Apple Announces End To iTunes

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SAN JOSE (CBSLA/AP) – Technology giant Apple announced Monday that it is phasing out its iconic media application iTunes.

Apple made the announcement at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, which kicked off Monday.

Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during the 2019 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 03, 2019 in San Jose, California. The WWDC runs through June 7. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

iTunes will be reconfigured into three new apps: Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Podcasts. The news was first reported by Bloomberg last week.

iTunes was launched back in 2003 when file-sharing was how people listened to music digitally.

The changes are coming with the new Mac software update, Catalina. Apple has been beefing up digital services such as video streaming to offset eroding sales of its bedrock product, the iPhone.

At the conference, Apple also unveiled updates designed to make Apple Watches more independent of iPhones, as well as new software for iPads that give them functionality closer to laptops.

Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke on the changes Monday morning in his keynote address, which can be watched here.