iTunes 8 debuted today with some exciting new features with a new ‘genius algorithm’ to make you spend waste more money. With a visual refresh, as well as a new grid view, iTunes 8 might just be the worthy upgrade we were looking for.
Without further ado, let’s look into the new features announced in the “Let’s Rock” Keynote.
What’s New in iTunes 8?
Genius Playlists
You can automatically make playlists from songs in your music library that ‘go great together’, at the click of a button. A genius sidebar makes recommendations from the iTunes Store that might match the Genius playlist. As people add more and more info, Genius will gets smarter and smarter. This helps you to rediscover music in your library.
Grid View: Browsing by Album Cover
You can now have album browsing just like iPhoto’s skimming feature. You can switch by album, artist, genre or composer, each of which shows you all your albums on a dark backdrop. Movies, TV Shows, Audiobooks and Podcasts also support the Grid view, with TV shows displaying how many unwatched episodes remain.
HD TV Shows
After more than a year of bickering, NBC is back in the iTunes Store. Bringing with it the popular shows like Office and Heroes along with the rest of their content. Along with the same $1.99 for SD content, we now have TV shows in HD as well, setting you back by $2.99 per episode! Get ready for Heroes (and Hayden Panettiere) in HD.
Brand new Visualisation
Going along with the rumours, iTunes 8 brings along with it a new visualisation, which involves a 3D space like platform with planets and dazzling lights. It sure looks cool!
iTunes 8 is available for download at the Apple website as a free download for Mac and PC users. What are we waiting for then?
As ‘predicted’ by Kevin Rose and Gizmodo, many of the rumours and predictions came true. All said and done, are you excited by this release?
