iTunes will never work well

Re:iTunes will never work well by f4stjack on Monday September 19, 2016 @02:37AM (#12529418)

As far as I have used iTunes the only problem I see with it is trying to do EVERYTHING in a single package. It tries to be

- music player

- content manager (music & video)

- sync manager

- update manager

- Apple Music client

and these are the five things I can name on top of my head, without opening up the app. This is fine, but they are not honoring their boundaries. When I am listening to my music, don't mess me with the sync business. If there is a new version, put a helpful icon but only steal my focus if I click to sync tab.

It's like going to a supermarket to buy a piece of candy. Sure there are meats and potatoes on the next shelves but I need my candy. Yes I can hear you overhyped sales person about the discounts but. I. Need. My. Candy.

Also I cannot see the logic behind the Apple Music's integration with iTunes. I have tried to use AM with iTunes on windows and it is not a fun experience I can tell you. Spotify, even though people are grumbling about its ux, provides a smoother experience. Search, double click play, right click to save or add to a customized playlist. Or mess with that knob to download.

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Re:iTunes will never work well by FussyZeus on Monday September 19, 2016 @07:24AM (#12530455)

The disconnect between macOS and iOS is stark in this particular area. All of iTunes functions on the desktop are split into 4 or 5 apps on iOS (Music, Videos, App Store, etc.) and then on desktop you have the behemoth iTunes instead.

And yes, there's also: Backup Manager for iOS devices, and, somewhat unique to me as an iOS developer, iTunes also holds the keys for me to be able to build to my devices which is all kinds of fun let me tell you.

I hope at some point they revisit iTunes and re-do it completely but that seems like something Steve Jobs would have to push through. As much as I get annoyed with the deification of that man (frankly he as just a really good salesman, nothing more) I think a majority of long time Apple users would agree that their software has taken a hit in quality since his passing, the debacles with iOS 9 and 10 updates bricking various portions of the iPhone comes to mind.

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Re:iTunes will never work well by yaegers on Monday September 19, 2016 @03:36AM (#12529627)

The problem is, they can never satify everybody. I bet you that if they ever split iTunes up in separate apps like you suggested there will also be a lot of people who dislike that approach and rant along the lines of "Why did they split it up? It was so convenient to have everything in one place. Now I have to open a multitude of apps" No matter how much sense that may make, there will be people like that. The question is, how many compared to people who want things to be plit up. Apple would be best served to conduct some polls or maybe even a nice beta programm where you can use separate apps and then give feedback if it works as intended.

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Re:iTunes will never work well by f4stjack on Monday September 19, 2016 @03:49AM (#12529678)

Agreed. Satisfaction is not an objective commodity. But Apple Music really, definitively, needs its own app considering the problems it creates in people's iTunes libraries.

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Re:iTunes will never work well by the_other on Monday September 19, 2016 @06:46AM (#12530311)

I agree, but doubt it will happen.

Step by step, Apple are pushing their customers towards subscription services. They did it with photos first, then music. From macOS Sierra onwards they'll be doing it with the "Documents" and "Desktop" directory.

iTunes has always acted as an advance party for Apple's next business experiments. It gets UI changes ahead of the OS. It gets "features" like this subscription funnelling ahead of the OS.

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