Apple rumored to split up iTunes in forthcoming MacOS release
We may finally get the separate music, podcast and video apps that we deserve.
- Coauthor of Uninvested (Random House, 2015)
Evidence uncovered by two veteran programmers indicates that Apple may debut new dedicated apps for music, podcasts and TV shows in a forthcoming version of MacOS . According to the reports, Apple will continue to keep the iTunes app around, however, as it remains its only way of syncing data between older iPods and iPhones and Macs.
Steve Troughton-Smith, who has accurately predicted previously unannounced Apple hardware and software releases, tweeted that the company is planning to break up iTunes into a handful of content-specific apps.
I am now fairly confident based on evidence I don't wish to make public at this point that Apple is planning new (likely UIKit) Music, Podcasts, perhaps even Books, apps for macOS, to join the new TV app. I expect the four to be the next wave of Marzipan apps. Grain of salt, etc
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) April 5, 2019
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
This follows Apple's March announcement that it will soon bring its updated TV app to MacOS, as well as smart TVs, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Developer Guilherme Rambo, writing for 9to5Mac, backs up Troughton-Smith's account. He adds that the new standalone apps for music, podcasts and TV will debut in MacOS 10.15, the presumed successor to the current release. Rambo also says that Apple has redesigned the Books app, which will feature dedicated Library, Book Store and Audiobook Store tabs.
The rumored icons for Apple's Music, Podcast, TV and Book apps.
Apple's new content apps are said to leverage Apple's forthcoming Marzipan technology, which will let developers create a single version of their apps that work across the company's various operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The company revealed the new initiative at its 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference.
