Is iTunes going away on my iPhone?

[TwoLaneHighway]

In another trhead of mine talking about potentially upgrading to Big Sur on my rMBP, I thought someone had said that iTunes is going away on Macs?

If so, I assume this also applies to iOS and my iPhone?

 

[retta283]

iTunes has been gone since Catalina was released 2 years ago. Now replaced by a few apps but Music is the main replacement, syncing is done via Finder now. Music app still can access the iTunes music store to purchase music.

The setup on iOS has not changed, still the same old Music app and iTunes store, this is unlikely to change any time soon and no rumors suggest it will.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

iTunes has been gone since Catalina was released 2 years ago.

Shows you how much I know. Of course I am on a pre-Catalina OS on my rMBP's, so for I still have iTunes.

And on my iPhine I don't listen to must yet.

Now replaced by a few apps but Music is the main replacement, syncing is done via Finder now. Music app still can access the iTunes music store to purchase music.

So people still buy music via the iTunes store?

The setup on iOS has not changed, still the same old Music app and iTunes store, this is unlikely to change any time soon and no rumors suggest it will.

So why did Apple get rid of iTunes?

And what is different or better in the Music app?

 

[retta283]

Shows you how much I know. Of course I am on a pre-Catalina OS on my rMBP's, so for I still have iTunes.

And on my iPhine I don't listen to must yet.




So people still buy music via the iTunes store?




So why did Apple get rid of iTunes?

And what is different or better in the Music app?

Some people do, of course Apple is pushing streaming hard now but I like to buy occasional songs from iTunes still.

It seems Apple got rid of iTunes because people were complaining it was too bloated with extra features and the codebase was pretty old. The Music app removes all the video/TV functionality, podcasts, books, etc. It's just a music player and streamer with the Storefront built in. There are some missing features in terms of organizing music but to be honest I'm not sure of the specifics.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

Some people do, of course Apple is pushing streaming hard now but I like to buy occasional songs from iTunes still.

So people are buying streaming music?

And kids are buying streaming songs? Like if someone wanted to listen to "Stairway to Heaven", they would buy a stream and not own it?

It seems Apple got rid of iTunes because people were complaining it was too bloated with extra features and the codebase was pretty old.

Okay.

The Music app removes all the video/TV functionality, podcasts, books, etc. It's just a music player and streamer with the Storefront built in.

So if you buy music through the Music app and the corresponding store, then you can only buy streaming music?

And if you want to buy a music file you have to use the iTunes store?

Are there any alternative - and maybe better - audio players for macOS and iOS?

And what about if I want to watch a video? How would I do that moving forward on macOS and iOS?

There are some missing features in terms of organizing music but to be honest I'm not sure of the specifics.

But Music is considered "cleaner" than iTunes?

What do you use to purchase and listen to music?

What do you use to watch videos and movies?

 

[retta283]

So people are buying streaming music?

And kids are buying streaming songs? Like if someone wanted to listen to "Stairway to Heaven", they would buy a stream and not own it?




Okay.




So if you buy music through the Music app and the corresponding store, then you can only buy streaming music?

And if you want to buy a music file you have to use the iTunes store?

Are there any alternative - and maybe better - audio players for macOS and iOS?

And what about if I want to watch a video? How would I do that moving forward on macOS and iOS?




But Music is considered "cleaner" than iTunes?

What do you use to purchase and listen to music?

What do you use to watch videos and movies?

There's two different services, iTunes music store and Apple Music. iTunes allows you to buy and own the songs, download them to your computer and sync with local devices, just as has been the case since 2003. Apple Music is a streaming service that has a monthly subscription fee but gives unlimited access to the library of songs. You cannot download them as files to a computer though, so you technically don't own the songs.

If you buy music in the app for Mac it's through iTunes and so they are locally stored files that you own (can DRM strip them if you like) There's a separate menu for subscribers to the streaming service.

Videos and movies are done through the TV app on both Mac and iOS.

I'm not aware of many alternative music apps that are still around, the only one I use is VLC. There were apps similar to Winamp for Mac, but they are unsupported by now.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

There's two different services, iTunes music store and Apple Music. iTunes allows you to buy and own the songs, download them to your computer and sync with local devices, just as has been the case since 2003. Apple Music is a streaming service that has a monthly subscription fee but gives unlimited access to the library of songs. You cannot download them as files to a computer though, so you technically don't own the songs.

I prefer owning what I buy, plus subscription services are designed to keep you as a slave for life, plus Apple probably tracks you like some stalker with their streaming service.

If you buy music in the app for Mac it's through iTunes and so they are locally stored files that you own (can DRM strip them if you like)

What does stripping DRM do?

There's a separate menu for subscribers to the streaming service.

Videos and movies are done through the TV app on both Mac and iOS.

So do most people watch things like YouTube via the TV app on their phones?

Or do they use another app or just use browsers?

I'm not aware of many alternative music apps that are still around, the only one I use is VLC. There were apps similar to Winamp for Mac, but they are unsupported by now.

Does VLC work on an iPhone?

I tend to prefer open-source, but am clueless about music and movies and streaming - especially on my iPhone?

(I am asking because I have a few project ideas where I need music and video and am wondering the best way to approach things...)

 

[Boyd01]

On the Mac, they tried to separate the main components of iTunes into different apps. For example, it never made any sense that you would use a program called "iTunes" for things file sharing and backing up your phone. And, conceptually at least, it makes sense to separate video from music.

You manage the iPhone now directly from the Finder, it shows up as a device in the sidebar which (IMO) makes sense. If you want to share media on your Mac with the AppleTV or other devices, that is controlled by the sharing tab in System Preferences which also makes sense.

IMO, the problems come with the somewhat buggy/incomplete implementation of the new TV and Music apps on the Mac. For the most part, the Music app seems to work for me. But home sharing doesn't work quite right in the TV app, shared playlists are completely broken. That's a real annoyance for me, because I use a Mini as a media server and have a lot of TV, movie and home video playlists that cannot be accessed in the TV app. The same playlists work fine on my AppleTV's and in iTunes on an older Mac.

 

[retta283]

What does stripping DRM do?

Files purchased from iTunes have code in them that prevent them from being played without authorization, although it's quite relaxed and almost anything will play them these days without removing the DRM. For example Windows Media Player will play my iTunes files fine even with no trace of Apple software on that computer.

So do most people watch things like YouTube via the TV app on their phones?

Or do they use another app or just use browsers?

Most people watch YouTube via the YouTube app, other things have their own apps or sites. TV is mostly for ripped DVDs or downloaded videos to be added to, or TV shows/movies bought off iTunes.

 

[retta283]

Does VLC work on an iPhone?

Seems like they do have a mobile version but I haven't tried it as I still use iPods for music.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

On the Mac, they tried to separate the main components of iTunes into different apps. For example, it never made any sense that you would use a program called "iTunes" for things file sharing and backing up your phone. And, conceptually at least, it makes sense to separate video from music.

Okay, I follow. Yeah, I thought it was super confusing to have to use iTunes to transfer files!

You manage the iPhone now directly from the Finder, it shows up as a device in the sidebar which (IMO) makes sense.

Once I upgrade to Big Sur, then that will be a much welcomed improvement!

If you want to share media on your Mac with the AppleTV or other devices, that is controlled by the sharing tab in System Preferences which also makes sense.

Okay.

IMO, the problems come with the somewhat buggy/incomplete implementation of the new TV and Music apps on the Mac. For the most part, the Music app seems to work for me. But home sharing doesn't work quite right in the TV app, shared playlists are completely broken. That's a real annoyance for me, because I use a Mini as a media server and have a lot of TV, movie and home video playlists that cannot be accessed in the TV app. The same playlists work fine on my AppleTV's and in iTunes on an older Mac.

That's too bad.

So you use Music for music and TV for for TV and movies?

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

Here are two things I would like to do...

(Don't laugh, because I am not a traditional smartphone users!)

I would like a way to possibly play MP3's on my iPhone - most likely my iPhone 6S Plus - and possibly play the music using an external speaker in conjunction with the iPhone.

I potentially want a way to play MP4 or similar movies on my iPhone - although this might be done on a future iPad I purchase, but it's still the same iOS, right?

Maybe starting another trhead makes sense? (These things relate to some video work I am doing.)

 

[Boyd01]

All of that is easily done with the new Music and TV apps on your Mac and your phone. On the Mac, you can add mp3's to the Music app and mp4's to the TV app by simply dragging them there. If you turn on media sharing, you can access all of these with wifi on your iPhone, iPad, AppleTV and other Macs on your home network. Or if you like, you can sync them with your iPhone/iPad or manually manage them (depending on your settings).

This is how it worked before, but you now would use the TV app, Music app and System Preferences on the Mac whereas before it was all done through iTunes.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

All of that is easily done with the new Music and TV apps on your Mac and your phone. On the Mac, you can add mp3's to the Music app and mp4's to the TV app by simply dragging them there. If you turn on media sharing, you can access all of these with wifi on your iPhone, iPad, AppleTV and other Macs on your home network. Or if you like, you can sync them with your iPhone/iPad or manually manage them (depending on your settings).

This is how it worked before, but you now would use the TV app, Music app and System Preferences on the Mac whereas before it was all done through iTunes.

I'm an old-timer and when I listen to music or movies - most of which I create - I preferred to just go into Finder and double-click on a file and hae it load up in a player.

Can i do that in Big Sur with the Music and TV apps?

I guess that workflow doesn't work on an iPhone, huh?

 

[Boyd01]

If you double-click a music or video file, I believe the default action will be for it to open in either the TV or Music app on the Mac. And I think it will also automatically add it to your media library at the same time. At least, I think that is what happens if you don't change any settings. I am still on Catalina, so there could be changes however. And I have VLC set as the default video player on my Mac (if it's installed, you can do this by selecting a video file, pressing CMD-I and setting the default app for all files of that type).

If you want to access the media on your phone, as I said, you can use home sharing where you could open it in the Music or TV apps, or you could copy/sync the media to install it on your phone. BTW, since you asked earlier, VLC is available for iOS. I tried it last year and found it so buggy that I deleted it. Maybe it's better now?

 

[Henry 3 Dogg]

There's two different services, iTunes music store and Apple Music. iTunes allows you to buy and own the songs, download them to your computer and sync with local devices, just as has been the case since 2003. Apple Music is a streaming service that has a monthly subscription fee but gives unlimited access to the library of songs. You cannot download them as files to a computer though, so you technically don't own the songs.

If you buy music in the app for Mac it's through iTunes and so they are locally stored files that you own (can DRM strip them if you like) There's a separate menu for subscribers to the streaming service.

Videos and movies are done through the TV app on both Mac and iOS.

I'm not aware of many alternative music apps that are still around, the only one I use is VLC. There were apps similar to Winamp for Mac, but they are unsupported by now.

Will you (not just you. The press are largely at fault for teaching this misuse), Will you please stop saying "streaming" when you mean "subscription"

Streaming is a delivery model. All music bought from iTunes music store has been streamable for as long as I can remember. And I still use iTunes Match to stream stuff that I didn't buy from Apple.

Subscription is a payment model. Loved by the young who don't have an extensive music library and shunned by the older who rarely add to their music library these days.

Apple Music is a subscription service. You can stream or download the music but you won't be abe to play the downloads if your subscription expires.

iTunes music store is a purchase service. Again you can stream or download the music

 

[retta283]

Will you (not just you. The press are largely at fault for teaching this misuse), Will you please stop saying "streaming" when you mean "subscription"

Streaming is a delivery model. All music bought from iTunes music store has been streamable for as long as I can remember. And I still use iTunes Match to stream stuff that I didn't buy from Apple.

Subscription is a payment model. Loved by the young who don't have an extensive music library and shunned by the older who rarely add to their music library these days.

Apple Music is a subscription service. You can stream or download the music but you won't be abe to play the downloads if your subscription expires.

iTunes music store is a purchase service. Again you can stream or download the music

I guess I haven't given it enough thought to abandon the use of the word streaming in this case. I'm one of those luddites that only plays music from local files so I tend to equate streaming with any online listening medium, whether subscription based or not. Forgot about Match completely when writing these posts, I haven't used that in at least a decade because it was always flaky with what would work and what would not.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

Will you (not just you. The press are largely at fault for teaching this misuse), Will you please stop saying "streaming" when you mean "subscription"

Streaming is a delivery model. All music bought from iTunes music store has been streamable for as long as I can remember. And I still use iTunes Match to stream stuff that I didn't buy from Apple.

Subscription is a payment model. Loved by the young who don't have an extensive music library and shunned by the older who rarely add to their music library these days.

Apple Music is a subscription service. You can stream or download the music but you won't be abe to play the downloads if your subscription expires.

iTunes music store is a purchase service. Again you can stream or download the music

Thank you for explaining that - I had no clue!

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

If you double-click a music or video file, I believe the default action will be for it to open in either the TV or Music app on the Mac.

That is for both macOS and iOS?

And I think it will also automatically add it to your media library at the same time.

Can you disable that feature?

When it adds it to your library, is it just adding a pointer or is it adding the physical file? (As I recall, iTunes would make copies of whatever you opened and store the physical file in its directories, which was problematic as it took up unnecessary space.)

Again, I just want a player to play things, and not add it to the app. I prefer my files to stay on the file system and not try and be so helpful.

If you want to access the media on your phone, as I said, you can use home sharing where you could open it in the Music or TV apps, or you could copy/sync the media to install it on your phone. BTW, since you asked earlier, VLC is available for iOS. I tried it last year and found it so buggy that I deleted it. Maybe it's better now?

If I want to put a song or video onto my iPhone 6S Plus which is running some old iOS from my MacBook Pro which is on Sierra, I believe that I would use iTunes?

What about once I update my MBP to Big Sur, and I want to copy things to my old iPhone 6S Plus?

And what about if I am using Big Sur and I am on my iPhone 11 or 112 which would have the latest iOS's?

 

[Boyd01]

iOS is not like MacOS, there is no "Finder". Generally speaking, to play music or watch video, you need to open an app, then choose what you want to watch or listen to.

On the Mac, if you look at the preferences in the Music and TV app, there are options that control how it behaves. And, as I posted above, in the Finder you can choose what program to use when opening your media files.

Sierra is quite old, are you sure your Mac is capable of running Big Sur? And even if it is, there might be some question as to whether it's a good idea in terms of performance, depending on your computer.

macOS Big Sur is compatible with these computers - Apple Support

You can install macOS Big Sur on any of these Mac models.

support.apple.com

You might want to ask about this in our MacBook Pro forum if you are unsure

MacBook Pro

Questions and answers about Apple's professional and prosumer laptops

forums.macrumors.com

Sorry, your questions are getting a bit beyond what I'm able to help with at the moment. Hopefully others will chime in with some suggestions though.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

iOS is not like MacOS, there is no "Finder". Generally speaking, to play music or watch video, you need to open an app, then choose what you want to watch or listen to.

So if I have 100 videos, how would I see them on my iPhone 6S Plus?

And how would I see them on my iPhone 11 Pro Max with the latest iOS?

There must be some way to see a "listing" of files like you do in Finder.

On the Mac, if you look at the preferences in the Music and TV app, there are options that control how it behaves. And, as I posted above, in the Finder you can choose what program to use when opening your media files.

Okay.

Sierra is quite old, are you sure your Mac is capable of running Big Sur? And even if it is, there might be some question as to whether it's a good idea in terms of performance, depending on your computer.

Actually I have some other threads going on this, and I have decided to upgrade to Big Sur on my 2nd rMBP. And that explains why I am hoping around in this thread! Currently I have an iPhone 6S Plus with old iOS, and then an iPhone 11 Pro Max and a 12 Pro Max.

I am trying to figure out what I can and cannot do on my older iPhone for video productions.

So trying to get a 20,000 foot view of t=some things so I know where to begin.

Sorry if that sounds cryptic.

Sorry, your questions are getting a bit beyond what I'm able to help with at the moment. Hopefully others will chime in with some suggestions though.

No, you are doing great, and sorry if I am hoping around. I have so much on my plate this week I literally feel dizzy. Hopefully things will calm down as I figure things out.

 

[Boyd01]

Things really haven't changed much on the iPhone in this regard (I upgraded from a 6s Plus to a 12 Pro Max myself last year). Seems like we are covering the same ground here, you can either sync your phone with your Mac or choose to manually manage it and just copy the videos you want there. In both cases, you would open the TV app on the phone and they will appear in the "Library" section.

Your iPhone 6s Plus can also run iOS 14, I have it installed on mine, so things would be the same there. Honestly, I don't remember how this worked with old versions of iOS... IIRC there was a "Video" app that worked similarly. Alternately, you could install a 3rd party video app on the phone and use file sharing to copy your videos there. See the documentation for those apps for more help. The "files" app on iOS may offer another way to access videos.

Another approach might be to put your video on a site like Vimeo and then access them over the internet with their app (I do this myself).

 

[Yog]

Question... I'm old fashioned and buy CDs to add to my music library. With the new "Music" app, can I still add music to my "music app" from the CDs?
Please tell me Apple hasn't killed off old dinosaurs like me?

 

[Zamink]

Please tell me Apple hasn't killed off old dinosaurs like me?

This day will not be too far.

 

[Boyd01]

Yes, you can still import CD's or music files from other sources (such as Amazon). Pretty much the same as always.

Import songs from CDs into Music on Mac

In Music on Mac, choose what happens when you insert a CD, import songs from a CD, and solve problems importing songs from CDs.

support.apple.com