Apple is killing off iTunes for the Mac, but 3 new apps will mostly replace it

The Apple's new Mac operating system, MacOS 10.15, or Catalina, is released this fall, it will not longer have iTunes, the venerable but arguably bloated music/video/podcast/iPhone-management app. Well, at least Apple is arguing that it's bloated. When it first appeared 18 years ago, "iTunes started completely focused," Apple's Craig Federighi said at Monday's WWDC gathering: "Rip, mix, and burn songs on your Mac." Then came the music store, video and book purchases, podcasts, and iPhones and iPads to manage.

"Customers love iTunes and everything it can do," Federighi said, pivoting into sarcasm: "But if there's one thing we hear over and over, it's 'Can iTunes do even more?'" He joked about adding calendar and email to the media-management app. In reality, iTunes is mostly being split into three separate apps on the Mac — Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV — and people will manage their iPhones and iPads in the finder window, so you don't have to launch a new app to sync your device.

Watch On

Apple promises that your songs and albums — both purchased online and ripped — will appear in Catalina's Apple Music app, while TV shows and movies will sort themselves into Apple TV and podcasts into the podcast app. The impetus for the change isn't just bloat but also Apple's revenue-focused push to pivot toward subscription services for music, video, news, and games, plus the changing way people are listening to music — streaming, not purchasing songs or albums. If you like to buy your music, though, Apple's iTunes Store will still be available on iPhones and Windows PCs and tucked away in the Apple Music app in Catalina.

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