What do you think of iTunes 11?

It was initially announced in September alongside the launch of iPhone 5. Apple promised to release it on October, but asked for a one more month to make sure it’s perfect. Just before November ended, Apple released iTunes 11.

So what are my thoughts with the new iTunes?

Honestly speaking, I was really not an iTunes user before I got my Mac. My music library was just one big pile of mess sitting in my My Music folder. I didn’t think it would be wise to have iTunes installed in my PC because based on experiences, that software has always been sluggish in PC (I don’t know guys; if I want to play a song in PC, it would be a lot faster if it’s opened using VLC or something else other than iTunes). And besides, I don’t have any iOS device at the time to use and connect with iTunes. It just didn’t make sense; well at least for me.

When I got my Mac, which kicked off my Apple journey, I started to build my music library in iTunes. This is when I started to get really meticulous with how my music files appear in iTunes (e.g. must have album art, artist and song information, etc.). This much scrutiny paid off when I got my iPhone; it feels great to look at my locked phone while my music library plays in the background. Call me obsessive-compulsive, but I really like it that way.

Then I started to build my movie library when I got my Apple TV. For me it was really awesome to see how Apple TV, through the help of iTunes’ home sharing, stream my movies from my Mac to our HDTV. Well to be honest, I really didn’t know why I need to buy an Apple TV when I still have a working WD Live TV; maybe it’s the fanboy side of me kicking in.

In short, iTunes has changed the way I organised my songs and movies, and I was so excited last Friday when I learned that iTunes 11 is already available for download. So I fired up my Mac, checked the Software Updates, and waited patiently until the iTunes update installed itself. I was surprised that the software update didn’t require a restart, so I just clicked the iTunes icon in my dock.

The first “new” thing that I noticed in iTunes 11 is its logo. Apple removed the CD element in the logo when it released iTunes 10, and now in 11 it tweaked the colour of the music note to better represent its software makeover. The music note is now silver, but the appearance of other elements remains the same. This change is also apparent in the recently updated Remote iOS app.

Then I saw the rest of iTunes 11. They totally refreshed its user interface and it’s really nice to see it mature from that perspective. The buttons are now flattened, the sidebar is hidden by default, and the album view looks really nice. Since I browse music by album, I find it amazing that the background colour of the music list varies depending on the colour tone of the album art. I must say it’s an eye candy for me. The list/description is still readable, because for some reason it complements the background colour.

The iTunes Store also received a revamp and it has the same look and feel as its iOS counterpart. You can also access the store while browsing your music library, in case you can’t get enough of that artist, or if there’s another artist that it thinks you would enjoy too.

I also like the mini player mode of iTunes, even if I really don’t use it that much before. You can search for music and update your playlist without even leaving the mini player mode. And since it sits on your screen’s top-left corner, you can interact with it while working on something else.

But what I loved the most in this new version is the Up Next feature. Sometimes when I am listening to an album/playlist, I suddenly feel like listening to this one song outside that list. I want to play that record immediately after the currently playing one, but I want my album/playlist to stay intact and to continue playing after that one outlier. Now all I need to do is right-click the track and click “Play Next”. It will then insert that song in your Up Next list. After that song ends, you’d continue with your current playlist as if nothing happened.

I am still a newbie with iTunes, so I can’t really say that I share the frustrations of so many people with iTunes 10. But with iTunes 11, I can say that I share the satisfaction that most people now feels toward it.

Have you upgraded yet? What do you think of the new iTunes 11? Let me know in the comments.