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Apple Officially Splits Up iTunes for Windows

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It’s formal: iTunes for Home windows has been split into many applications, as it was on macOS Catalina in late 2019. As on the Mac, there are different apps for songs and videos, named Apple Tunes and Apple Tv. There is also an Apple Equipment application, which makes it possible for Windows end users to control and sync content to iPhones, iPads, and iPods.

In October 2023, we pointed out that Apple experienced begun the approach, releasing preview versions of the earlier mentioned apps. And now, these applications are available on the Microsoft Retailer.

iTunes is nonetheless readily available, and the application incorporates attributes that are not but rolled out into particular person apps: the ability to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Curiously, these characteristics had been only added to iTunes for Windows last October, when the preview variations of the other apps were made accessible. It is likely that Apple will deliver release variations of applications for podcasts and audiobooks in the near future.

Apple has a support web page for these new applications in this article, which factors out that “you need to download all 3 apps: Apple Audio app, Apple Television set app, and Apple Gadgets app.” And that, “After you obtain these applications, you can use iTunes to access only your podcasts and audiobooks.” Just after you have downloaded these new applications, you will no for a longer period see any of the contents of your media libraries in iTunes, and you ought to not delete your iTunes library, simply because the Apple Audio and Apple Television set apps read through the contents of this library.

It’s worthy of noting that these apps are only obtainable for x64 architecture, and not for ARM processors. This indicates that you can not operate them or ARM-dependent PCs, which are more and more preferred. Windows for ARM can emulate applications obtainable for x86 architecture, which the iTunes application for Windows uses, but not x64 applications. This also implies you can’t operate these apps in emulation on Mac, in a virtual device with Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.

As we pointed out in our write-up previous 12 months, “The iTunes model is one of the most effective-acknowledged in the globe of customer media.” Apple appears to be to have made a decision that this brand name is no more time necessary, or that they want to exchange it with Apple’s new apps, which, it’s reasonable to say, are pretty generic. Apple Songs doesn’t sound as “magical” as iTunes. It appears bland and uninteresting.

The iTunes Shop even now exists as a aspect of the Apple Audio app, as it does on the Mac variation of the application. People can buy songs from the iTunes Shop, as before, but less people today are interested in getting songs, due to the fact they can get all the songs they want for a reduced every month value.

This is the conclude of an era, and it corresponds to the alterations in the way men and women hear to new music, streaming rather than buying. Numerous of us will pass up iTunes, but several some others will be satisfied that Apple has simplified media management and use on Home windows, as they now have on the Mac.

About Kirk McElhearn

Kirk McElhearn writes about Apple merchandise and much more on his website Kirkville.
He is co-host of the Intego Mac Podcast, as perfectly as a number of other podcasts, and is a common contributor to The Mac Safety Blog site, TidBITS, and many other websites and publications.
Kirk has composed far more than two dozen books, such as Get Handle guides about Apple’s media applications, Scrivener, and LaunchBar.
Follow him on Twitter at @mcelhearn.
Watch all posts by Kirk McElhearn →

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