The AppAdvice Week In Review: Rethinking Apple's iTunes

by Bryan M. Wolfe

April 13, 2014

We're 15 weeks into 2014 and Apple has yet to announce a new product. Meanwhile, the rumors continue ...

Revamping iTunes

We continue to love music. Unfortunately for Apple, we no longer buy music. Instead, we like renting songs and albums through services such as Beats Music and Spotify. Faced with this changing landscape, Apple is now said to be prepping a significant revamp of iTunes. As Billboard first reported:

As a result, Apple is being forced to consider options that would have been out of the question a few years earlier – an on-demand streaming service, an iTunes store for Google’s Android devices and negotiating download sales windows that favor Apple as first reported by Billboard. How Apple transforms iTunes, however, remains hotly debated, both within the company and among Apple’s content partners, sources say. Apple’s desire for a smooth transition is complicated by an urgency that iTunes must move quickly as people move away from downloads, where Apple controls 90% of download music sales in the U.S., towards streaming, where Apple is overshadowed.

So what should Apple do to improve iTunes? Our readers weigh in: Phlebas says "Eh. I still download plenty. I've been using Spotify and iTunes Radio to discover new music, and it's been awesome. But when a song grabs me I want to explore that artist for a bit, not what Spotify thinks I would also like." David contends "Apple is so behind the competition in about every category Tim Cook really needs to step down and all the secrecy inside Apple is really a joke. Funny how thing leak out of Apple when the competition one ups them." Reader fjord prefect notes "We've pretty much dropped Pandora and Spotify in favor of iTunes Radio. Since we were already paying for Match it seemed to make sense so we wouldn't have to listen to ads. Ever been in an intimate session with your partner and suddenly the mood is broken because a tire ad came on? So $25 a year is totally worth it to me. But coming from the record/cassette/CD generation, I prefer buying my albums outright, not renting them." See also: Ahead Of Anticipated iTunes Revamp, Apple Goes On A Hiring Spree.

The latest "iPhone 6" news

Until the iPhone 5 when it was moved to the bottom, the headphone jack on Apple’s best selling device was at the top. Now it looks like the power button is moving on the so-called “iPhone 6.” In this case, from the top to the left side of the device. This possible change has been incorporated in two new iPhone 6 mockups recently published by MacRumors. As you can see, the mockups show 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch iPhone models.

The next iPhone is likely to be released this fall.

Amazon continues making moves

Earlier this month, it was the Fire TV. Now Amazon is prepping its first smartphone, according to The Wall Street Journal, which notes:

The people said Amazon hopes to distinguish its phone in a crowded market with a screen capable of displaying seemingly three-dimensional images without special glasses, these people said. They said the phone would employ retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing cameras, or sensors, to make some images appear to be 3-D, similar to a hologram, the people said.

As Joe White first suggested, if iOS 7's parallax made you sick, you ain't seen nothing yet. See also: The Amazon Fire TV Review: The Good And The Bad And What It Means For Apple, and What Will Happen To The Comics App Now That Amazon Is Buying ComiXology?