macOS 10.15's Music app should retain core iTunes features

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
While Apple is expected to split iTunes into several apps in macOS 10.15, due sometime this fall, the new Music app will reportedly keep most of iTunes's associated functions.

An existing version of iTunes.
An existing version of iTunes.


This includes "smart" playlists, library management, and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods. People should even be able to continue burning and playing CDs, despite the push towards on-demand streaming through Apple Music.

The app will allegedly be based off of AppKit, again like iTunes. Earlier rumors suggested it might rely on Marzipan, Apple's platform for porting iOS apps to the Mac.

The claims stem from "sources familiar with the development of the OS," cited by 9to5Mac.

Other anticipated iTunes spinoffs include Podcasts and TV, the latter important given the upcoming launches of Apple TV Channels and Apple TV+. It's not clear if those will use Marzipan as previously claimed, but that might save Apple developers some work considering the existence of equivalent apps on the iPad.

Mac and Windows users alike have complained about the bloated nature of iTunes, which impacts its speed and interface. A remaining question is whether Apple will split up the software on Windows too.

macOS 10.15 should be previewed at Apple's WWDC 2019 keynote on June 3.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    While Apple is expected to split iTunes into several apps in macOS 10.15, due sometime this fall, the new Music app will reportedly keep most of iTunes's associated functions.

    This includes "smart" playlists, library management

    Good! And indeed, phew!
    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    edited May 2019 spice-boy
  • Reply 2 of 17
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 966member
    Probably just referring to syncing of music libraries and playlists, that's sort of necessary and fundamental.
    chasm
  • Reply 3 of 17
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    mr. h said:
    While Apple is expected to split iTunes into several apps in macOS 10.15, due sometime this fall, the new Music app will reportedly keep most of iTunes's associated functions.

    This includes "smart" playlists, library management

    Good! And indeed, phew!
    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    I totally agree with you however I suspect Apple wants people to see iTunes at every turn to sell content to us. 
  • Reply 4 of 17
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    mr. h said:

    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    I don't disagree with separate piece of software for syncing. Just need it to work on Windows too. I do not want cloud backup to be the only option.
    cornchip
  • Reply 5 of 17
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    mike1 said:
    mr. h said:

    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    I don't disagree with separate piece of software for syncing. Just need it to work on Windows too. I do not want cloud backup to be the only option.
    This has to be the crux of the matter for Apple. Didn't they at one time have an app called Sync or iSync or something? I seem to remember syncing an old Zire21 using that App. It was in the earlier days of my using Apple products and I recall being a little confused at why they didn't just use that app to do all the syncing. Reminded me of their ImageCapture app. Not fancy, just did it's job. 
    edited May 2019 polymnia
  • Reply 6 of 17
    cmd-zcmd-z Posts: 69member
    mr. h said:

    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    Multiple apps for syncing different media types? No thanks.

    Say what you will about iTunes, I much prefer a one-stop shop for procuring, managing, and syncing media to my devices.  The removal of the App Store was a step backwards for app management on the device, so I'm not looking forward to more of this.  As a compromise, maybe a single app for syncing all media types, but you still have to break out to other apps for procuring and managing media, then back to "sync" in another app.  Talk about a clusterfuck!

    I don't get all this talk of "bloat" ... are you running iTunes on ancient hardware?  It runs smooth as silk on my Mac, and I have a sizeable library.
    edited May 2019 cornchippratikindia
  • Reply 7 of 17
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    cornchip said:
    mike1 said:
    mr. h said:

    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    I don't disagree with separate piece of software for syncing. Just need it to work on Windows too. I do not want cloud backup to be the only option.
    This has to be the crux of the matter for Apple. Didn't they at one time have an app called Sync or iSync or something? I seem to remember syncing an old Zire21 using that App. It was in the earlier days of my using Apple products and I recall being a little confused at why they didn't just use that app to do all the syncing. Reminded me of their ImageCapture app. Not fancy, just did it's job. 
    iSync was a very early management app for iPods etc, that was later absorbed into iTunes. I would prefer to see it (or a more modern version of it) return to manage devices, even if the interface for managing content on devices was in the individual media apps (Music, TV/Video, Books, etc). That would also possibly open up the possibility of other applications (eg Kindle or Audible) plugging into an API to manage content from the desktop, as opposed to only being able to do it on the device. (I expect you still wouldn't be able to buy content from within the apps, if the vendor doesn't want to give Apple their cut.)

    There is the possibility Apple won't open up that API, at least not straight away, so I wouldn't want to count on it happening. That's assuming they actually go that way. (Fingers crossed.)
  • Reply 8 of 17
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    cornchip said:
    mike1 said:
    mr. h said:

    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    I don't disagree with separate piece of software for syncing. Just need it to work on Windows too. I do not want cloud backup to be the only option.
    This has to be the crux of the matter for Apple. Didn't they at one time have an app called Sync or iSync or something? I seem to remember syncing an old Zire21 using that App. It was in the earlier days of my using Apple products and I recall being a little confused at why they didn't just use that app to do all the syncing. Reminded me of their ImageCapture app. Not fancy, just did it's job. 
    I remember iSync. It was great. It was the glue necessary to make your Mac the hub of your digital life back in the era before Apple made every product in your life. It was forgotten once Apple’s own mobile gadgets took over the world. And, of course, we have the Cloud now, where most syncing happens. 
    litoloop
  • Reply 9 of 17
    Star ratings better stay, that's all I care… oh and the visualizer, need that.
    minicoffee
  • Reply 10 of 17
    polymnia said:
    cornchip said:
    mike1 said:
    mr. h said:

    and syncing with iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
    Not good! Synching of iPhones is where all the bloat started to happen in iTunes. Why should a music app be in charge of synching things with an iPhone or iPad that contains music, movies, photos, loads of other miscellaneous data, and apps? It makes no sense! Apple should have a dedicated iOS <-> macOS sync. app, or use a Music app for synching music, a Videos app (that doesn't currently exist) for synching video files, Photos for synching photos, and the App Store for synching and managing apps.
    I don't disagree with separate piece of software for syncing. Just need it to work on Windows too. I do not want cloud backup to be the only option.
    This has to be the crux of the matter for Apple. Didn't they at one time have an app called Sync or iSync or something? I seem to remember syncing an old Zire21 using that App. It was in the earlier days of my using Apple products and I recall being a little confused at why they didn't just use that app to do all the syncing. Reminded me of their ImageCapture app. Not fancy, just did it's job. 
    I remember iSync. It was great. It was the glue necessary to make your Mac the hub of your digital life back in the era before Apple made every product in your life. It was forgotten once Apple’s own mobile gadgets took over the world. And, of course, we have the Cloud now, where most syncing happens. 
    Sniff… I miss iSync.
  • Reply 11 of 17
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    How about drag and drop file support for iOS devices? Oh that's right, Apple doesn't trust us with file systems...
    edited May 2019 williamlondon
  • Reply 12 of 17
    saintstryfesaintstryfe Posts: 142member
    hentaiboy said:
    How about drag and drop file support for iOS devices? Oh that's right, Apple doesn't trust us with file systems...
    Working daily with people's files, I think they're 100% right not trust the vast majority. Most, to be blunt, are complete morons. Simple is better. 
    anome
  • Reply 13 of 17
    Here's hoping that whatever iTunes becomes doesn't still suck on Windows.  Freakin' Windows Explorer is a better content manager on Windows than iTunes is.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    samrodsamrod Posts: 60unconfirmed, member
    Regardless how well Apple pulls this off, there's no chance there won't be major outrage. Just browsing this thread alone it's clear that people have different needs, expectations, and opinions. But nice to see iTunes finally getting serious attention after all these years.
  • Reply 15 of 17
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    Running iunes too fancy and make transition hell cause that I started using all other applications from market. Even backup for phones is from dr.Fone better than iTunes. Streaming works with Plex or Serviio with no issues and not reserved to Apple ecosystem only (it is on Apple devices as well os Android, Amazon and any others). iTunes split will cause some of us to only rent a movie and buy a music then convert it to MP3 and put under Serviio or Plex control where you can create playlists already (no need for Apple)
  • Reply 16 of 17
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Good to hear. Definitely want to keep the advanced library management stuff, especially Song view with configurable/sortable columns and everything that comes with that.

    I feel like they should maybe fully move device management/backups to Configurator (and maybe rebrand it to something less vague-sounding).
  • Reply 17 of 17
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Also, @Roger_Fingas ;Merzbow? Wow. Hope you were aiming to get randoms to look him up on Apple Music and freak out. :)
    kgarr
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