iTunes 11 Now Available for OS X and Windows: Top Features of Apple’s Next Generation Music Software Explained

After much wait and delay since October 2012, Apple has finally released the updated iTunes 11 on November 30 and now the next generation highly acclaimed online music service is now available for OS X and Windows users globally. The update is available on OS X.

As informed by the Cupertino based tech giant, the new update is available on OS X via the Mac App Store, while Windows users can download it separately. The update totally overhauls the previously overloaded application to provide a much simpler user interface with more visually appealing features of the library.

Apple boasts that this is the simplest iTunes of all versions. With its clean, fresh look and the new features, iTunes promises to give a new media experience to the users. The expanding album effect, flexible Up Next feature, simple but cool Mini Player, together promises the media lover a fulfilling treat. Newer ways to browse music, videos, view albums, artists and songs is expected to make iTunes 11 the latest hit in town. Users can download iTunes 11 from here.

Let’s take a look at the best features of the iTunes 11 below:

‘Up Next’ in Mini Player

One of the major highlights of the software overhaul is the new addition, the ‘Up Next’ feature. It enables the user to see what songs are listed after the currently playing song. You can also change them as you wish. If you want a song from iTunes library to be played next, you can visit the song, add it to the ‘Up Next’ playlist and you are good to go. The song will be added in the list after which the other songs in the playlist will be played automatically.

The redesigned Mini Player is smaller than ever but with exciting new features including the ‘Up Next’ feature. In order to see the player controls all you need to do is to hover at the side bar. You can search for any media files on a mini search bar too.

Easy management of playlists

Creating and managing your playlists has never been easier. You can add new songs to a currently existing playlist by simply selecting the song and dragging it. The playlists appear immediately, which allows you to drag the songs and drop it into the playlist of your choice.

Better album viewing

The albums on your iTunes library can be expanded right there when you click on them. Even content related to it from the iTunes Store will also be shown along with it right on your iTunes library.

Pop-up menu to select media library

There is a pop-up menu from which you can select the media library you want- music, TV shows, movies etc.

Connect and transfer files to iOS device with ease

Connecting your iOS devices has now been made very user-friendly. When you connect an iOS device to your computer, the option to access the device appears on the menu rather than the sidebar. This makes managing the content in your device so much easier enabling you to add even entire albums, genres, and artists to the connected device.

View history in iTunes Store

iTunes Store has received a major overhaul too, more in terms of aesthetics, to make it look more like iOS stores, so as to impart the same feel any place you shop. A major feature that has been added is the option of accessing your viewing history, which easily enables you to go back to an item that you had checked out before. Apple says that the redesigned iTunes Store facilitates ‘simple’ shopping, with shelves facilitating easy browsing through music, TV shows, movies and so on.

Seamless integration to iCloud

According to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, the integration to iCloud is better than ever before. Wi-Fi syncing is possible with iTunes and content can be downloaded wirelessly and then stored to the cloud. For instance, if you want to access a movie that you had downloaded in some other location, you can just click on it and it will play from right where you had left it off.

The new iTunes 11 has also ditched the failed music social network Ping that was featured in iTunes 10. iTunes had not undergone any major design change since 2010. However, iTunes 10 had introduced iTunes in the Cloud feature afterwards which garnered around 2 million users along with iTunes Match and the capability to buy videos from iTunes Store which had 1080p HD quality. But Apple with iTunes 11, Apple has come up with features that would change the users’ experience of using the iTunes library.

iTunes 11 is now available for OS X through Software Update (available in Mac App Store on Mountain Lion). Download iTunes 11 from here.