Apple is killing off iTunes, reports say
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Just a few months after it became an adult, Apple is killing off one of its most controversial creations.
Launched January 9, 2001, the tech giant is set to end its music and movie media player, iTunes, according to Bloomberg. The move, which will be announced at Apple's developer conference, had been widely expected, given the rise of streaming services, including Apple Music and its soon-to-be-launched Apple TV+.
The brainchild of Steve Jobs, iTunes ushered in an era where it made it easy to access music legally. Users could pay as little as 99 cents for a song or a similar amount for an episode of a TV show or movie, but it had outlived its usefulness. Over the past several years, there were a seemingly endless string of complaints from users about its cluttered nature, the amount of computing power it took to run the program and other concerns.
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To replace iTunes, Apple will launch three new apps for the Mac, Music, TV and Podcasts, bringing it in line with Apple's strategy for iOS devices, which already have dedicated Music, TV and Podcast apps.
Apple has already wiped the iTunes' social networking accounts clean. Both the Instagram and the Facebook page still exist, but all the posts have been deleted.
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As Apple looks to smooth out its revenue and focus more on services, it has turned the focus towards initiatives such as Apple Music, which has more than 50 million paying subscribers and lets users access more than 45 million songs for $9.99 a month.
In addition to getting rid of iTunes, Apple will announce several new updates to its operating systems, including iOS, macOS and watchOS. New health features are expected to be incorporated into iOS and watchOS, including a revamped Health app that will let users know how loud they are listening to music or movies on their device or headphones.
Apple’s mobile operating system is tipped to add dark mode, easing the strain on users' eyes and increasing battery life.
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Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple will make these announcements and more when its keynote address starts at 1 p.m. EST.
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Fox News' Brooke Crothers contributed to this report.