You can no longer browse the App Store inside iTunes

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iTunes App Store
The App Store is back in iTunes 12.6.3.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has eliminated the ability to browse the App Store from within iTunes on a Mac or PC.

Its latest update is focused on “music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks,” Apple says. This means app management can only be done on an iOS device.

The App Store inside iTunes has long been neglected. It was cumbersome to use, and it made downloading apps more complicated. Although you had the ability to make purchases and add them to your library, you still had to download them on an iOS device.

Apple could have solved this by giving users the ability to send software to their iPhone or iPad — like you can on Android — but it chose to go down another route. iTunes version 12.7, which rolled out on Tuesday, removes the App Store altogether.

“Apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are now exclusively available in the new App Store for iOS,” Apple explains in a new support document. “And the new App Store makes it easy to get, update, and redownload apps—all without a Mac or PC.”

Apple has also pulled the ability to manage iBooks for Windows users, so that has to happen on iOS, too. Other changes in this update send iTunes U content to the Podcasts section of iTunes, and add Internet Radio stations to the sidebar.

Ringtones you have previously purchased can now be redownloaded on an iOS device, so there’s no need to use iTunes anymore. However, syncing is still possible if you need to restore a tone that’s no longer available in the iTunes Store.

You can download iTunes 12.7 now if you haven’t already. You’ll need it to sync with iOS 11 when it makes its public debut next week.

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