Remember that "late October" time frame for the newly made-over iTunes? Make that late November, according to Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr. In a statement sent to AllThingsD, Neumayr said the software is being delayed because the team needs more time to "get it right," and that the release will show up in another month.
Here's the full statement: “The new iTunes is taking longer than expected and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right. We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface, and seamless integration with iCloud before the end of November.”
Apple gave the public a preview of the iTunes overhaul during its September media event, highlighting its "dramatically simplified user interface," better integration with iCloud, and numerous other new features. The company said it would release the software in late October, which partially fed into rumors that the iPad mini (which was not yet announced at that time) would also launch around the same time. Indeed, the iPad mini is launching in the US this Friday, but the new version of iTunes will be nowhere to be seen.
As noted by AllThingsD, it seems natural to assume this delay is due to Apple's surprise executive shake-up from earlier this week. But in reality, the iTunes team has likely been working on this update for quite a while—Monday's announcement reportedly took even Apple employees by surprise, so it's unlikely the change would significantly impact iTunes' expected release date. What makes more sense is that the team's leaders have decided the software needs more spit and polish before being released to the public—after all, Apple doesn't want another iOS 6 Maps fiasco on its hands.
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