Apple Music launch on Windows is our final goodbye to iTunes
The Apple Music and Apple TV apps have finally landed on the Microsoft Store for Windows PCs, albeit in preview.
The launch of the apps was originally announced by Microsoft and Apple back in October, when Apple Music launched for Xbox.
Now Windows PC users can get a taste of what’s to come with the native apps by downloading the previews from the Microsoft Store. There’s still no official launch date for the full apps, but this is a big step towards that eventuality.
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The Apple Music launch is particularly welcome. Currently, Windows users have had to settle for the Apple Music web app, which is better than nothing. Or they can play their library in the old iTunes app, which Apple retired a few years back.
Ironically, Windows has been the last stand for the classic iTunes software which Apple used alongside the iPod to pioneer the the digital music revolution, first as a storage locker for MP3s and then as a store.
“This is a preview version of Apple Music, and not all features may work as expected. After installing the Apple Music preview, iTunes will no longer open, and audiobooks or podcasts on this device will be inaccessible until a compatible version of iTunes is released. To revert back to iTunes, you’ll need to uninstall this version of the app,” the app listing says (via MacRumors).
With iTunes going away on Windows, Apple will do what it did on Mac and launch a separate app to handle iTunes’ other duties – managing iPhones, iPads, and such via the PC.
It’s a similar story with the Apple TV app launch. Until now, it’s only been possible to access the Apple TV+ streaming service via the web on Windows devices. Considering Apple has launched the Apple TV app (which also houses iTunes TV and movie purchases) pretty much everywhere else, it’s about time Windows got its turn.
