ITunes

iTunes was a media player and library made by Apple. It helped people play, download, and organize digital music, videos, podcasts, e-books, and mobile apps on their computers.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced iTunes in 2001, and it became popular for managing music. Later, Apple added the iTunes Store to buy and download music. iTunes also helped people set up and manage their iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

Over time, some people felt iTunes was getting too big. In 2019, Apple replaced iTunes on newer Macs with separate apps like Music, Podcasts, and TV. On Windows computers, most iTunes features moved to other apps by 2024, though iTunes is still used for podcasts and audiobooks. Older versions of Macs and some Windows users can still use the original iTunes if they prefer.

History

See also: History of iTunes

SoundJam MP, made by Casady & Greene in 1999, became iTunes when Apple bought it the next year. The new iTunes was easier to use and could burn CDs, but it lost some older features. Apple introduced iTunes on January 9, 2001, calling it the "World's Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software." Over time, iTunes added new tools like smart playlists, the iTunes Store, and different kinds of music.

Apple brought iTunes to Windows on October 16, 2003. Later, on April 26, 2018, iTunes came to the Microsoft Store for Windows 10. This version worked better on devices that only used apps from the store. Now, iTunes’ jobs are done by separate apps like Apple Music and Apple Podcasts, with device management moving to the Finder on Mac computers and Apple Devices on Windows 10.

Music library

iTunes has a music library where you can change details about each song, like the artist's name, the album, and the genre. You can add songs from CDs or digital files and play them on your computer or iOS devices. It works with many music types, such as WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AAC, and MP3.

You can organize your music into special playlists. For example, "Up Next" lets you choose songs to play one after another. There are also "Smart playlists" that automatically pick songs based on rules you set, like favorite genres or songs you haven’t heard in a while. iTunes also has tools to adjust how music sounds, like balancing volumes and smoothing out pauses between songs.

Online music functionality

iTunes Store

In April 2003, the iTunes Music Store began. It let people buy and download songs. At first, there were 200,000 songs to choose from. In the first week, over one million songs were sold. The songs had special protection at first to prevent copying, but later Apple let people buy songs without this protection.

iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match

In June 2011, Apple introduced a way to store music online. This let people download their music to new devices automatically. For music people already owned, like songs from CDs, there was a feature called iTunes Match. This let people upload their music, improve its quality, and play it on other devices.

Internet radio, iTunes Radio and Apple Music

When iTunes first came out, it included a service for listening to internet radio. In 2013, Apple started iTunes Radio, a free music streaming service. Then, in 2015, Apple launched Apple Music, a service where people could pay to stream music. Apple Music also included a live music radio station.

Phasing out

By 2024, Apple began replacing iTunes with separate apps for Music, Podcasts, and TV, though the iTunes Store will still exist.

Other features

Video

In May 2005, iTunes added videos. At first, it was only for special album features. The next October, Apple released iTunes 6, which let people buy and watch videos from the iTunes Store. The store had shows from the ABC network, like Desperate Housewives and Lost, and Disney Channel series like That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Steve Jobs said it would be easy and affordable to buy, download, and play videos.

In 2008, Apple worked with movie studios to create “iTunes Digital Copy.” This let people get a digital copy of movies when they bought certain DVDs or Blu-ray discs.

Podcasts

In June 2005, iTunes added support for podcasts. Users could choose to get new episodes, decide how many to keep, and make playlists for podcasts, like they did with songs. Apple helped make podcasts more popular.

Apps

On July 10, 2008, Apple introduced native mobile apps for its iOS system. On iOS devices, there was an App Store app for finding and managing apps, while iTunes on computers had a section for apps. In September 2017, Apple changed iTunes in version 12.7, removing the App Store part. But a version called iTunes 12.6.3 came out the next month, keeping the App Store for certain business uses.

iTunes U

In May 2007, Apple started “iTunes U” through the iTunes Store. It offered lectures from top U.S. colleges. With iTunes version 12.7 in August 2017, iTunes U moved to the Podcasts app. In June 2020, Apple said iTunes U would stop working by the end of 2021.

Apple mobile device connectivity

Early iPad and iPhone devices needed iTunes to get set up. Starting with the iPhone 3G in June 2008, people could activate their devices at stores instead of using iTunes. Later models could set themselves up without iTunes.

iTunes also let people save and restore their Apple device’s music, photos, videos, ringtones, and settings. It could also reset the device’s software. But after iTunes 12.7, people could no longer buy and install apps using iTunes.

Ping

When iTunes 10 came out in September 2010, Apple added iTunes Ping. It worked like Facebook, with profiles and a way to follow other users. Ping stopped working in September 2012.

Criticism

Security

In November 2011, a report said that Apple knew about a problem with iTunes since 2008. This problem could let people who were not supposed to, add updates to iTunes. Apple fixed the problem before the report came out and said keeping users safe is very important. But, some people thought Apple took too long to fix it.

Software bloat

Some people said iTunes became too big and complicated. They thought Apple was trying to make it do too many things, instead of just playing music. One writer from PC World said Apple was being unfair by criticizing others for doing similar things.