ITunes

iTunes was a media player, media library, and mobile device management tool made by Apple. It helped people play, download, and organize digital music, videos, podcasts, e-books, and mobile apps on their computers. You could even use it to copy songs from CDs and share music wirelessly.

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

Over time, some people felt iTunes was getting too big with all its extra features. 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 because there aren’t special Windows apps for those yet. 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, created by Casady & Greene in 1999, became iTunes when Apple bought it the next year. The new iTunes was easier to use, could burn CDs, and lost some older features like custom looks. Apple introduced iTunes on January 9, 2001, calling it the "World's Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software." Over time, iTunes grew to support new tools like smart playlists, the iTunes Store, and different music types.

Apple brought iTunes to Windows on October 16, 2003. Later, on April 26, 2018, iTunes appeared in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10. This version worked better on devices set to only use apps from the store. Today, 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 each song has details that you can change, 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 in 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, letting people buy and download songs. At first, there were 200,000 songs to choose from, and in the first week alone, over one million songs were sold. The songs at first had a special protection 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 for music to be stored online, so it could be downloaded automatically to new devices. For music people already owned, like songs from their 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 support for videos with version 4.8, but at first, it was only for special features that came with album purchases. The next October, Apple released iTunes 6, which let people buy and watch videos from the iTunes Store. When it started, the store had popular shows from the ABC network, like Desperate Housewives and Lost, as well as Disney Channel series like That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, said they were making it easy and affordable to buy, download, and play videos on computers and iPods.

In 2008, Apple worked with some movie studios to create “iTunes Digital Copy.” This feature 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 even make special playlists just for podcasts, like they did with songs. Apple helped make podcasts much more popular.

Apps

On July 10, 2008, Apple introduced native mobile apps for its iOS system. On iOS devices, there was a special 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. Steve Jobs called it “social music discovery.” 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.