Yesterday, Apple unveiled macOS Catalina. During the company’s presentation, it was announced that iTunes, the hated music software that’s almost 20 years old, would be broken up into three new Mac apps to give users easier access to music, TV, and podcasts. Because of this, many presumed iTunes was finally dead since it wouldn’t even ship with Catalina. But as it turns out, the software hasn’t been buried just yet.
Ars Technica published an article which cited comments from Apple that confirm iTunes will be sticking around on Windows 10. The tech giant apparently has no plans to bring the new Music, TV, and Podcasts apps to Windows. As a result, the company has no plans to drop support for the software on the world’s biggest desktop operating system.
A big part of the reason why iTunes is so hated is because of the experience on Windows 10. It’s sluggish, crowded with unnecessary features, and overall unpleasant to use on a regular basis. The worst part is Apple’s done nothing meaningful to improve the experience, resulting in an old and crusty app that no one likes to even open.
I don’t have the slightest clue as to why Apple won’t replace iTunes on Windows with better alternatives. Perhaps it’s because they don’t have a tool that lets you sync your iPhone or iPad with your Windows machine. Right now, that tool is iTunes. Maybe just strip iTunes of all the fluff it’s been filled with over the years and leave it strictly for syncing? I don’t know.
At least for the foreseeable future, iTunes will remain alive and well on Windows. I doubt it’ll get any updates, but it will live to see another year… or two… or three.
