Apple Officially Splits iTunes for Windows Into Apple Music, TV, and Devices Apps

The Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Devices apps that Apple has been testing for Windows machines have officially launched, ending a long preview period and bringing an end to the iTunes app on some computers.

apple music preview microsoft store
The ‌Apple Music‌, ‌Apple TV‌, and Apple Devices app are part of Apple's effort to split iTunes on PC into multiple platforms to mirror how these apps work on Macs. On Windows 10 and later, PC customers can download the three separate apps to manage devices and access ‌Apple Music‌ and ‌Apple TV‌ content.

Microsoft first announced plans for ‌Apple Music‌ and ‌Apple TV‌ apps for the Microsoft Store back in October 2022, so the split from iTunes has been in the works for more than a year.

Standalone Apple Music, Apple Devices, and Apple TV apps launched in a preview capacity in January 2023, and Apple has been making regular updates since then. As of today, the "Preview" label has been removed from the three Windows apps.

The ‌Apple Music‌ app gives Windows users a way to listen to and manage music from their iTunes library, including iTunes Store purchases, while the ‌Apple TV‌ app allows users to watch and manage movies and TV shows from iTunes. Both of the apps also give access to Apple's streaming services, ‌Apple Music‌ and ‌Apple TV‌+.

The Apple Devices app is designed to allow PC owners to update, back up, and restore and manage their iPhones and iPads, and sync content from their PCs.

Using the standalone apps requires Windows 10 or later, and all three apps must be installed to transition away from iTunes. After the apps have been added to a PC, iTunes is used only to access podcasts and audiobooks. The iTunes library should not be deleted, because it is used by the ‌Apple Music‌ and ‌Apple TV‌ apps.

PC users not able to update to Windows 10 can continue to use iTunes, but the new standalone apps offer a much more modern and simple-to-use experience that closer mirrors Mac interfaces.

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Top Rated Comments

Razorpit Avatar
15 months ago

Splitting these into more apps is a worse experience for the user. I'll take one robust app over multiple any day.
Came here to say the same thing. I don’t know if I’m getting older or what, but back in the day I rarely needed to look anything up to use Apple/Mac software and applications. Now I have to constantly look stuff up on the internet to find where the heck {insert common action/feature here} is.

All this stuff doesn’t seem as intuitive as it use to be. Is it just me?
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Slix Avatar
15 months ago
I’d like to see how they did the Devices app, because holy cow syncing iPods and iPhones from the Finder in macOS is way worse than iTunes ever was.

What about Podcasts on Windows?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MysticCow Avatar
15 months ago
What the hell was wrong with iTunes?

Attachment Image
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
15 months ago

What's the point of this exactly?
People constantly screamed that iTunes was 'bloated' because it had more than three buttons. Those of us who actually used it now have to suffer this mess as a result.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonDiesel Avatar
15 months ago
Good. This was a step in the right direction for Apple. It's nice to see them cater to their consumers that may also be users of PCs as well as their devices.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
15 months ago

It’s not like Music on MacOS is much better. It’s a bad experience
Apple Music is a bad experience on any platform.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)