The end of the iApps?

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Has anybody else noticed this trend?

iDVD- Gone
iWeb- Gone
iCal -> Calendar
iChat -> Messages
iWork -> Pages, Numbers and Keynote (now they are only sold seperately so the iWork name is slowly becoming irrelevant)
Facetime
Reminders
Notes
Contacts
Mail
iLife has diverged into Garageband, iPhoto (with iOS being simply Photos, OS X soon to follow?), and iMovie (this one might actually stick, unless Apple tried to change it to something like "Studio")
Music (iOS)
Videos (iOS)
Safari
App Store
Photo Booth

That leaves us only with one... and it's a biggie. iTunes.

iTunes has a problem because the name is so large and so iconic. The app is also so bloated with everything it doesn't need. It would sound dumb to call it "Tunes." I think it is in Apples best interest to ultimately kill off iTunes. First, all iOS apps will be moved to the MAS. Then follow iOS's lead to create 1 app called "Music" and 1 app called "Videos." Lastly, I'm thinking create a simple app called "Store" where you can purchase music, movies, etc. Maybe even link it to the retail store to purchase Apple products and accessories.

So you think Apple is purposefully killing off their iApps, to reserve the name for select products?

 

[maflynn]

In a sense, I can only hope. iApps is over done, as a naming convention, but it does make sense to keep using it for some apps like iTunes, iMac, iPod, etc.

 

[vmachiel]

Didn't the i stand for internet? if so, names with i make more sense. ical--> calendar on the internet (icloud)

 

[jclardy]

I think it would be a bit hard to kill off iTunes, but they kind of do it in iOS already.

On iOS you have Music.app and a separate iTunes app for the store.

This would work well on OS X iTunes is getting a bit bloated, they could just have "Music" and a separate "iTunes Store".

The problem of course, is Windows. You still want iTunes on Windows, but you want to keep the music player/store together in one package.

 

[q64ceo]

The "i" is becoming a bit passé. Its been almost 15 years since its introduction. All things must change.

 

[Doombringer]

I agree, iTunes should be killed off. It's doing the duty of a few different apps/stores right now, and it shouldn't.

Purchases should be brought in under the Store. Not an App Store or a Music Store, just the Apple Store. Apps, Music, Movies... as subcategories. For a "player" then perhaps you could place Movies and Music together as "Media" ... or leave them separate.

 

[baryon]

Yeah iTunes is a strange thing. It's again something that has been "left over" from the time that iPods synced music with iTunes. Now they sync over iCloud mostly (though I don't quite understand this iCloud thing yet), and they sync much more than music: Apps, Movies, Podcasts, Books. All that has nothing to do with iTunes.

I think that iTunes should be kept as the music player, since I think it's great for music and a music library.

QuickTime should play all videos, including ones purchased or rented.

Movies should be purchased or rented in a special "Store" app, in which you could also purchase Mac Apps and iOS Apps. But then would you also purchase Music in the Store App, or would that stay in iTunes? Another level of fragmentation… I think if purchasing music and other content was moved out of iTunes, maybe users would be less likely to buy stuff? Could be a risky move…

I don't know, really, what could be done with iTunes! I'm sure Apple is also thinking about it, and if they don't know, then it's probably not an easy one...

 

[Kissaragi]

Lets hope! I everything does get a bit much

 

[talmy]

Time to bring back iSync to synchronize i-devices with the Mac (or Windows). That would help a lot since the synchronization doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with tunes.

Of course we should be syncing only with the cloud, I guess.

Renaming started with Lion which dropped "Airport" for "Wi-fi". Frankly all the changes in names make sense.

 

[Variant]

You guys are forgetting one MAJOR thing that prevents iTunes from becoming a stripped down, leaner program.

iPod/iPad/iPhone WINDOWS users.

Unless Apple plans on creating a separate store for windows and a sync tool, there won't be any huge changes to iTunes.