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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Tech News > Apple shows off revamped iTunes interface for iOS and OS X

Apple shows off revamped iTunes interface for iOS and OS X
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Sep 12, 2012, 10:32 AM
 
Today at its press event for the new iPhone, Apple showed off the latest version of its iTunes software. The new version includes redesigns for both the iOS and Mac OS X versions of iTunes, with a greater focus on music discovery, as well as social networking built into the software. The new version of iTunes for iOS will launch alongside iOS 6 next week on September 19.

Apple has changed the iOS version of iTunes to give users a larger view of products. iOS users scanning books, movies, and music will now see the same design, which has less of a focus on borders and tabs and more of a focus on book, album, and app cover art. The new version also features the ability to preview music and have that preview continue to play while a user goes on to browse the rest of the store. Throughout the software, Apple has built in Facebook and Twitter compatibility, allowing users to Like or share iTunes content directly from the app. The OS X version of iTunes now features an edge-to-edge design, eliminating the navigation sidebar that has been a standard of the software for some time. Users are now presented with an array of album covers. Clicking on any one of those covers splits the main window, bringing up the album's contents much in the way that tapping a folder icon in iOS 6 brings splits the screen to display its contents. iTunes on OS X also allows users to browse their music collection by artist, and it has a new feature whereby artists can share photos with owners of their music. In the on-stage demonstration, the presenter browsed through a few photos Coldplay was sharing through the feature. The OS X version also features a revamped search feature, which shows album art for items containing the entered search terms. The mini-player design has also been redone, allowing users to manage playlists without bringing up the full iTunes player. Apple also notes that it has built iCloud directly into its new iTunes software, allowing users to start or continue viewing movies and content purchased on one device across other devices. The new desktop version of iTunes will be out in October, though Apple has not given a date specific.
     
blahblahbber
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Sep 12, 2012, 11:33 AM
 
I love how Apple avoids the fact that FLAC support has been requested for so long, and continues to ignore their users on this front. crApple is a despicable company.
     
lpkmckenna
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Sep 12, 2012, 11:58 AM
 
I'm not fond of Album view, so this new interface looks terrible to me. I looks like iOS folders, which I'm not fond of at all.

I hope I can still use Column Browser, which is still the best damn thing to ever happen to iTunes.
     
Kees
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Sep 12, 2012, 01:46 PM
 
agreed, I own over 1500 albums, they can't possibly expect me to browse through them with the silly album art mode thingie as the only option. iPhone 5 sounds great, new iTunes sounds terrible.
     
testudo
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Sep 12, 2012, 02:09 PM
 
Album view makes perfect sense! Well, if it were the 1970s!! Back when we actually had albums. And covers. And actually looked at them (heck, even in the 80s/90s, with CDs).

But now, you generally listen to your music without ever seeing the album cover. So who even knows what the cover looks like? (It's like 'cover view' in Books. Useless if you have a lot of books, for the only ones you would know the cover of are the ones you already read!)
     
testudo
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Sep 12, 2012, 02:11 PM
 
The funny/stupid thing about 'album view' is how Apple pushed for so long the greatness of buying individual songs. I have over a 1000 albums in my collection, but they aren't all complete! A good hunk are just one or two songs from an artist.

So does "Album view" limit your view to just the albums you own? Or do I get to see the cover of 1000 albums, half of which are incomplete?
     
BDLatimer
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Sep 13, 2012, 02:11 AM
 
Um, everyone complaining about Album view knows that viewing by Song is still available, as it always has been. Right?
     
lpkmckenna
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Sep 13, 2012, 02:35 AM
 
I watched the keynote. iTunes still has Column Browser, thankfully.

I'm not sure how removing the Source Pane is supposed to make iTunes easier to use. For instance, playing a playlist takes two clicks: click on Playlist at the top, then click on your playlist. If you're currently in the iTunes Store, it takes three clicks: click on Library, then Playlists, then the playlist you want.

And I wonder if iTunes features like Cover Flow are still there?

And during the keynote, they didn't show how configuring your iOS devices works, which I thought was a curious omission. Did they change anything? I know lots of people, especially Windows users, are still confounded by that today.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Sep 13, 2012, 02:56 AM
 
Originally Posted by testudo View Post
Album view makes perfect sense! Well, if it were the 1970s!! Back when we actually had albums. And covers. And actually looked at them (heck, even in the 80s/90s, with CDs).

But now, you generally listen to your music without ever seeing the album cover. So who even knows what the cover looks like? (It's like 'cover view' in Books. Useless if you have a lot of books, for the only ones you would know the cover of are the ones you already read!)
Hm.

I have only albums, almost no individual songs, and cover art is meticulously curated in my collection.

Then again, I also have a vinyl collection, and I'm over twenty-five, so you might as we… HEY! GET OFF MY LAWN.

AND YOU! DON'T ****ING TOUCH THE TURNTABLE WITH THOSE GRUBBY HANDS!

Sheesh. Kids.
     
johnmcboston
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Sep 13, 2012, 05:09 AM
 
Originally Posted by testudo View Post
Album view makes perfect sense! Well, if it were the 1970s!! Back when we actually had albums. And covers. And actually looked at them
Totally. Haven't bought a physical CD in a couple of years now. In an itunes/ipod world, I just have a big bin of music that I listen to. I classify some of it via playlists, but by and large the concept of an album is long gone. A wall of cover art is useless for me. (but I'm happy you can still see a list of your music).

Face it - itunes is just a large database. With a click I often search by date added, date played, genre, star rating. If I want to see an artist, I do a search. I don't think I've ever searched by album. And here we are by default showing a search by album. Really?
     
blahblahbber
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Sep 13, 2012, 11:42 AM
 
SongBird folks... You can find local concerts all your music in your library. Download it, get your preferred extensions, your all set. I personally like the guitar tabs and the lyrics extensions... iTunes licks donkey B. Had to.
     
Grendelmon
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Sep 13, 2012, 02:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by blahblahbber View Post
SongBird folks... You can find local concerts all your music in your library. Download it, get your preferred extensions, your all set. I personally like the guitar tabs and the lyrics extensions... iTunes licks donkey B. Had to.
Actually, I used SongBird on my netbook for some time, but it ran dog slow. I think it has too much overhead with the Moz engine on it. Then they discontinued Linux. My new favorite iTunes-ish alternative is now Miro. Check it out if you haven't already. It's pretty slick.
     
blahblahbber
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Sep 13, 2012, 03:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by Grendelmon View Post
Actually, I used SongBird on my netbook for some time, but it ran dog slow. I think it has too much overhead with the Moz engine on it. Then they discontinued Linux. My new favorite iTunes-ish alternative is now Miro. Check it out if you haven't already. It's pretty slick.
Thanks for the heads up. I will check it out. Sadly, songbird can be resource heavy.... but I bet I can pick it apart to get rid of some of the overhead.

I just jumped into the quad 650M MBP bandwagon myself. Hope this helps quicken songbird overall. Also, if you have your settings to always check your music locations upon startup, you will need to expect a delay. But Miro you say?... I will take a look...
     
   
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