Attendees sit in front of an Apple logo during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco, California. Credit: Reuters/Stephen Lam
When the iPhone 5 was launched on September 12, Apple also anounced that it was poised to release a brand new version of iTunes -- one boasting a more
intuitive layout, even more features and better integration with iCloud, Apple's remote storage and streaming service.
The official launch was expected on October 23 when Apple also unveiled the iPad Mini, but there were no demonstration or details of when it would launch.
Now, over a week later, Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr has revealed that the company has been encountering problems and the release is being pushed back: "The new iTunes is taking longer than expected and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right. We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface and seamless integration with iCloud before the end of November."
The statement has led some journalists and bloggers to speculate that the delay may be linked to the recent departure of Scott Forstall, who was in charge of iOS mobile software, and of John Browett, the company's head of retail. However, the most likely explanation is that following the problems with Apple Maps that led to an apology from CEO Tim Cook and a pledge to work tirelessly until the maps program met Apple's exacting standards, the company is under even more scruitiny than usual and is going to make sure that the update is released bug-free.
iTunes, used to manage song, book and video libraries, is also the interface for synching content to iPhones and iPads and as such is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world every day.
The new version of iTunes is rumored to feature a better layout, improved performance, easier playlist creation, full-library search, a new mini-player and a full-window interface on desktop and notebook computers that includes an expandable album view.