iTunes 11 to Include Improved iCloud Integration and iOS 6 Support

9to5Mac claims to have some early details about Apple's next version of iTunes. iTunes 11 has been internally seeded and is said to include under-the-hood changes and early support for iOS 6, which has not yet been announced.

iclouditunes
The main focus seems to be on iCloud:

iTunes 11 includes an increased presence of iCloud integration. Perhaps the biggest testament to this is a dedicated iCloud settings panel within iTunes. This panel is a centralized, always accessible spot for users to control iCloud related features while in iTunes. These features include iTunes Match, iTunes in the Cloud, iCloud iOS device backups and more.

An increased focus around iCloud makes sense as Apple's Tim Cook has said that he doesn't view iCloud as short term product, but instead a long term strategy for the next 10 years. When asked about it at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference, he responded:

I view iCloud not as something with a year or two product life -- it's a strategy for the next decade or more. It's truly profound.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: Out Now!]

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Get iOS 26 Features With New Firmware Update

Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware. With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
apple n1 chip

Apple's New N1 Chip in iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Has a Wi-Fi 7 Limitation

Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation. According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
iPhone 17 Pro Air Boxes

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Boxes Revealed

Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday. Image Credit: Jon Freier Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...

Top Rated Comments

slrandall Avatar
175 months ago
Eh ... I was really hoping for an overhaul (and SIMPLIFICATION) of iTunes.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sam Yikin Avatar
175 months ago
Seems like a natural evolution direction.

A good question is whether they'll be removing any of the 5+ year old broken legacy stuff from iTunes.

iTunes does have a lot of bloat, but I do think it's very cool that you can plug in a first gen iPod and it will still work just fine.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stevemiller Avatar
175 months ago
because doing more things is what itunes needs to do. :rolleyes:

edit: i re-read and noticed they primarily listed the music functions of icloud, so i guess those additions do make sense. i still wish they could move some of the more esoteric idevice functionality out of itunes though. like folding ios app management on your computer into the mac appstore software.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSRS Avatar
175 months ago
iTunes is one of the worst thing Apple has ever done.

The learning curve is super steep to most of the people, and many of them are scared away from using iPhone (i.e. jumped to the Android camp) solely because of iTunes.

Can you connect me to one person that got scared off an iPhone and got and Android phone because iTunes scared them off? That might be one of the most far fetched statements I've heard in a while. Have you used any of the three products you are comparing/contrasting?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Diode Avatar
175 months ago
Ugh. Still stupid my Mac has to be on to stream movies from iTunes.

Please allow home sharing from NAS's. That would solve a lot of people's problems.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gemütlichkeit Avatar
175 months ago
Eh ... I was really hoping for an overhaul (and SIMPLIFICATION) of iTunes.

Agreed, they really need to retool the application. It's gotta be their oldest, most used app out there.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)