Apple killed iTunes with macOS Catalina but the Windows version of the app is going to stay around. The company does not plan to bring its new Music, Movies, and TV apps to Windows and instead, users will have to still rely on the good old iTunes for backing up, restoring, and managing their iPhone or iPad.

While Apple clarified that iTunes for Windows is here to stay, it did not mention anything about updates or support for the application. It is unclear if iTunes for Windows will continue to get updates and support from Apple or not. What’s likely here is that iTunes for Windows will continue to remain in its current state and only receive minor updates to ensure it is working properly and support new devices from Apple.

Many people on macOS and Windows also used iTunes for managing their library instead of just using it for backing up their iPhone/iPad. Apple says that the new Apple Music app in Catalina will automatically import one’s iTunes music library. This includes everything, right from their playlists to purchased music to media files stored locally.

Apple seems to have only broken iTunes into multiple apps for better user experience and clarity as it looks to grow its content business dramatically. It has not killed any of iTunes functionality and simply used branched it into three different apps in macOS.

As for iPhone and iPad syncing under Catalina without iTunes, there’s just a small change in this process. When one plugs in their iPhone or iPad to their Mac running Catalina, it will show up in the Finder’s sidebar like how external drives show up. Clicking on the device name will then present users with an interface that’s similar to what iTunes shows when an iPhone/iPad is connected to it. From there, users would be able to sync/restore their iPhone/iPad or update it to the latest iOS release.

Are you going to miss iTunes for managing your media library and iOS devices?

[Via Ars Technica]

Subscribe to iPhoneHacks Daily Newsletter

Sign up for our iPhoneHacks Daily newsletter to get the top Apple news stories delivered to your inbox.