It is the end of an era for the music world as Apple has announced that they are phasing out iTunes.
iTunes launched in 2001 and shook up the music world by offering fans a new way to purchase music, movies, podcasts and other applications as well as offering artists a new way to sell their music.
18 years later, the music sale landscape has changed dramatically with the physical sales of music becoming a rarity and most fans relying on streaming services or platforms such as iTunes to digitally purchase music from their favourite artists.
iTunes has now evolved into a file management system and acts as the sole way to manage files on all Apple devices including iPhones and iPads.
Apple is expected to announce a trio of new apps that will replace all of iTunes’ current functions. The Music app is expected to allow streaming through the Apple Music service as well as the purchase of content in the near future.
Apple is expected to reveal their plans in detail at their Worldwide Developers Conference which will also likely see the announcement of a new Apple Watch and a further look at the new iPod which was revealed earlier this week. Read more about the new iPod here.
The news comes as Apple faces a lawsuit from users who have claimed that the tech giant illegally sold their personal data to marketing companies without their consent.
The complaining parties said in the lawsuit, “Apple profits handsomely from its unauthorized sale, rental, transmission” of customers’ personal listening information. It does so at the expense of its customers’ privacy and statutory rights because Apple does not notify let alone obtain the requisite written consent from its customers prior to disclosing their personal information”.
As we keep you updated with this story, click here to check out the leaked iPhone 11 design.