Apple moves away from iTunes on PC with new Windows apps

So they are getting rid of digital downloads. Terrible news

They are not getting rid of downloads.

https://support.apple.com/guide/music-windows/build-your-music-library-mus0f01bdce4/1.4/windows/10

https://support.apple.com/guide/tvapp-windows/store-atve382f24c/1.4/windows/10

I do not appreciate seeing click bait on Lemmy. Please join me in reporting this post as clickbait.

I guess i didn't express it correctly. I know that music i already purchase could be transfered to apple music but once itunes is dead for music, you could not buy any new music
- This is about the programs, not the services. Apple Music on Mac can also buy music from iTunes despite not being called iTunes anymore.
- Again, you are assuming too much.
  
  In the first link I provided:
  
  Buy music from the iTunes Store: If you don’t subscribe to Apple Music and you want to add your favourite songs or albums, you can buy and download music from the iTunes Store. And if you previously purchased items from the iTunes Store, you can download them to your authorised computers and devices (up to 10 total).
It even says it in the article op linked

The Apple Music app provides access to the iTunes library, alongside song and album purchases. Apple TV also lets Windows users watch movies and TV shows from their iTunes library

Super TLDR: iTunes is splitting into three apps on Windows: Devices, TV and Music

Now there three apps I will never need. Good to know.
- Three apps not to install instead of just one means more work. Thanks Apple!
Is this in response to the antitrust stuff they've been dealing with in Europe? I thought they had tried to split software into different "services" before to avoid oversight (I think they did it with their web browser).

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined

According to this support article, they are still allowing downloads

https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/tvapp-windows/atvbe9ddc3f/1.4/windows/10

That's only for music you already bought just like Google did with Youtube music when they killed Google Play Music
- You can 100% continue to purchase content and add to your library. Just because the apps have split (as they already have on Apple’s own platforms), does not mean you can not download purchased content or continue to purchase new content for download.
  
  https://support.apple.com/guide/music-windows/build-your-music-library-mus0f01bdce4/1.4/windows/10
  
  Buy music from the iTunes Store If you don’t subscribe to Apple Music and you want to add your favorite songs or albums, you can buy and download music from the iTunes Store. And if you previously purchased items from the iTunes Store, you can download them to your authorized computers and devices (up to 10 total).
- Yeah, I still buy all my music on my phone, I don't like renting it....

God I despise UWP. I even uninstall the Microsoft Store on my machines.

Google and MS are working double time to force us into fully-web-hosted everything.

I'd take a native UWP app over shitty bloated electron based apps any day. Aside from games, they work pretty well in my experience.
- ... right up until you don't have the choice. Microsoft wants a walled garden because money.
  
  I get the sentiment but it really worries me when people embrace this kind of stuff.

I didn't see anything mentioning getting rid of downloads of music, has that been confirmed?

You can 100% continue to purchase content and add to your library. Just because the apps have split (as they already have on Apple’s own platforms), does not mean you can not download purchased content or continue to purchase new content for download.

https://support.apple.com/guide/music-windows/build-your-music-library-mus0f01bdce4/1.4/windows/10

Buy music from the iTunes Store If you don’t subscribe to Apple Music and you want to add your favorite songs or albums, you can buy and download music from the iTunes Store. And if you previously purchased items from the iTunes Store, you can download them to your authorized computers and devices (up to 10 total).

This is already how it is on Mac. Kind of sucks because I don’t use apple streaming and it takes up half the app. Wish I could turn it off and just have a UI focused on my downloads.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The apps were originally launched in preview last year, but Apple has now removed the preview tag after working with Microsoft to launch the apps.

The trio of apps, in combination with an overhauled iCloud for Windows app, are designed to move Windows users away from the reliance of iTunes, according to MacRumors.

The Apple Music app provides access to the iTunes library, alongside song and album purchases.

Apple TV also lets Windows users watch movies and TV shows from their iTunes library, along with subscription streaming content.

Apple Devices lets PC owners backup or restore iPhones and iPads, as well as sync content to those devices.

Microsoft has been working with Apple on the apps, and even welcomed their launch this week.

The original article contains 220 words, the summary contains 123 words. Saved 44%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

I've been using soulseek and 3utools ever since they made iTunes a Microsoft store app. guess I'm not surprised it ended up like this.

Found iTunes impossible to uninstall back in the Win7 days and never used it since. Also Spotify exists and is still acceptable enough to use so...

There's still people like me who want to buy digital albums. A lot of artists refuse to put their music on Bandcamp but have music on itunes
- You can 100% continue to purchase content and add to your library. Just because the apps have split (as they already have on Apple’s own platforms), does not mean you can not download purchased content or continue to purchase new content for download.
  
  https://support.apple.com/guide/music-windows/build-your-music-library-mus0f01bdce4/1.4/windows/10
  
  Buy music from the iTunes Store If you don’t subscribe to Apple Music and you want to add your favorite songs or albums, you can buy and download music from the iTunes Store. And if you previously purchased items from the iTunes Store, you can download them to your authorized computers and devices (up to 10 total).
- Well, when there's a service problem, I'd rather sail than 'buying' digital.
- You know you can still buy CDs?
  
  If you must have digital files there are plenty of ways to get them from a streaming service. But buying digital files of music is imo where the line should be drawn.
  
  I will even buy or rent new film releases from a main platform if I missed it at the cinema, etc.
  
  But owning music is a very personal thing. I have CDs going back to the first days of the format, many of which are very sentimental. Being able to stream them is like magic to me. But there is no reason I can think of to pay for a digital file of them or any music that can be found on CD or streamed.
  
  Each to their own, of course. I just find the concept of digital file purchase for music utterly abhorrent. Once it became apparent that the music industry was going to do this, I vowed never to do it and I think it was a good decision.
  
  The streaming services are a convenience that we have to decide on the value to us as users, despite their many obvious faults. But paying to own a, usually compressed, audio file? I can't agree that's good for consumers.

I didn't expect Apple to use their resources on non-Mac apps.

The Apple Music App is just a web browser in disguise. It's bug-ridden too. Although Lossless Audio works fine.

Oh god. I thought at least Apple had some standard of quality left for the software they're releasing. Though considering this isn't for their own platform, and their track record for their other Windows software (at least iTunes) maybe I shouldn't be too surprised.

Note that you can still download your music, movies and tv shows for offline use. These are basically the same apps that Mac users have been using instead of iTunes for awhile now.