Rumors have been relatively quiet on the iTunes front for awhile. We’ve had reports pop up here and there over the past couple years, but nothing that exciting has happened to Apple’s desktop music app for a long time.
iTunes is due for a refresh, and it looks like we’ll be seeing an iCloud-centric iTunes 11 alongside the release of iOS 6.
According to sources, Apple has recently begun internally seeding the next major release of the iTunes application for computers, iTunes 11. Work on iTunes 11 began prior to the release of iTunes 10.6, and the development of the new software product – that we are familiar with – is currently focused on under-the-hood changes, rather than cosmetic changes. However, Apple develops different portions of products in separate groups or at separate times, so the final product will likely include some new user-interface elements and more visible features.
That’s not all Gurman has for us. He says that iTunes 11 will heavily integrate with iCloud, especially with regards to the “dedicated iCloud settings panel” that will be a “centralized, always accessible spot for users to control iCloud related features while in iTunes.” This seems like an obvious move for Apple, as iCloud has become the backbone of its product ecosystem, specifically with regards to device backups and iTunes Match on the desktop.
Gurman believes that it’s likely Apple will release iTunes 11 alongside iOS 6, citing that the company usually releases new versions of iTunes alongside flagship iOS releases. iOS 6 is expected to be demoed at WWDC this summer.
Apple bought app recommendation service Chomp a couple months ago, and Gurman has heard that the Chomp team will be helping to improve content discovery for an upcoming App Store revamp set to debut “between this summer and the fall.”
