Following the release of the new iPod shuffle, it appears iTunes 8.1 is on its way. It’s not going to be a big release, but as with the new desktop line, there will be a few small changes to enhance the application further.
iTunes 8.1 will respond quicker when syncing your iPod/iPhone, loading large libraries and when you’re browsing the iTunes Store. I personally hope this lives up to expectations, because syncing the iPhone can be quite painful with a lot of applications. It’s slowly been getting better, but a speed boost would certainly be great.
If you’re a fan of Genius, you’ll be glad to hear it’s coming to your movies and TV shows, too! I’ve only used it once or twice to create a few playlists, but I have been introduced to some great tracks through it, too. This is the part I’ll be looking forward to especially for TV shows.
If that isn’t enough for you, any music you import from CD will be a higher quality. 256-Kbps iTunes Plus (AAC) files to be precise. You will be able to change from the default, if you preferred MP3 files, but the 256Kbps AAC is the same encoding used for the iTunes Store, and is a brilliant quality for your music.
Apple also states small updates for parental controls, limiting access to parts of the iTunes Store, while keeping access to iTunes U: the educational section used by universities. I can’t think this will affect the majority of users, but it’s a nice feature to have around, especially on a family computer.
Also, judging from the screenshots of iTunes throughout Apple’s website, it appears that the “Party Shuffle” mode has been renamed to “iTunes DJ.” I’m not sure if there’s any other changes for Party Shuffle—maybe better control between tracks. By that, I mean the ability to manually cross-fade through songs, alter tempos, that kind of thing. It would make iTunes a lot easier for that kind of use, although anything serious and you’d still be looking at dedicated DJ set ups.
There’s no date set for the release of iTunes 8.1, but since the new iPod shuffles will require this update, and they’re shipping within 3-5 business day’s, I’d imagine the update will appear in Software Update at some point during the week. We’ll let you know when.
Via [MacRumors]
Is out now here in the UK