Support NeoGAF

[Demigod Mac]

Apple needs to provide a way to merge accounts and provide more clarity that Apple/iTunes/iCloud is the SAME ACCOUNT.

I swear every person I have ever helped with computers has at least 1 extra Apple account, accidentally created.

Whole lot of fun when each account has different purchased apps and it's time to install updates...

 

[kess]

OS X has been a total mess since the yearly updates. Every first release feels more like an alpha, it doesn't feel finished until like a year later. They really need to do something, whether it be slowing development down to the old OS X cycle or increasing team size or doing something.

I used to look forward to every new update, because things used to run better, not worse. Things have been getting a little buggier with every major OS refresh, which is really disappointing on fairly new computers. Worse, Software Update has been integrated into the App Store, and it doesn't work very well, either.

Apple has been bean countering mundane stuff like audio input jacks on stuff like the iMac, which necessitates the purchase of a external DAC. It's frustrating.

 

[digitaldevmike]

I was a diehard apple fanboy for years, but that's slowly changing. The iphone 4 was my last iphone before switching to android and while I love my MacBook pro, it seems like they don't really care about their desktop stuff as of late.

The reasons I was attracted to the apple ecosystem were the pro apps (logic, Final Cut) and I liked the OS allowing a lot more freedom than windows as far as DRM goes. For example running an older version of osx off an external hard drive.

Honestly, if a linux distro were able to take apples place in the pc market, I'd use that instead.

 

[BriGuy]

I was on iTunes version 11 something when I stopped updating it, and when I got my new laptop last month, I didn't bother installing it at all. I buy pretty much all of my music on Amazon now anyway, although Amazon Music is becoming kind of a clusterfuck too.

 

[Red]

Much of their software has been shit for a long time. Why does the article make it seem like these are new complaints?

 

[ZeroX03]

How fast is your PC? It's sluggish nonsense on mid-range PCs, which is ridiculous because it's just displaying album art.

It's very high end >_>

Also works fine on my Windows laptop and Macbook too. Which aren't as good but still in the upper echelon.

 

[minor effort]

Just turn off syncing. I did that the first time I ever opened iTunes and have never had to deal with it.

Naturally, I did that. And just now I tried syncing one single song to iTunes, as it's been awhile since I last did so. It began copying not one, but 43 songs. Had I not cancelled the sync process it likely would have attempted to transfer over old apps as well.

Somewhere in the labyrinth of playlists or sync lists, those tracks were flagged as awaiting to be part of my iPhone library. That's not "drag and drop" simplicity.

It's times like this when I'm tempted towards Android because I appreciate the relative simplicity of a user-accessible filesystem.

EDIT: I don't want to make it sound like I'm 100% fed-up with Apple, and I'm turning into an "Apple Hater". I still like Mac OS. But I'm growing weary of iOS and applications now reoriented to interface with iOS, like iTunes.

 

[Servbot24]

I used to look forward to every new update, because things used to run better, not worse. Things have been getting a little buggier with every major OS refresh, which is really disappointing on fairly new computers. Worse, Software Update has been integrated into the App Store, and it doesn't work very well, either.

Apple has been bean countering mundane stuff like audio input jacks on stuff like the iMac, which necessitates the purchase of a external DAC. It's frustrating.

Again, don't mean to sound like I'm here to defend Apple, but what kind of El Capitan issues are you having? It's been perfect for me so far aside from an issue where it didn't go to sleep by itself once. Noticeably improved performance over Yosemite too.

 

[JJD]

As an old Apple consumer and current owner of a Macbook Pro Retina...I have always fucking hated iTunes.

 

[Mortemis]

iTunes on Mac is bloated as all hell too. It's a bad experience wherever you go.

I think instead of doing these non-major yearly updates, Apple should take a year or two break, really think and improve the user experience for OS X (even if it leads to getting rid of or completely redesigning programs like iTunes) and go from there. With the way they're going now, it feels like they care more about adding a new feature or two instead thinking about the OS experience as a whole.

Edit: I don't really mean performance, El Capitan has been near perfect for me for the last month or two (other than mail never working, that's not new though). I'm more talking about the user experience of their first party apps like iTunes.

 

[badcrumble]

Mail.app definitely needs a refresh on both platforms, and iTunes needs to be split up into a series of smaller apps (along with Music.app on iOS getting a rewrite), but I don't have any problems with Photos in the slightest. iCloud Drive is fine too.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Since when are you forced to use iTunes

Oh sweet can you drag and drop mp3s onto an iPhone from Windows without using iTunes now? That was one of the things preventing me from going back to IOS

 

[Chanser]

The big update for iTunes for Windows was decent, before that it was crap. Though I only use it for podcasts.

 

[Red]

The biggest problem with iTunes is navigating the UI, which is and has been an ordeal for years. It's terrible on every platform.

 

[Nikodemos]

The biggest problem with iTunes is navigating the UI, which is and has been an ordeal for years. It's terrible on every platform.

Apple's whole desktop UI design is becoming more and more dated.

 

[Risette]

Again, don't mean to sound like I'm here to defend Apple, but what kind of El Capitan issues are you having? It's been perfect for me so far aside from an issue where it didn't go to sleep by itself once. Noticeably improved performance over Yosemite too.

el capitan broke all my usb ports until the most recent update

I used to look forward to every new update, because things used to run better, not worse. Things have been getting a little buggier with every major OS refresh, which is really disappointing on fairly new computers. Worse, Software Update has been integrated into the App Store, and it doesn't work very well, either.

Apple has been bean countering mundane stuff like audio input jacks on stuff like the iMac, which necessitates the purchase of a external DAC. It's frustrating.

yup. I learned my lesson with being an early adopter for El Capitan. I waited a yearish on Yosemite and found it surprisingly nice, but getting El Capitan on launch was a nightmare.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

He he. I have an Apple folder both on iOS and OSX.

I use Microsoft's alternatives for basically everything. Outlook on iOS is so ridiculously superior to the Apple mail app it's a joke.

Outlook iOS feels more Apple than Apple's app.

 

[Stinkles]

Wait what? What playlists are you making? Putting music on my iPod back in the day always used to be drag and drop within iTunes.

You can only drag and drop playlists. Don't know how long it's been like that.

 

[30yearsofhurt]

Does anyone know why they ditched the sidebar in iTunes? Was it too useful?

 

[XOMTOR]

Then you aren't a PC user.

iTunes on Mac is alright. iTunes on PC is a giant NOPE, and yet iOS users are forced into it.

It is a piece of crap, but if you get it setup right (and don't touch anything or update it), it's less of a piece of crap. Most of the settings are certainly not intuitive though.

 

[Etzer]

I will never understand hate for iTunes.

How is that acceptable? And before someone says it, you shouldn't need unofficial workarounds and 3rd party software so your phone will accept files from different computers.

It is not sluggish, it's just not light.

"It's not fat, it's cultivating mass."

 

[killertofu]

I'm glad Apples been getting shit on lately. Tried to be an Apple Music Stan but goddamn the experience is such shit on desktop, it's amazing. Their iOS app is garbage too.

My Apple ID is constantly getting mixed up on my work Mac. I'm not even sure iCloud works half the time. It's just a goddamn confusing mess.

 

[kess]

Again, don't mean to sound like I'm here to defend Apple, but what kind of El Capitan issues are you having? It's been perfect for me so far aside from an issue where it didn't go to sleep by itself once. Noticeably improved performance over Yosemite too.

Permissions are not user accessible, resulting in a spate of files with "unknown permissions" -- files that are not deletable, searchable, or movable, even with administrator override. I used to be able to go into permission repair and cross my fingers that would resolve the issue, but as of El Capitan, that feature has been dropped as well.

Longer boot times -- Mountain Lion was great, Mavericks was OK, Yosemite was dire. El Capitan has improved this issue immensely, but the boat has sailed for users without flash drives. El Capitan, finally (10.11.2), does run a whole lot better than Yosemite in general, although quite a few third party programs seem to have been broken between this and the last update.

RAM prices have come down recently, so I'm going to try and see how much improvement that will net.

 

[CLEEK]

I'm a nerd in my 40s. I've been using PCs ever since they were a thing. iTunes is the worst consumer application I've ever experienced. Slow, buggy, horrific UX, painful update process, spreads user data everywhere, and forces you to have Quicktime installed.

I have the same songs on my iPhone for months and months, as I dread having to go through the ball ache to go into iTunes. I adore iOS, have grown neutral about OSX, but fuck me, Apple software itself is just the worst.

 

[Banderdash]

I own a windows pc, I don't have problems with iTunes... though I only use it as a storefront to buy music.

 

[minor effort]

I'm glad Apples been getting shit on lately.

And there's nothing wrong with that. I've been an Apple user for a long time now, but in that time they've grown into one of the biggest, most influential companies in the world. I don't need to breathlessly defend every move they make. It's okay to call them out. They're a big company and they should be able to take it. This isn't poor, beleaguered 1996 Apple anymore.

I've unfollowed a lot of Apple/Mac blogs lately because of how increasingly uncritical they've been of Apple lately.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Since when are you forced to use iTunes

So because it's not forced it's immune from criticism...?

 

[alr1ght]

Having to install iTunes on my PC is one of the major reasons I don't have an iPhone.

 

[Locked Out]

Just got an iPad Mini the other day and Siri won't set a timer. Fixed that error, but the fix ends up taking out Siri's ability to start an app or song.

And yeah, even on my Mac, iTunes is a disaster. This is the first year I didn't buy an iPhone. Instead I got a Nexus 6P to finally check out Android, and I couldn't be happier. Actual options and the ability to make my phone unique to me.

 

[thecouncil]

How is that acceptable? And before someone says it, you shouldn't need unofficial workarounds and 3rd party software so your phone will accept files from different computers.

Haha. The fact that my entire music library on my ipod can be wiped out because of a click of a button is unreal. Also unreal is the fact that I can't get music off of the damn thing and onto my computer.

 

[manzoman96]

My first Apple product was an iPod Nano 10 years ago and I remember complaining about iTunes back then. Nothing has changed.

 

[CronoShot]

iTunes and the lack of a file manager are the reason I switched to Android.

I have tons of local media. iTunes just makes the whole thing a mess.

 

[Salmonax]

I have that folder of useless Apple apps on my phone as well. And iTunes PC is miserable. Otherwise I'm not necessarily unhappy with Apple apps. But there's certainly truth to this.

 

[Red]

This can't be a controversial opinion, right? Apple software has been recognized as passable at best for a long time.

 

[BocoDragon]

I can kind of understand the draconian control over how you can sync an iPod when they were launching an online music store in 2003, against the backdrop of a very scared-of-the-internet music industry.... but it's clearly not necessary now.

Google didn't need to restrict how Androids are synced in order to put music on the Play store.

 

[José Mourinho]

My most used apps on my iPhone are by Microsoft. OneDrive for cloud storage, Groove to stream my music library, Word, PowerPoint and Excel for my classes, OneNote and Outlook for email. Of the native iOS apps I use Safari, Photos, Weather and on occasion Maps.

My native apps I don't use folder is just under 3 pages. Still, the phone is rock solid so I'm haopy. Just wish I could remove the native stuff I don't want.

Edit: iTunes isn't great on PC but I honestly think I've used it twice in about 6 months. Updates over the air and cloud storage make it largely avoidable.

 

[LQX]

Only reason I do not own an iPad or iPod is because of the software. I cant stand the fact I need iTunes to add anything to it and I especially hate the fact it installs so many other shit.

 

[ShowDog]

iTunes in itself is almost important enough and bad enough to reflect on the entirety of Apple's software development program as a failure. It's been this way for at least 5-6 years.

On OSX all of iTunes functionality as an iOS hub should be built into the OS natively with music split into two seperate apps. On Windows they need to spin it into several different pieces of software entirely.

Even if those sound like shit ideas I guarantee they're better than what we have now.

 

[Memento_Mori15]

Which is why I use a 3rd party application to add music to my iPad on a Windows computer. It would be nice to have it like my Walkman where I just click and drag my music to the appropriate place.

 

[CLEEK]

My first Apple product was an iPod Nano 10 years ago and I remember complaining about iTunes back then. Nothing has changed.

My first exposure to iTunes was with an iPod Mini in 2004, and iTunes has gotten worse since then.

I'll never understand the ethos that Apple spew of 'It Just Works' as I have had issues with every single iDevice I've owned (two iPods, five iPhones, two iPads) in regards to iTunes. The iDevices themselves have always been awesome and trouble free, but the moment the USB cable comes out and it's time for iTunes to do its thing... *fuck*

 

[Chris R]

iTunes being terrible pretty much guaranteed I'd never buy an iPhone. Such a PITA to deal with just using an iPod Touch.

Never connected my iPad to a computer when I was using it, but the majority of the apps I'd use a tablet for are available on my Android phone or PC these days, so I sold that too.

 

[rambis]

Itunes on PC is a shitty resource hog for what it is. Yes and syncing to iphone is stupid. Nothing intuitive about it at all. 4S was all I needed to see from Iphone to know it wasnt for me.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Haha. The fact that my entire music library on my ipod can be wiped out because of a click of a button is unreal. Also unreal is the fact that I can't get music off of the damn thing and onto my computer.

There are some apps to get music off of the phone and onto the computer, but I can't remember what it is called. I had to download one when I got a new computer and my time machine backup didnt have a few gigs of music on it but my phone did.

 

[mujun]

I don't know how they managed to fuck up the music player on iPods and the like.

It used to be so easy to just pick a song or album and play it.

Can I delete whole albums again or is that still gone?

 

[RibMan]

Then you aren't a PC user.

iTunes on Mac is alright. iTunes on PC is a giant NOPE, and yet iOS users are forced into it.

Correct.

iTunes on Mac is unrecognizable from iTunes on Windows. The latter is the reason I'm still hesitant to jump back into iOS. It's absolutely, positively, terrible on Windows. I've read so many articles and posts on why iTunes on Windows is garbage, and all seem to revolve around the idea that Apple wants to sell you Macs so they don't care about their software on Windows.

Yes, I'm going to go out and purchase a Mac after the godawful experience of Apple software. That totally makes sense.

 

[JasoNsider]

iTunes, especially on PC, is awful enough to truly give this argument weight. This thread is quickly turning into a pile-on but for good reason - that program is not only terrible in its own right, but is also one Apple insists on making a "central hub" of sorts. As others have pointed out, it should have been splintered off. It was bad to start and genuinely got more confusing as every new version landed.

I had friends texting me and asking how to get all their devices and content to sync correctly. Eventually I just gave up. What a damn mess.

It put so much of a sour taste in my mouth (along with all the overbearing content lockdowns) that I switched my next phone to android and could not be happier.

 

[hey_monkey]

I opened this all NOT ME me and then read the examples and was like, oh. Yeah. I don't use that shit.

 

[Future]

Then you aren't a PC user.

iTunes on Mac is alright. iTunes on PC is a giant NOPE, and yet iOS users are forced into it.

Yup. My workstation at work is really powerful, yet iTunes still manages to hang and freeze from time to time. And all I need iTunes at work to do is connect to my Apple Music. Spotify client in comparison just flies

 

[Griss]

iTunes is disgusting and they killed Aperture. The music app on iOS has been a disaster since they added Apple music - it's damn near unusable for me. They really are fucking up and have been for some time. I've been using MacBooks since 2002, too, so the decline in their core software quality has been painful to watch.

Seriously though, what's a good substitute for iTunes on a Mac?

 

[GSG Flash]

I'm still annoyed that Apple automatically installed the useless Apple Watch app on my phone and took up valuable space on the already pathetically small 16GB(less than that if we're talking about free space) they offer on the base model.