iTunes 11: Sleeker and Better | SocialExcerpts

iTunes 11: Sleeker and Better Sep 14

iPhone 5 isn’t the only thing that Apple launched on September 12th. iTunes is also getting a revamp and is going to come up with a “dramatically simpler” design. iTunes 11 has been launched with iOS 6 and is available for iPhones and iPads. It will be available for Mac books ad PCs somewhere in October. This redesign is a major overhaul since its launch back in 2003. Eddie Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services claimed it to be “number one music store in the world”.

iTunes gets two-third of its purchases from iOS devices. Keeping this in mind, Apple started the redesign, claimed the executives. The new look is consistent and streamlined throughout the App Store, from videos to music to book. The store is promising to yield better search results and improved performance. The screenshot provided during the launch showed a banner of featured content at on the top of the App store, followed by rows of new and popular items. You will now be able to preview the products while browsing, of course, a very handy feature, allowing you to try (read listen) before buying.

The new layout of the App Store prominently speaks of Facebook integration. You will now be able to “like” and “share” your favorite apps.

While the iTunes app got a makeover, its desktop counterpart is not left alone. The edge-to-edge design will make the viewing and browsing experience even more impressive. The options from your library and the store sprawl across the length of the screen. When you click on the album cover, it will expand in the line, revealing the tracks. The latest addition to iTunes is the “In the Store” feature that will show top albums and songs from an artist, allowing you to finish off your disambiguate of your favorite musicians.

Artist-to-listener sharing is also introduced in the iTunes library. For instance, when you look at Bryan Adam’s library, you can also see the pictures that he is sharing with his followers. It seems like a feature taken from the ill-conceived Ping music network.

“Up Next” will show the next song in queue when you are playing an album. The pop out mini music player also got a design. It’s got some handy drop-down features and is smaller and sleeker. The player displays a small clip of the album art along with the name of the song and artist currently playing. This area also becomes the control panel when you are changing the songs. You can also pull up the search bar with ease and it will provide a live preview of your search items, including album arts and covers.

We kept the best for last. iTunes got iCloud integration. The syncing allows you to seamlessly access the same data across all devices running iTunes 11.  So, the films you were watching on your iOS device, can now be continued on your desktop or other computers running iTunes with iClouds.

Are you longing for iTunes 11? Let us know..