For those of you holding out for a Metro/Modern version of Apple iTunes on Windows 8 or Windows RT, don’t hold your breath. Microsoft has admitted that while the company has ‘laid out the welcome mat’ to Apple, don’t expect to see an iTunes app anytime soon.
“You shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon. iTunes is in high demand. The welcome mat has been laid out. It’s not for lack of trying,” Microsoft’s CFO Tami Reller stated. This doesn’t mean you cant download the desktop version of iTunes and run it on Windows 8. However, if you are on a Surface RT, you are simply out of luck.
As CNN points out, Apple has no reason to develop apps for Windows 8 or even help make the Surface tablet a better product. “Apple’s reluctance to make a Windows 8 app isn’t surprising. Though the company has been willing to write software for Windows, including iTunes, Safari, and Quicktime, Apple is in a very different position in the PC market than it is in the tablet market,” CNN explains. “The Mac remains a niche PC, while the iPad is the single best-selling tablet by a wide margin. There’s no reason for Apple to help make the Surface a better product.”
However, Microsoft is looking to make the same popular apps on the iTunes App Store available for Windows 8 as well, by the holiday season. “That’s not just our goal, but it’ll be realistic to achieve that. We’re almost there,” Reller adds.