According to website Three Guys and a Podcast, Apple has been working on a major redesign of its iTunes software that will see the music manager / app organizer / media hub become part of Safari. The new system is rumored to be announced at Apple’s music event that should take place (as every year) in September and will be the evolution of Apple’s original plans during the lala acquisition.
Apple may be preparing a massive move that will propel Safari from niche browser to market leader. The move to merge Safari and iTunes into one software solution appears long in the works, which may arrive this fall at Apple’s usual iPod special event.
It is believed that Safari will be the only browser able to access iTunes, as iTunes is built into the browser itself. “Moving iTunes organizational side-bar into Safari isn’t a monumental task” claimed a source, adding “Safari would skyrocket in use as a result of integrating the software titles together.
Lala was an online music streaming service that allowed users to listen to music from any web browser. Three Guys and a Podcast reports Apple once planned to make iTunes an online service capable of sending content to any browser; that may no longer be the case as iTunes will be deeply integrated into Safari. If true, such an integration could seriously increase Safari’s market share: with an iTunes Store only accessible within Safari, millions of customers would be forced to download and use Apple’s browser. An online service would also come in handy to purchase songs while you’re away from your main computer, as long as you’re running Safari on the other machine. Streaming would allow users to access content anywhere.
Still, we don’t see the iTunes desktop app going away anytime soon. Perhaps Apple is working on a web interface to fully browse the iTunes Store and stream music stored in the cloud, but we believe the desktop app still has a lot of offer. Even with a rumored browser integration (which, if you think about it, can make the browser a lot more cluttered), it is unclear how sync with iOS devices would happen inside Safari. Or video streaming to the Apple TV, or playlist creation. Not to mention app management and update process. Three Guys and a Podcast’s report doesn’t cover all these details.
So, we do believe Apple will slowly transition some parts of iTunes to the cloud, but we can’t imagine iTunes becoming part of the Safari web browser this year. Unless, well, Steve Jobs has a great surprise to show us for his future comeback. [ Three Guys and a Podcast via 9to5mac]
