What is ITunes?
iTunes is a free media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application developed by Apple. It was first released in 2001 for Mac computers to manage music libraries and play songs. Over the years, support for other types of media was added, like music videos, audiobooks, and podcasts.
On Mac computers, iTunes also serves as a hub for syncing content with iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. It allows users to import songs from CDs to build their digital music library. The iTunes Store built into the app provides a way to browse and purchase new music, movies, TV shows, and more.
With iTunes, users can listen to music and other audio, organize media files into playlists, share media libraries over a local network, and create backups. Key features include:
- Media playback for songs, movies, podcasts, audiobooks, and more
- Library management for media files stored locally on the device
- iTunes Store for purchasing and downloading multimedia content
- Syncing music, videos, and other data with iPhone, iPad and iPod devices
- Internet radio with access thousands of internet radio streams
iTunes is available for free download for Windows and Mac computers. It requires Windows 10/11 or macOS Catalina and newer to run. Optional iTunes Match and Apple Music subscriptions provide additional cloud music storage and streaming capabilities.
Winamp, Bandcamp, MusicBee, MediaMonkey, AIMP, foobar2000, Tauon Music Box, Audacious, Clementine, Strawberry, Radio Garden, Musicmatch Jukebox, Madsonic are some alternatives to ITunes.