(CelebrityAccess) – Apple has officially killed off iTunes with its latest Mac software update, Catalina.
Moving the features of iTunes into their own separate apps, Apple has replaced the once-revolutionary program, which launched back in 2003, two years after the iPod’s debut, with: Apple Music, Apple TV, and Podcasts.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
Apple’s new Music app, which gets the old iTunes icon, is now the new home for music on your Mac. That includes songs previously bought from the iTunes store or ripped from CDs, as well as Apple’s free online radio stations. It’s also the home for Apple’s $10-a-month music subscription.
With Catalina, Apple Music subscribers will no longer see the iTunes music store, unless they restore it in settings. Non-subscribers will see the store as a tab, along with plenty of ways to subscribe to Apple Music. (On iPhones, iTunes Store remains its own app for buying music and video.)
Though the iTunes store for TV shows and movies will still feature prominently on Macs, it will now be a part of the TV app. Video available to buy or rent will be mixed in with other movies and shows – including exclusive offerings through Apple TV Plus.
Meanwhile, the new Podcasts app gets a feature that indexes individual episodes, so you can more easily search for actors or fads that don’t appear in the podcast’s text description.
The Mac previously got separate apps for voice memos and books, including audiobooks. The iPhone syncing and backup functions traditionally found in iTunes have now been incorporated into the Mac’s navigation interface, Finder.
While that’s only a taste of what’s new with macOS Catalina – Apple’s new Sidecar feature lets you use your iPad as a second display on your Mac, new accessibility features let you control your Mac by voice, and Screen Time controls allow you to limit how long you can use certain apps – one thing is for certain, the iTunes era has officially come to an end.
RIP iTunes.
