iTunes

iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management utility developed by Apple. 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 playing content from dynamic, smart playlists. It includes options for sound optimization and wirelessly sharing iTunes libraries. iTunes was announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2001. Its original and main focus was music, with a library offering organization and storage of Mac users' music collections. With the 2003 addition of the iTunes Store for purchasing and downloading digital music, and a Windows version of the program, it became an 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. From 2005 on, Apple expanded its core music features with support for digital video, podcasts, e-books, and mobile apps purchased from the iOS App Store. 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. 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. Beginning with Macs running macOS Catalina, iTunes was replaced by separate apps, namely Music, Podcasts, and TV, with Finder and Apple Devices taking over the device management capabilities. This change did not affect iTunes running on Windows or older macOS versions. In February 2024, most features of iTunes for Windows were split into the Apple TV, Music, Podcasts, Books, and Apple Devices apps. When the apps are installed, iTunes is still used for podcasts and audiobooks.

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