Well, this was unexpected: Microsoft announced today that Apple will bring iTunes to the Windows Store.

That’s exciting in a way, since iTunes is the second most-used third-party Windows desktop application, behind Google Chrome.

But there are questions.

Key among them is how Apple intends to make this application available. My guess—no one is saying at the moment—is that Apple will simply use the Desktop Bridge technologies to contain iTunes in an AppX package. And that the firm won’t do any further customization work, nor will add UWP-specific features.

Another question is timing: Microsoft said that iTunes would arrive in the Store “later this year,” but hopefully that doesn’t mean “late this year,” as in “after the release of the Fall Creators Update.”

We can argue about the quality of iTunes, of course. And that this application is largely unnecessary these days because most people access media on smartphones and other devices, and not on Windows PCs. But you can’t argue with facts. And the popularity of iTunes is a fact. so this is great news, no matter how you slice it. Pardon the (Apple) pun.

Tagged with iTunes