Your music collection, apps, podcasts, and more. All the most interesting - in the iTunes application. It allows you to organize your media library on your computer, listen to music, watch videos, and read books. And it keeps your data up to date. It synchronizes all content. And it allows you to make purchases on your computer, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. Everything you need for entertainment - anywhere and anytime.
iTunes 12 Portable: All You Need to Know about The Latest Version
The new version of iTunes 12 Portable includes several innovations and changes, which at first may seem unusual for an active user of her previous iterations. In this article, we will look at the most important changes to the interface and functionality of iTunes, and tell you how to get the most out of working with the application.
Return the sidebar
Perhaps the first thing that catches your eye after installing iTunes 12 is the absence of the usual sidebar with categories, playlists, and devices. Apple has focused on the new type of control using drop-down menus that are in the top bar of the application window.
Fortunately, the company decided just to hide the sidebar in the original setting, and not remove it from iTunes at all. You can return it using the Option + Command + S key combination. Or via the View> Show Side Menu menu.
Similarly, the Status Menu was hidden from view with information about the type, amount, and volume of content in your iTunes library. You can return to the usual menu through the View> Show Status Menu.
Updated mini player
Many users prefer to minimize iTunes to the size of a convenient and compact mini-player. Apple is well aware of this, so in version 12 of the program, a separate button is assigned to the mini player, which is next to the Full-Screen button in the upper right-hand window.
If earlier iTunes could work either in the form of a standard window or in the format of a mini-player, then now it can be opened in two versions at once. To do this, click on the Miniplayer item in the Window menu.
It is convenient to work with multiple monitors. So, you can move the iTunes window to the second screen, leaving the compact Miniplayer on the first one.
All the innovations, however, do not end there. So, now the mini-player window shows the album cover, the name of the song and the artist, but when you hover over it with the mouse, the playback and volume control buttons instantly appear.
The Next menu is also available from the mini-player window, as well as the search, which will allow the less frequent resort to the help of the main iTunes window.
Sync with iCloud
Perhaps, the main functional feature of iTunes 12 is the integration of iCloud with your media library. Gradually abandoning physical media, Apple is hard at work developing its “cloud,” and this trend is very well seen in the new iTunes.
So, all movies, TV shows, music videos, and music purchased from iTunes are available for streaming, even if this content is not on your computer. Speaking about integration with iCloud, Apple claims that if you paused the movie on your Mac and decided to watch it from the iPad, then the playback will start from the moment it ended on the Mac.
Other features and functions
- iTunes 12 portable allows you to control the volume of all devices using AirPlay technology. The corresponding menu is opened by clicking on the icon just to the right of the volume slider.
- The program can read the iTunes gift card code via a webcam. To do this, click on the name of your account in the iTunes Store, select Redeem from the drop-down menu, and click the Use Camera button. Now it’s enough to bring the gift card with the number to the webcam, and iTunes will “read” it.
- The landscape view of iTunes 12 Portable has undergone major changes in visual terms. Now, the program uses record covers to create the background on which tracks from the selected album are displayed. The font color adjusts to the created background to always be readable.
- Sometimes it is convenient to fix the Miniplayer panel on top of other windows. To do this, click on the iTunes menu item, select Settings, and then in the Add-ons section, tick the Keep mini-player on top of other windows.
As a result, we can say that the new version of iTunes 12 Portable has turned out to be much more convenient and functional than its predecessor. This is a full-fledged media center, under the simple and logical interface of which the most advanced functions are hidden, which make life easier for those who like listening to music and watching videos on their Mac or Windows devices.
