For those of you who lose your mind every time Twitter changes its web interface, or who feel lost every time Google discontinues a product that was essential to your life (R.I.P. Google Reader), you’d better sit down. iTunes is officially dead, and, well, there’s nothing we can do about it.
On Oct. 7, Apple released the latest version of its operating system for Macs, called macOS Catalina, and I’m sad to report that there were some casualties. In just one of many changes, Apple decided to kill iTunes, replacing it with three different entertainment apps: Apple TV, Apple Music and Apple Podcasts.
According to a press release from Apple, the new Music app will give users access to over 50 million songs, playlists and music videos.
Apple Podcasts, meanwhile, is home to more than 700,000 shows and includes new show categories, curated collections, advanced search tools and options for new episode notifications.
Finally, the Apple TV app is where you’ll find all of the Apple TV channels, plus the entire catalog of over 100,000 iTunes movies and TV shows. Apple’s original video subscription service, Apple TV+, will become available in the app on Nov. 1.
Presumably, this move to separate apps for different types of media is the brand’s answer to longtime complaints about how “clunky and bloated” iTunes had become.
For those of you who hate change (me), rest assured that you will still have access to your entire music library and will be able to purchase new music from the iTunes Store. Also, according to VentureBeat, Apple has assured them that version 12.8 of iTunes “will ‘always’ remain as a download for prior macOS versions, and version 12.9.4 still exists for PCs.” (Whew!)
And for those worried about syncing up their old iPods, iPhones and iPads, you can easily do that in Catalina’s Finder.
But the demise of iTunes isn’t the only big change for Mac users.
What macOS Catalina Has To Offer
In addition to the three new media apps, this operating system also offers Apple Arcade, a game subscription service, a new feature called Sidecar, which allows you to expand your desktop display onto your iPad, Voice Control, which allows you to control your Mac with your voice and more.
You’ll also be able to get Mac versions of many of your favorite iPad apps, including Twitter, TripIt, Post-It, GoodNotes and Jira.
How To Upgrade To macOS Catalina
MacOS Catalina is free to download, and you can find it in the Mac App Store. Just be aware that the operating system is designed to work on select Apple computers. According to Digital Trends, the following Macs are eligible to run the new software:
- 12-inch MacBook
- MacBook Air (2012 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2012 or later)
- Mac mini (2012 or later)
- iMac (2012 or later)
- iMac Pro
- Mac Pro (2013 or later)
Are you looking forward to the updates that come with this new operating system? Or are you busy mourning your iTunes app?
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