Introduced in 2004, 'Party Shuffle' selected tracks to play randomly from the library, though users could press a button to skip a song and go to the next in the list. Users can enable or disable different columns, as well as change view settings. įile metadata is displayed in users' libraries in columns, including album, artist, genre, composer, and more. For self-published CDs, or those from obscure record labels, iTunes would normally only list tracks as numbered entries ('Track 1' and 'Track 2') on an unnamed album by an unknown artist, requiring manual input of data. When users rip content from a CD, iTunes attempts to match songs to the Gracenote service. It uses the Gracenote music database to provide track name listings for audio CDs. iTunes supports WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AAC, and MP3 audio formats.

The software supports importing digital audio tracks that can then be transferred to iOS devices, as well as supporting ripping content from CDs. Each track has attributes, called metadata, that can be edited by the user, including changing the name of the artist, album, and genre, year of release, artwork, among other additional settings. Unlike Windows versions for other platforms, it is more self-contained due to technical requirements for distribution on the store (not installing background helper services such as Bonjour), and is updated automatically through the store rather than using Apple Software Update. On April 26, 2018, iTunes was released on Microsoft Store for Windows 10, primarily to allow it to be installed on Windows 10 devices configured to only allow installation of software from Microsoft Store. Platform availability Īpple released iTunes for Windows on October 16, 2003. Subsequent releases of iTunes often coincided with new hardware devices, and gradually included support for new features, including 'smart playlists', the iTunes Store, and new audio formats. The first version of iTunes, promotionally dubbed 'World's Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software,' was announced on January 9, 2001. The primary developers of the software moved to Apple as part of the acquisition, and simplified SoundJam's user interface, added the ability to burn CDs, and removed its recording feature and skin support. SoundJam MP, released by Casady & Greene in 1998, was renamed 'iTunes' when Apple purchased it in 2000. This change did not affect iTunes running on Windows or older macOS versions. Beginning with Macs running macOS Catalina and Windows 11 PCs, iTunes was replaced by separate apps, namely Music, Podcasts, and TV, with Finder and Apple Devices taking over the device management capabilities.

Though well received in its early years, iTunes received increasing criticism for a bloated user experience, which incorporated features beyond its original focus on music. Since the release of iOS 5 in 2011, these devices have become less dependent on iTunes, though it can still be used to back up their contents. Onwards from 2005, Apple expanded on the core music features of iTunes with support for digital video, podcasts, e-books, and mobile apps purchased from the iOS App Store. With the 2003 addition of the iTunes Store for purchasing and downloading digital music, and a version of the program for Windows, it became a ubiquitous tool for managing music and configuring other features on Apple's line of iPod media players, which extended to the iPhone and iPad upon their introduction. iTunes' original and main focus was music, with a library offering organization and storage of Mac users' music collections. ITunes was originally announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2001. Options for sound optimizations exist, as well as ways to wirelessly share the iTunes library. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital multimedia, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems, and can be used to rip songs from CDs, as well as play content with the use of dynamic, smart playlists.

ITunes ( / ˈ aɪ t( j) uː n z/) is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store.

Itunes