Secret Apple plot to kill iTunes ‘revealed’ as Instagram and Facebook pages for app are wiped clean
APPLE is to axe iTunes — but all downloaded songs will be safe, it said last night.
The tech giant is replacing the service with three programs for its Mac computers — Music, TV and Podcasts.
The apps have run alongside iTunes on iPhones for years.
iTunes will still operate on Windows for now but it is rumoured that it might be ditched too and be replaced by the same trio.
iTunes launched in 2001 as a computer programme to store music digitally. Its music store launched in 2003, changing how songs and albums were bought.
The move led to the death of CDs. Films, TV shows and podcasts were added but handling all these products made iTunes confusing, experts say.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s software boss, said last night: “The future of iTunes is not one app, but three.”
Apple said the millions of Brits who have music stored in iTunes on computers and iPods will not lose it. Instead, it will be accessed via new software. Those using older iPods that need to be plugged into computers can use Music to manage their device, they add.
Last week, a Bloomberg report claimed that the app would be phased out at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins on Monday, June 3.
Now Apple appears to have confirmed these rumours by shutting down key social media pages for iTunes.
All pictures, posts and videos were removed from the iTunes pages on Instagram and Facebook.
These pages were later redirected to the official Apple TV pages for both services respectively.
The iTunes page on Twitter is still live, and was active as recently as May 25.
It's long been predicted that iTunes would eventually be killed off.
The app is generally considered to be over-complicated, bulky and confusing, serving too many purposes to work effectively.
Earlier this year, app developer (and long-time leaker) Steve Troughton-Smith suggested that iTunes would be broken up across four apps.
"I am now fairly confident based on evidence I don't wish to make public at this point that Apple is planning new Music, Podcasts, perhaps even Books, apps for macOS, to join the new TV app," he wrote on Twitter in April.
He added: "And yes, this means the much-discussed and long-awaited break-up of iTunes. Finally!"
This news was "independently confirmed" by specialist tech site , which claims that iTunes will be split into four apps: Music, Podcasts, TV and Books.
This change is expected to first go live in macOS 10.15, a new software updated expected to go live in September 2019.
iTunes – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- Apple launched iTunes on January 9, 2001 for Mac computers
- A Windows PC releaase came later in 2003
- The app was designed to play your music files, but quickly expanded to serve many more jobs
- When the iPhone launched, you could use iTunes to sync and update your handset
- And now it's possible to purchase songs and movies through iTunes, as well as download podcasts
- However, iTunes has been widely criticised as being overcomplicated and confusing
- Apple has turned iTunes from a music player to a huge multimedia platform, which has made it "bloated"
- It can also be slow, has an awkward layout (at least by Apple's high standards), and has a confusing iPhone syncing process
It's no surprise that Apple may be plotting to break up iTunes.
The company is desperate to boost its services business, recently announcing the launch of a TV service to rival Netflix, a news subscription service, a video gaming Arcade subscription, and already offers a Spotify rival called Apple Music.
If Apple wants these apps to succeed, it will need to start breaking some of its services – like Apple Music – out of iTunes.
Speaking to The Sun earlier this year, industry expert Dan Ives said: "We believe the final nail in iTunes coffin is on horizon, a long overdue move in our opinion.
The Wedbush Securities analyst continued: "Apple is on a path to modernise its application structure which is a smart strategy especially with its linchpin streaming strategy coming down the road this fall."
We've asked Apple for comment and will update this story with any response.
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Will you be sad to see iTunes go? Let us know in the comments!
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