Apple Music Windows, Music/iTunes and iCloud

[MattG]

I posted this on one of Apple's community pages (as well as sent them direct feedback). Please let's keep it civil but, I'd honestly like to hear what you all think. Seriously, am I wrong? Am I out of line?

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I would like to know when Apple is going to start acting like they care about the Windows platform that they claim to support.

Disclaimer: YES, I completely understand and acknowledge that their business is selling their own hardware, and that's a priority over supporting another platform. I get it. The fact is Apple sells a whole line of products and services (e.g. iPhone, iPad, Apple Music) that they sell as being Windows compatible, and the experience on the Windows platform is just utter trash in comparison to that on a Mac. And no, it's not because "Windows is bad." Anyone who uses Windows 10 on a regular basis and isn't lying to themselves can admit that it is pretty solid, regardless of preference to Apple OS. For the record, most of the personal hardware in my house is Apple, but because I have a job in the real world which is 99% Windows, that means I have to use Windows quite a bit every week whether I like it or not. I would really love to be able to interface some of the Apple hardware/services that I've paid for with my Windows machines. How is it that the Windows versions of these tools have been around for SO LONG and the experience is still SO BAD??

iTunes: It's a MESS and has been for a long time.

1. Two years later they still haven't truly migrated Windows iTunes to the "Music" platform.
2. I'm assuming it's at least partially related to #1 why "Lossless" doesn't (and I'm guessing may never) exist in iTunes-Windows.
3. There is a long-standing bug which has been around for YEARS and still has not been fixed (at least it wasn't the last time I tried just a few months ago), where you can't change the hard drive where your media lives (it just reverts back to the default C:\.... path no matter how many times you reset it).
4. AirPlay streaming from iTunes-Windows is garbage. I've got lots of Airplay-compatible devices in my house, both Apple and non-Apple, and the only one that has issues is the Windows machine. Doesn't matter -- hardwired, wireless, various Windows machines tested -- streaming from the Windows box to other devices cuts out at random almost every time I use it.

iCloud:
Across multiple Windows computers, I CONSTANTLY have to re-authenticate, even though the iCloud app indicates that it's working just fine in the background. I'll go into my synced "Photos" library in Windows and pictures that I took on my iPhone days/weeks ago won't be in there. "Welp, iCloud stopped syncing, again. Time to enter my username and password, again." This happens across multiple computers and even multiple accounts. About a year ago my wife had the same issue and lost a bunch of stuff because she didn't realize that for some time iCloud wasn't backing up, even though the app was running in the taskbar and didn't indicate a problem. The performance is pathetic compared to OneDrive, which in comparison is a solid product that I also use daily because of my job.

There are LOTS of Windows users out there who have sunk money into Apple hardware/services, and it's time for Apple to start taking it seriously. Is it really so much to ask that they throw a relatively measly amount of funding from that $2T coffer at some developers and have them FIX THE SOFTWARE?! If "Windows" is going to be listed as compatible with these services/devices, then Apple Development needs to stop treating users of that platform like second-class citizens.

 

[Expos of 1969]

I feel for you. But I am astounded that Apple Music is still pretty bad on Mac. I have a new M1 MBA and Apple Music is as buggy as always. Why is Eddie Cue and the other rich dopes in Cupertino not embarrassed that one of their premier services does not work correctly on their own hardware? One of many indicators that Apple, while making truckloads of money, is failing in some ways.

 

[casperes1996]

I fundamentally agree with you, but I will just add a little "defence" here at the start, which is unrelated to the main point.
The "real world" has a lot of jobs that allow you to use Macs. Windows is by far the majority platform, but it's nowhere near 99%

Now back on topic.
Funnily, Apple fairly recently updated the Windows driver package for the Magic Trackpad, improving it tremendously. It used to just act as a generic tracked on Windows, but now has a proper multitouch Precision driver. I was surprised Apple did that after the Magic Trackpad 2 having been out for so long with less than ideal Windows support.

I don't use my iCloud on Windows so I can't speak to that

But iTunes is a far worse experience on Windows than iTunes ever was on the Mac, and of course no Music/Podcasts/TV/Books replacements.
Unlike Expos, I do quite like the Music app on the Mac, though I think the TV app is a bit lacklustre and Podcasts ne er was as easy to organise as iTunes' podcasts view.

But regardless of what you think of the Mac versions, Windows isn't being supported nearly as well. I wouldn't expect Apple to deliver *as perfect* an experience on Windows as they do on the Mac. But iTunes on Windows is hardly competitive with Spotify from a software quality perspective, unfortunately.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Unlike Expos, I do quite like the Music app on the Mac, though I think the TV app is a bit lacklustre and Podcasts ne er was as easy to organise as iTunes' podcasts view.

Do you like the mysterious lack of a Back arrow in places, the slowness of a song beginning, the Search function that does not predict spelling, the requirement to dig deep down levels to see all the albums from an artist etc.?

 

[MattG]

Correct, and sorry for how that came off; in fact, there are some people where I work who use Macs. What I really meant to say is while a lot of us wish we could use Macs at work, in reality that's often not an option when you work in a very Windows-centric industry.

I fundamentally agree with you, but I will just add a little "defence" here at the start, which is unrelated to the main point.
The "real world" has a lot of jobs that allow you to use Macs. Windows is by far the majority platform, but it's nowhere near 99%