Macworld:
iTunes gets a lot of criticism, including a lot that I dish out, and much of this criticism is justified. iTunes has lots of problems syncing iOS devices, iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library are confusing, and the interface, particularly in iTunes 12, is confusing.
To be fair, though, iTunes does get a lot right. You can condemn it for many problems, but it’s good to sometimes take a step back and give it credit for the features that work so well that you hardly pay attention to them. I’ve picked ten things that iTunes does right.
McElhearn has a good point. After all the complaining many, myself included, do about it, there are many things it does very well.
Most of these features have been a part of the app for at least five years. For a more recent example of iTunes getting something right, “Up Next” – on OS X and iOS – is far superior to the clunky queue management in Spotify.
If only all of iTunes demonstrated such simplicity.
Meh, yes it does these things, but not particularly that great. A Frankenstein app that needs to be retired, IMO.
I would prefer a few powerful apps that are superior at their function, rather than a ‘Swiss Army Knife” that only marginally does the job.
“Jack of all trades, master of none,” iTunes.
But how are you going to find the 10 right things when you have given up using iTunes because it is a PITFA.
One thing that’s underrated and taken for granted, in my opinion, is how easy it is to add songs to iTunes Match. I subscribed to Amazon MP3’s cloud service for some time. Adding non-Amazon songs was like an IT task. Download the MP3 uploader. Update Adobe Air. Run a scan on your library, then upload your songs. For iTunes Match, all you have to do is open iTunes.