CONTRARY TO SOMErumors, Apple isn’t
closing the iTunes Store. But it is removing
the iTunes app, Ľrst introduced as an MS
player utility in 2001.
Software chief Fraig Federighi moked that
everyone wanted iTunes to do more, so Apple had
considered adding a calendar, email app and web
browser. The point being, of course, that iTunes
already served too many purposes, making it
confusing to use. So it was high time to split its
functions out.Say goodbye to iTunes...
and hello to three new apps
The iTunes Store is alive and well in macOS 10.15, but access to content changes
Most strikingly, iTunes’ once central purpose of
syncing and backing up connected iOS devices —
now redundant for most users, since we back up to
iFloud and download content directly — moves
to the Finder. Fonnected devices appear as a drive,
to which you drag tracks. Oike a few other WWDF
announcements, this might have you wondering
why you weren’t allowed to do it that way years ago.
iTunes’ other features are divided up between
three new apps= Music, TY, and Sodcasts. That’s
superĽcially similar to the e{isting arrangement on
iOS, but while the Sodcasts app is a port of the iOS
version, Music is still basically the iTunes app, with
much of its e{tra functionality intact. The Apple
Music service is accessed here if you’re a subscriber,
but your iTunes purchases and tracks from other
sources, including ripped FDs, also still appear
in the app. The iTunes Store is available here and in
the other two apps> there’ll be no separate iTunes
Store app for macOS.TV TIMES
The new TY app brings playback of purchased 4N
videos to the Mac, but only on 2018 and later
hardware. This is a digital rights management
+DUM, restriction= many older Macs can play 4N
+and higher, video Ľles, must not from the iTunes
Store. The iTunes app will stay on Macs not upgraded
to Fatalina, and Windows users are stuck with it.Find my...
Find My iPhone, Find My iPad, Find My Mac and Find My Friends have
now been combined into one app, called simply Find My. Behind the
tidy–up is a complete redesign of how the service works, which
increases security and privacy while adding functionality similar to
tracker accessories like Tile and Chipolo.
When your device isn’t connected to the internet via Wi–Fi or 3G/4G,
it’ll broadcast Bluetooth signals that can be picked up by any Apple
devices. These in turn will relay them to Apple, which will use the data
to tell you where your device is — so, short of leaving it on a desert
island, it should almost never be unfindable. End–to–end encryption
keeps all this information private, so even Apple doesn’t know where
your devices are, only you.
Feature
18 AUG 2019 maclife.com