Rumors of iTunes' demise have been greatly exaggerated.
When Apple announced at WWDC on Monday that iTunes would be dismantled and reshaped as three separate apps, it seemed to be the end to the long-running, oft-maligned program that revolutionized the music industry.
However, it turns out that iTunes will survive and take refuge in an unlikely sanctuary: Windows.
The 18-year old program will reportedly remain unchanged on Windows, according to Ars Technica. That is, it won't follow iTunes on Mac and be dissolved into other apps when macOS Catalina debuts this Fall. Apple even clarified that it currently has no plans to end support for iTunes on Windows.
MORE: macOS Catalina Revealed: 6 Big Changes Coming to Your Mac
Unfortunately, we don't know much beyond that. Apple hasn't said whether iTunes on Windows will continue to receive frequent updates, or if it will slowly fizzle out and be replaced with Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV --- the three apps that took its place on macOS.
If you were born in the '80s or '90s then iTunes probably played a big part in your life. When it launched in 2013, iTunes became the place where users could legally purchase digital downloads of their favorite music. But iTunes has lost ground in recent years to Apple Music as purchasing individual songs and albums has been replaced by subscription services, where users gain full access to millions of tracks for a monthly fee.
The few remaining fans of iTunes can take solace that the legendary music app lives to see another day. Just try not to be too heart-broken if it disappears altogether in the near future.
