A developer has uncovered evidence that Apple is planning to break up its iTunes app for desktop, replacing it with dedicated Music and Podcasts apps, as well as a possible Books revamp.
That’s according to a new report from 9to5Mac which explains how developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who is well known for finding interesting things in iOS and macOS code bases, has noted that he has found evidence that Apple is, in fact, planning new Music and Podcasts apps for macOS 10.15 that will be released alongside the new TV app, as well as new Books app which includes Audiobooks as well as the current e-books.
I am now fairly confident based on evidence I don’t wish to make public at this point that Apple is planning new (likely UIKit) Music, Podcasts, perhaps even Books, apps for macOS, to join the new TV app. I expect the four to be the next wave of Marzipan apps. Grain of salt, etc
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) April 5, 2019
Brazilian iOS developer and 9to5Mac contributor Guilherme Rambo was able to confirm the same:
I’ve been able to confirm with sources familiar with the development of the next major version of macOS — likely 10.15 — that the system will include standalone Music, Podcasts and TV apps, but it will also include a major redesign of the Books app.
While Apple did overhaul the Books app in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, another rewrite is likely needed to introduce support for audiobooks and achieve overall feature parity with the iOS version of the app.
“The new Books app will have a sidebar similar to the News app on the Mac, it will also feature a narrower title bar with different tabs for the Library, Book Store and Audiobook Store,” writes Rambo. “On the library tab, the sidebar will list the user’s Books, Audiobooks, PDFs and other collections, including custom ones.”
Additionally, the new Music, Podcasts, and TV apps will be built using “Marzipan,” the common development environment that would allow developers to create iOS and macOS apps designed to facilitate the porting of iPhone and iPad apps to the Mac without too many code changes. While it’s not currently clear whether the redesigned Apple Books app will also be made using the technology, it very likely it will be.
Standalone Apple Music and Podcast apps, if they’re indeed on the cards, will come as no surprise. Apple introduced Home, News, and Voice and standalone apps for macOS Mojave last year, all of them being ports of their iOS counterparts.
Apple is expected to roll out the new apps at its annual WWDC conference which will begin on June 3rd. Last year, the company used its conference to show off iOS 12 and MacOS Mojave.
