Chris Jager* says Apple’s recent announcement has many iTunes users more than a little anxious about their existing music, podcasts, movies and TV shows.
Arguably the biggest announcement from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was the “killing off” of iTunes.
While this decision was long expected, there are many iTunes users who are more than a little anxious about their existing music, podcasts, movies and TV shows.
Here’s what you need to know.
It’s official: iTunes is dead.
But there’s no need to panic just yet.
Even Apple isn’t arrogant enough to block its customers from content they’ve paid good money for.
Instead, all of your existing songs, movies and TV shows will be migrated to a new suite of dedicated apps.
Namely: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV.
In short, the only thing getting the boot is Apple’s standalone iTunes app.
For the time being, the change will be limited to Apple’s new operating system for Mac: macOS Catalina.
Here’s the skinny on each app from Apple’s blog:
Apple Music
“The new Music app for Mac is lightning fast, fun and easy to use,” Apple says.
“Apple Music will help users discover great new music with over 50 million songs, playlists and music videos.”
“And users will have access to their entire music library, whether they downloaded the songs, purchased them or ripped them from a CD.”
“For those who like to own their music, the iTunes Music Store is just a click away.”
Apple TV
“The all-new Apple TV app brings together different ways to find and watch movies and TV shows into one powerful app,” Apple says.
“The Apple TV app features Apple TV channels, personalised recommendations and over 100,000 iTunes movies and TV shows to browse, buy or rent — so users can enjoy 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos–supported movies.”
“The Watch Now section features Up Next, where viewers can keep track of what they are currently watching and resume on any screen.”
“This spring, Apple TV+, Apple’s original video subscription service, will be available in the Apple TV app.”
Apple Podcasts
“The popular Apple Podcasts app offers more than 700,000 shows in its catalogue and the option to automatically be notified of new episodes as soon as they become available,” Apple says.
“The app also features new categories, curated collections by editors around the world and advanced search tools that can find episodes by host, guest or even discussion topic.”
If you find old habits die hard, Apple will still offer an iTunes Store where you can buy and download songs and TV shows as per usual.
The only difference is that your purchases will now be housed in the aforementioned apps.
Apple is currently keeping schtum on what happens to iTunes on PC.
At the very least, we expect that the company will keep a legacy version kicking around for Windows users.
* Chris Jager is an editor at Lifehacker. He tweets at @JagerChris.
This article first appeared at www.lifehacker.com.au.
