iTunes has been Apple's primary media player for about two decades. It debuted in 2001 and has been the primary way that most people listened to music and downloaded songs to their iPhones ever since.
That changed in 2019 when Apple announced that it was discontinuing the iconic music player starting with Mac OS Catalina. But Apple didn't make a clean, easy-to-understand break with iTunes.
Depending on what kind of computer you have, you might still be using iTunes — or you might not. Here's what you need to know about iTunes and whether you can still use it.
Can I still access iTunes?
That depends on what kind of computer you use. Apple has officially discontinued iTunes for MacOS Catalina, and you can no longer download or install it.
Instead, Apple has moved your iTunes media library to a handful of different apps: Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Books, and Apple Podcasts. Even so, the iTunes Store can still be found within the Music app.
If you're a Windows user, the story is a little more complicated. iTunes is still available. If you need to install it, you can get iTunes from Apple's iTunes website.
That's not all. Apple has also released "preview" versions of its Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Devices apps for Windows, which you can use instead of iTunes. Apple Music lets you stream music and podcasts, for example, and gives you access to the Apple Music subscription subscription service on your desktop. Apple TV gives you access to the subscription Apple TV+ service, and Apple Devices lets you sync music and other media from your computer to your iPhone and iPad, as well as back up and restore data to those devices.
Beware, though: If you install Apple Devices onto your Windows computer, it will disable iTunes completely. If you decide to go back to iTunes, you'll need to uninstall Apple Devices and then reinstall iTunes.
Why did iTunes go away?
Apple decided to discontinue iTunes for Apple users — and presumably for Windows users as well, eventually — back in 2019. Apple hasn't said much about why it decided to pull the plug on the media player, but it's not hard to see why.
iTunes has been criticized by tech journalists for years for being poorly organized, awkwardly designed, and increasingly bloated. And in the time since iTunes' original design, the music landscape has changed substantially.
When iTunes got its start, Apple sold songs for 99 cents each in a proprietary format, for example, rather than as MP3s. In the last decade, the model of buying individual songs one at a time has been almost completely replaced by subscription streaming services like Spotify and Tidal.
Rather than redesign iTunes for the modern media world, Apple decided to discontinue the app in favor of a family of new apps designed expressly for the contemporary streaming and subscription world we live in now.
iTunes is still available for Windows users. The current version is 12.13.1.3. You can download it from Apple's iTunes website for Windows.
How do I check my purchases on iTunes?
If you want to see the music, subscriptions, apps, and other items you bought with iTunes, you can do that easily.
If you are using iTunes on Windows, start iTunes and click the Account menu. Choose View My Account and then scroll down to the Purchase History section. Click See All.
On a Mac running Catalina that can't access iTunes, you can still access your iTunes account online. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID. You should see your whole purchase history on the page.
Why can't I see all my iTunes purchases?
You should be able to see all your purchases in iTunes or online at the reportaproblem.apple.com website. If you can't, though, it's likely that there might be more than one account involved. If you have more than one Apple ID, you might have made a purchase when signed in with the other account. Try signing in with the other account and check your purchases history again.
If you received an email invoice or some other notification about an iTunes purchase and you can't find it in your purchase history, it's also possible that it's not a legitimate email from Apple. Check to see if it's spam or otherwise fraudulent.
iTunes has been mostly discontinued — with a few exceptions for older Apple operating systems and non-Mac devices. Apple discontinued iTunes for Mac users several years ago. You can still access your iTunes library of music, podcasts, and movies on Apple's new apps. iTunes still exists for Windows and older Macs.
The transition from iTunes to separate Apple apps on Windows allows for faster updates, bug fixes, and reduces overall app size. It also improves the user experience by creating consistency with Apple's software management on macOS.
iTunes is no longer used with macOS, and is no longer available for download. You wouldn't use these downloads with macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later, but there are still people for whom they would be useful.
In February 2024, most features of iTunes for Windows were split into the Apple TV, Music, and Apple Devices apps. When the apps are installed, iTunes is still used for podcasts and audiobooks.
The iTunes app for Mac computers was discontinued and replaced when macOS Catalina was released. It cannot be installed on Macs that are running Catalina or later. Functionality that used to be in the iTunes App on Macs is now in the Music app, Finder, and other apps.
The app has now been split into four different entities: an iCloud app, Apple Music, Apple TV and a new Devices app. These new apps offer a refreshed onboarding and set-up experience, aesthetic improvements and a more intuitive syncing process that'll make downloading your iCloud content to your PC much easier.
iTunes has been mostly discontinued — with a few exceptions for older Apple operating systems and non-Mac devices. Apple discontinued iTunes for Mac users several years ago. You can still access your iTunes library of music, podcasts, and movies on Apple's new apps. iTunes still exists for Windows and older Macs.
You should be able to keep all of your purchased music, whether imported from your own CDs, purchased online from the iTunes Store, or purchased online from some other Internet store.
iTunes was long ago replaced by Music, TV, and Podcasts in macOS but you can still download and install it on your Mac, subject to a couple of conditions. If your Mac meets the criteria, follow the steps above to download iTunes and install it on your computer. Your Mac. As good as new.
In 2019, Apple eliminated iTunes for the Mac with the release of MacOS Catalina, replacing its functions with different dedicated apps and adding backup and syncing capabilities to the Mac's Finder tool.
Apple already discontinued the iTunes software in 2019 off of their Macs and Windows looks to be headed in that direction as well in phasing out iTunes and replacing it with Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Devices apps.
Your music, TV shows, movies, podcasts, and audiobooks will transfer automatically to the Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books apps where you'll still have access to your favorite iTunes features, including purchases, rentals, and imports.
Apple is phasing out iTunes for Windows. Years after the company broke down its legendary software for the Mac into Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV+, it's finally time for Windows users to have a similar experience.
When you install the Apple Music or Apple TV app, you can only use those apps for your music, TV shows, and movies; you can continue to use iTunes to listen to your audiobooks and podcasts. If you don't install Apple Music or Apple TV, you can continue to use iTunes for all your media.
iTunes 11 is super old version of iTunes that will not work on Windows 11. Any reason you don't just download the version available from the Microsoft app store? The current version of iTunes compatible with Windows 11 is iTunes 12.
Your music, TV shows, movies, podcasts, and audiobooks will transfer automatically to the Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books apps where you'll still have access to your favorite iTunes features, including purchases, rentals, and imports.
Your music, TV shows, movies, podcasts and audiobooks will transfer automatically to the Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts and Apple Books apps, where you'll still have access to your favourite iTunes features, including purchases, rentals and imports.
Introduction: My name is Lakeisha Bayer VM, I am a brainy, kind, enchanting, healthy, lovely, clean, witty person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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