Apple kills iTunes for Windows, replaces with media apps

Windows 11 now has Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Devices apps

Apple has at long last introduced standalone Windows apps for Apple Music, Apple TV, and Devices management. All these features have been included within iTunes until now, though the apps do require that you be running Windows 11.

Available as preview apps at Microsoft Store

All three preview apps are now available at the Microsoft Store. As you’d expect, both Music and TV do precisely what they say on the can: They let you access Apple’s music and TV services and let you explore content you own and purchase additional content via Apple’s store.

You get all the functionality of these apps, including lyric search and the ability to subscribe to some channels. They are not compatible with Windows on ARM or Windows 10.

One big (and I think it is a fairly big) problem is that if you install the apps you will lose iTunes functionality, which means you won’t be able to play your audiobooks or podcasts, apparently. I hope this failing’s fixed soon, and I think Apple alludes to this being the case when it warns that not all features are fully functional on these apps.

Steve Jobs called iTunes for Windows a “glass of iced water in Hell”.

Music, TV, Devices

Apple history nuts will note the importance attached to iTunes for Windows.

Introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2003 as a “glass of water” in Hell for Windows users in terms of being usable software, the release was vital to the explosive adoption of iPod, the evolution of digital music, and the survival of the music industry in the face of the music piracy rampant at that time. (As thanks, the industry supported Spotify, but there you go).

iTunes for Windows also put Apple firmly into the mobile spotlight, a position it exploited to the full on the introduction of iPhone.

Now iTunes has left the building to be replaced by these three new apps.

What they do

Apple Devices takes all the device management features you need if you are a Windows user who owns iPhones, iPads, or iPod touch. You’ll use Devices in future to install software, restore and backup those devices locally or to iCloud.

Mac users will be familiar with this tripartite division. They have had dedicated apps for Music and TV for some while now, and device management features are built into the Finder (the Mac File Manager, I suppose). That’s not possible on Windows which is why Apple has built this app.

The three apps are available as previews from Microsoft’s app store.

Caveat emptor

It’s important once again to stress that these are preview versions of the apps, which means not all features may work as expected.

“After installing the Apple Music preview, iTunes will no longer open, and audiobooks or podcasts on this device will be inaccessible until a compatible version of iTunes is released. To revert back to iTunes, you’ll need to uninstall this version of the app,” Apple warns.

It’s possible this isn’t the only major announcement we can look forward to from Apple services in terms of cross-platform compatibility – a December rumor speculated Apple to be developing similar apps for Android.

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