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| iTunes 11 |
After a year of speculation that Apple was going to revamp its iTunes and months of waiting, iTunes 11 has arrived. This version of iTunes is a huge improvement over past iTunes' that were considered slow, clunky, messy, and out-of-date. iTunes 11 changes all of that, making iTunes a near-perfect media player. This version of iTunes has so many new features that many people will say is a big improvement from the previous versions of the software. Check out after the break for many of the new features.
New Look
The main feature of iTunes 11 is its look. The people behind the scenes really deserve a lot of credit for making iTunes look so beautiful. The new iTunes' look was redesigned from the ground up to make it look like a modern media player - and one that people can use with ease as well.
iTunes Library
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| Album View |
iTunes 11 features a completely redesigned look for organizing your library. This version of iTunes contains a sharper album view based on the iPad's album view in its music app. Also, clicking on an album will create a popup under it that shows you all of your songs you have from that album - making the album view much more organized than its predecessors. From that popup there is also a button that shows you what songs are missing from that album (and songs that are recommended to you) and lets you purchase them right there - making the iTunes library more intertwined with the iTunes store.
iTunes 11 also gets rid of the dreaded side-bar. Instead, putting everything in an easy to navigate top bar. This allows for a bigger space for album artworks and the iTunes store to be viewed in. On the left side of the bar is a popup menu that allows you to navigate your library getting rid of the necessity for the side bar. But do not worry you side bar lovers, you can still get your beloved side bar back by going to View>Show Sidebar.
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| The Top Bar |
New Features
Along with the all new look, iTunes 11 also comes with an array of new features. Rebuilt from the ground up, iTunes 11 is much faster than its predecessors and includes many new features.
Up Next
A new feature that I wish Apple implemented a while ago, Up Next is a great new addition to the new iTunes 11. Up Next, as the name suggests, allows you to view the next eight songs that are coming up after the current song playing is over. This feature also allows you to change what order the songs play in. Want Born This Way by Lady Gaga to play before Some Nights by Fun? You can now do that with a drag of the mouse.
Redesigned MiniPlayer
Whether you used it before or not, the new MiniPlayer is nothing to pass over when listing the new features in iTunes 11. The new MiniPlayer contains many new features besides the 'play, skip, previous' in the last version of iTunes. Some of those new features are the ability to see what songs are next using 'Up Next,' the ability to search your iTunes Library and select a new song, album artwork, and a 'more' menu with even more things you can do. With all these features, the new MiniPlayer is now a real 'iTunes mini.'
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| The Redesigned MiniPlayer |
iCloud
While iCloud is not a new feature, Apple made it an essential part of iTunes 11. The new iTunes contains a new way to access your music in the cloud - by building it into the iTunes Library. Whatever you have in the cloud that is not already on your iTunes will appear in your iTunes library, while connected to the internet, with a cloud next to it. If you want that song in your iTunes library permanently, all you have to do is click the cloud to download it. This is just one of the new features that makes the iTunes 11 more intertwined with the cloud.
Conclusion
All of the features here are some of the biggest features that Apple included in iTunes 11. With this being the biggest iTunes update since its inception, Apple has made huge leaps and bounds in one of the most important technologies of the modern era. While those are just a couple features, Apple included many more features that I did not talk about here. If you want to check out those other new features download the new iTunes 11 today!
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