functionality I’m missing by not using 3rd party apps.

I appreciate the information, that it’s being separated into three different apps. That’s good to know, and thank you for sharing that. But please don’t begin your article by telling me what I think of something you’re writing about. It’s unprofessional at best, and seems immature.

 

[okno13]

iTunes is almost useless to people that own Apple devices, and it's certainly useless to me. Third-party apps are faster, better-looking, and easier to use.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

When articles are written this way, the author immediately loses credibility. To begin with such a broad (and in my opinion) false assumption that is stated as fact is presumptuous and arrogant.

I actually don’t hate iTunes. Are there things I’d do differently with it? Maybe. I could even say probably. But I certainly don’t hate it. I use it the way the developers at Apple intended it to be used, and am happy to work within those confines specifically so that I don’t have to rely on third party apps.

Congratulations, you're the minority. For the rest of us, iTunes is a bloated, buggy mess with a UI that's somehow managed to get worse and worse with every iteration.

I'm sure David will reflect on all the professional credibility lost today and be sure to keep your delicate sensibilities in mind next time.

 

[David Matthews]

When articles are written this way, the author immediately loses credibility. To begin with such a broad (and in my opinion) false assumption that is stated as fact is presumptuous and arrogant.

I actually don’t hate iTunes. Are there things I’d do differently with it? Maybe. I could even say probably. But I certainly don’t hate it. I use it the way the developers at Apple intended it to be used, and am happy to work within those confines specifically so that I don’t have to rely on third party apps.

I like using native apps and not relying on third party developers. I’ve found over the years that when I do that (work with something the way the maker intended it to be used) it generally works pretty well. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, but I really don’t know what functionality I’m missing by not using 3rd party apps.

I appreciate the information, that it’s being separated into three different apps. That’s good to know, and thank you for sharing that. But please don’t begin your article by telling me what I think of something you’re writing about. It’s unprofessional at best, and seems immature.

Hi! Author here, thanks for commenting! I definitely understand where you're coming from and certainly there are plenty of people who are fine with iTunes. My intro was more of a tongue in cheek comment at the general feeling I see around the internet concerning iTunes, not necessarily a statement of fact (in which I'd link to some statistic or study).

 

[Dimitrios]

I used Itunes a few years ago. Bloated garbage. Happy I uninstalled it.

 

[RWM721512]

For the love of the Maker, hire an editor! It is "fewer" reasons, not "less"!

 

[A Jay Sutton]

iTunes is almost useless to people that own Apple devices, and it's certainly useless to me. Third-party apps are faster, better-looking, and easier to use.

I respect that you like 3rd party apps better than iTunes. And it’s cool with me when people use 3rd party apps. That’s why there are options. I’d even go as far as to say I’m missing out on some functionality by “limiting” myself to iTunes. My comment was more about the writing style and the (wrong) assumption that the author begins with.

 

[A Jay Sutton]

Hi! Author here, thanks for commenting! I definitely understand where you're coming from and certainly there are plenty of people who are fine with iTunes. My intro was more of a tongue in cheek comment at the general feeling I see around the internet concerning iTunes, not necessarily a statement of fact (in which I'd link to some statistic or study).

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the clarification. And thank you again for pointing out that it’s being split in to three parts. That was news to me and I was interested to hear that.

In the interest of full disclosure, as I was reading about the slams on iTunes, it should have occurred to me that these may Windows users who are using iTunes on Windows. Myself, I’ve been “iOS only” for over a year now, and I don’t miss Windows much at all.

I’ll look forward to reading more of what you write, sir. I appreciate the response.

A. Jay

 

[Milmusicman]

I love itunes... I use iTunes match to have my entire music library on work computer, home computer, my iphone, kid's iphone, etc. I don't see what the hubbub is about. I do have amazon prime music unlimited as well... that way I can stream full new albums before I decide to buy it in iTunes.

 

[A Jay Sutton]

I love itunes... I use iTunes match to have my entire music library on work computer, home computer, my iphone, kid's iphone, etc. I don't see what the hubbub is about. I do have amazon prime music unlimited as well... that way I can stream full new albums before I decide to buy it in iTunes.

I’m one of those weirdos who pays for all he digital media I consume. Every song, every movie or TV show, every iBook is all purchased legally. And it’s all in iTunes, so for me, like you, iTunes just works.

 

[motostan]

When articles are written this way, the author immediately loses credibility. To begin with such a broad (and in my opinion) false assumption that is stated as fact is presumptuous and arrogant.

I actually don’t hate iTunes. Are there things I’d do differently with it? Maybe. I could even say probably. But I certainly don’t hate it. I use it the way the developers at Apple intended it to be used, and am happy to work within those confines specifically so that I don’t have to rely on third party apps.

I like using native apps and not relying on third party developers. I’ve found over the years that when I do that (work with something the way the maker intended it to be used) it generally works pretty well. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, but I really don’t know what functionality I’m missing by not using 3rd party apps.

I appreciate the information, that it’s being separated into three different apps. That’s good to know, and thank you for sharing that. But please don’t begin your article by telling me what I think of something you’re writing about. It’s unprofessional at best, and seems immature.

Hey Jay, I just wanted to say I agree with you. iTunes may not be the absolute best out there, but for my requirements it is more then enough!

As a side note, I am excited to hear that Apple is going to separate it out into distinct apps. It'll be nice to have it more tied with the way IOS has the apps distributed

 

[DelJo63]

@A Jay Sutton, Nicely said. As you will soon learn, Techspot is heavily biased towards Windows and vehemently anti-Apple. There's a good population of members that want everything for free (and we all appreciate a good deal when we find one). You likely also saw the comment on quasi-legal stuff -- certainly questionable ethics.

Personally, I'm agnostic on platforms and tools -- use the best tool for the job. The wife has OS X 10.13.6, I'm on a laptop Win/7 Pro, and I have a dual boot desktop for Redhat Linux.

To cope with arrogance: just consider the source and treat it accordingly.

 

[DelJo63]

It may not have yet dawned upon everyone BUT ...

the web is going mobile. Sites designed for desktop systems with large monitors are having major efforts to retro fit presentations for smaller screen devices. The webmaster and his team have to either:

1. start over
2. make major modifications for many small screen sizes on mobile devices.

In software, we use a technique called factoring (aka decomposition) to segregate clumps of code for reuse. Factoring a webpage is like getting kicked in the head by a mule -- you'll have a headache for days. All those secondary drop-down menus can be tossed, vertical menus on ether side have to be moved to horizontal at the top, and the coup-de-gras is to determine the primary function of the page and exclude everything else.

When the page is finally useful and presentable, an epiphany will occur that a major improvement in performance can be had by minimizing the whitespace and concatenating scripts and CSS to reduce the number of objects being sent to the mobile.

Mobile device support creates the business need which allows the software developer the opportunity to finally DO IT OVER RIGHT.

 

[steady eddie]

For me, iTunes is useful as it can manage a substantial library. I ask, respectfully, is there a replacement that will handle a large library like iTunes?

 

[David Matthews]

@A Jay Sutton, Nicely said. As you will soon learn, Techspot is heavily biased towards Windows and vehemently anti-Apple. There's a good population of members that want everything for free (and we all appreciate a good deal when we find one). You likely also saw the comment on quasi-legal stuff -- certainly questionable ethics.

Personally, I'm agnostic on platforms and tools -- use the best tool for the job. The wife has OS X 10.13.6, I'm on a laptop Win/7 Pro, and I have a dual boot desktop for Redhat Linux.

To cope with arrogance: just consider the source and treat it accordingly.

To your first point, I think that's simply because TS's bread and butter is PC building/gaming. Unless you build a hackintosh, most people are gonna put Windows on PC builds. Also, I am very much in the Apple ecosystem. I have an iPhone X and iPad Air. My family also uses Apple products. I have owned Macs and Windows computers.

 

[DelJo63]

To your first point, I think that's simply because TS's bread and butter is PC building/gaming.

Clearly. My *itch is the intolerance of others, sigh.