The only times I use iTunes is when I want to add music to iCloud music library or want to load video on to my iPhone or iPad. You would think by now Apple would have a way to do this without needing to use desktop iTunes. Especially when they’re positioning iPad Pro as a laptop replacement. The iOS music and TV should allow you to add media. Having to download it on a desktop/laptop, import it into iTunes and then sync with your iPhone or iPad is retarded. Oh and while they’re at it, allow people to edit iCloud Music and imported video metadata on device. Having to do that through iTunes is silly too.
As far as video goes, I don't know why you'd waste all that time versus using a DLNA player that does wifi transfers. No transcoding, no syncing, etc. Infuse, nPlayer, VLC, etc.
I use Infuse for my video playback but never got the wireless transfer part to work so I gave up.
I was banging my head against the wall with trying to get Airplay to run a video from my Photos app on a Mac to the Apple TV and hear the audio on the HomePods connected to the TV. Then I hit the wall ... It seems to be Airplay video or HomePod audio, both are not possible it seems although part of me wonders if there is a way I have yet to find.
I honestly have no problem with iTunes, except maybe when they deleted the App section, because making a BLANK page is such a pain! But this is cool, just a bummer, cause THIS = Don't Forget to Backup to an external drive before this gets posted. No crying, it's your own fault if you loose you music collection....
The only times I use iTunes is when I want to add music to iCloud music library or want to load video on to my iPhone or iPad. You would think by now Apple would have a way to do this without needing to use desktop iTunes. Especially when they’re positioning iPad Pro as a laptop replacement. The iOS music and TV should allow you to add media. Having to download it on a desktop/laptop, import it into iTunes and then sync with your iPhone or iPad is retarded. Oh and while they’re at it, allow people to edit iCloud Music and imported video metadata on device. Having to do that through iTunes is silly too.
As far as video goes, I don't know why you'd waste all that time versus using a DLNA player that does wifi transfers. No transcoding, no syncing, etc. Infuse, nPlayer, VLC, etc.
I use Infuse for my video playback but never got the wireless transfer part to work so I gave up.
It’s working fine for me in Infuse 6 connected to my Plex library.
Apple still needs a strong local backup app for those of us who work with highly confidential, restricted or classified data on iPhone and iPad
There is no way that backup can go up on iCloud.
I can’t even put my contacts up on iCloud
On the other hand breaking up music, movies and books is fine. Otherwise, be careful what you wish for
Great to have separate apps for separate services. What I miss the most is a separate iCloud admin app. I single sign in to a Mac / IOS app that lets you administrate all the various iCloud services. I find that at present it is a convoluted mess shared between Settings, iTunes & a Web interface. I'd like an app, perhaps with a tabbed interface.
Remember the first iPods? You could just use the Finder or a file manager to copy/delete and otherwise manage the content on the iPod.
THAT was simple, straightforward, flexible and user-friendly.
Contrary to the current iTunes that is an absolute horror to use.
iTunes seems like it's the group where they assign interns and new hires, none of whom have ever had any UX or UI design training, much less heard of the old testament Apple HIG tomes.
It can be faulted for doing too much, but at the same time, it can do a lot.
However, for a long time now, when Apple deigns to rewrite its apps, it also has the unfortunate habit of stripping functions, dumbing them down, and disrupting user workflows.
This started with QT Player X, which never regained the functions of QT7 Player Apple claimed it would restore as it progressed on rewriting the QT architecture for OS X.
iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and even pure utilities like AirPort Utility and Disk Utility were victims of the same "lobotomize-it" Modus operandi.
A new Music app? Get ready for a hard sell for Apple Music, and bare bones acknowledgement of a user's local library. The iOS version has already shown the way.
Separating the disparate functions of iTunes into separate apps is a worthwhile goal. But anyone who believes that sum of the parts will equal the former whole as a result is kidding themselves.
iTunes seems like it's the group where they assign interns and new hires, none of whom have ever had any UX or UI design training, much less heard of the old testament Apple HIG tomes.
It can be faulted for doing too much, but at the same time, it can do a lot.
However, for a long time now, when Apple deigns to rewrite its apps, it also has the unfortunate habit of stripping functions, dumbing them down, and disrupting user workflows.
This started with QT Player X, which never regained the functions of QT7 Player Apple claimed it would restore as it progressed on rewriting the QT architecture for OS X.
iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and even pure utilities like AirPort Utility and Disk Utility were victims of the same "lobotomize-it" Modus operandi.
A new Music app? Get ready for a hard sell for Apple Music, and bare bones acknowledgement of a user's local library. The iOS version has already shown the way.
Separating the disparate functions of iTunes into separate apps is a worthwhile goal. But anyone who believes that sum of the parts will equal the former whole as a result is kidding themselves.
You nailed it. It's the Marzipan part of the story that makes me nervous. The iOS Music app is practically useless for library management, so if an iOS port is what Apple has in mind, I'm not looking forward to it.
I also agree that Apple's push to sell content is diminishing the utility of its software and devices. I appreciate being able to buy a song, TV show, or movie directly, but why does it have to be at the expense of giving equal time to material from other sources? None of the cool features of the current Apple TV, like search and the top row, work with content I've created myself or acquired from sources other than the iTunes Store. Anything not streamed or purchased from the iTunes Store is relegated to an isolated island, separate from everything else, in that stupid "Computers" tab/app. I can't even buy a single song with the Apple TV anymore -- the only option is to subscribe to Apple Music.
Given the examples of dumbed-down Apple apps you've cited, combined with my experience with the Apple TV, my fear is the Music app will become little more than just a playback interface for Apple Music with very little attention given to accommodating local libraries. I hope I'm wrong.
The moment iTunes totally corrupted my database of thousands of songs I moved from CD’s - stuff you don’t find on Spotify - was the moment I hated the app. My backups failed because of a failed Time Machine setup (another thing that needs to die!). Preoccupied hate that comes from the depths of your soul and every DNA strand in your body. Never I will have that music again after I destroyed these CD’s. What a piece of shit this app is and I have been waiting for years to see it die!
The moment iTunes totally corrupted my database of thousands of songs I moved from CD’s - stuff you don’t find on Spotify - was the moment I hated the app. My backups failed because of a failed Time Machine setup (another thing that needs to die!). Preoccupied hate that comes from the depths of your soul and every DNA strand in your body. Never I will have that music again after I destroyed these CD’s. What a piece of shit this app is and I have been waiting for years to see it die!
I have never, ever lost data to a mac. Yes, in several instances this is because I have a very detailed backup system of which Time Machine is just this first step.
I did rudely discover however long ago that iTunes dropped support for backup to optical media. I used to burn incremental backups of iTunes to DVD. But now a 4TB drive in a toaster does just fine.
It was so sad seeing how Apple took iTunes to the summit and then shoved it off the edge.
It was one of the great Apple applications even if it wasn't created at Apple. I enjoyed using it before it went to bloat hell.
It was a great piece of software up to a point in time even if the plumbing may have been leaking all over the place internally.
There came a point when I refused to update unless a major system update or new iDevice forced me too.
Too often it would do something akin to voodoo after updating and cause headaches on the libraries I manage. Not to mention all the unnecessary interface changes.
Apart from the bloat though, the single most infuriating thing for me, was doing something simple, like trying to put a 400k file on a device and have iTunes lumber through 7 or 8 steps before it was finished. Sometimes telling me that it couldn't be transferred because there wasn't enough space on the device and for me to realise I waswas that other iTunes hell hell called 'Other'.
My biggest wish has always been to be able to have a Finder mountable area on the device and stick whatever I wanted (media) on it and have the device read it, without it being in the iTunes library. The whole system for getting file on and devices was a pain.
I gave up on apple icloud years ago its terrible and the itunes debacle when it deleted 1000s of my own personal songs from my music library, when it synced up my library promising me aac. Apple always claimed it just works, those days are gone, what a joke it has no idea how to do the cloud correctly. I use as little of their servces as possible. I dont trust them to get it right, I gave up on apple music too when it started playing the wrong songs i asked for.
The moment iTunes totally corrupted my database of thousands of songs I moved from CD’s - stuff you don’t find on Spotify - was the moment I hated the app. My backups failed because of a failed Time Machine setup (another thing that needs to die!). Preoccupied hate that comes from the depths of your soul and every DNA strand in your body. Never I will have that music again after I destroyed these CD’s. What a piece of shit this app is and I have been waiting for years to see it die!
Here here, its about time it died, i lost 10000 songs i dutifully copied off cds. I cant tell you how angry i am at apple for their gross negligence. I winder how many billions they are losing because of that one event?
Comments
I want to see some nice improvements to the next Music App. In no particular order.
Haha
https://imgur.com/a/OpLMhF3
There is no way that backup can go up on iCloud.
I can’t even put my contacts up on iCloud
On the other hand breaking up music, movies and books is fine. Otherwise, be careful what you wish for
I also agree that Apple's push to sell content is diminishing the utility of its software and devices. I appreciate being able to buy a song, TV show, or movie directly, but why does it have to be at the expense of giving equal time to material from other sources? None of the cool features of the current Apple TV, like search and the top row, work with content I've created myself or acquired from sources other than the iTunes Store. Anything not streamed or purchased from the iTunes Store is relegated to an isolated island, separate from everything else, in that stupid "Computers" tab/app. I can't even buy a single song with the Apple TV anymore -- the only option is to subscribe to Apple Music.
Given the examples of dumbed-down Apple apps you've cited, combined with my experience with the Apple TV, my fear is the Music app will become little more than just a playback interface for Apple Music with very little attention given to accommodating local libraries. I hope I'm wrong.
I did rudely discover however long ago that iTunes dropped support for backup to optical media. I used to burn incremental backups of iTunes to DVD. But now a 4TB drive in a toaster does just fine.
Major Lifting -
Roon + Tidal + local library streaming to multiple endpoints.
Curation -
Pandora (still find it curates the best)
Apple Music
The reality is no matter what Apple creates it's not going to appeal to music lovers. It's going to be some iOS'ified mess.
It was one of the great Apple applications even if it wasn't created at Apple. I enjoyed using it before it went to bloat hell.
It was a great piece of software up to a point in time even if the plumbing may have been leaking all over the place internally.
There came a point when I refused to update unless a major system update or new iDevice forced me too.
Too often it would do something akin to voodoo after updating and cause headaches on the libraries I manage. Not to mention all the unnecessary interface changes.
Apart from the bloat though, the single most infuriating thing for me, was doing something simple, like trying to put a 400k file on a device and have iTunes lumber through 7 or 8 steps before it was finished. Sometimes telling me that it couldn't be transferred because there wasn't enough space on the device and for me to realise I waswas that other iTunes hell hell called 'Other'.
My biggest wish has always been to be able to have a Finder mountable area on the device and stick whatever I wanted (media) on it and have the device read it, without it being in the iTunes library. The whole system for getting file on and devices was a pain.