Scheduled iTunes app launch on Windows Store has been delayed

Apple’s iTunes app won’t be making its scheduled debut on Windows Store this year after all.

iTunes was supposed to launch on Windows Store before the end of this year, with the Redmond giant event teasing its arrival with a Windows Store banner as far back as May 2017.

Apple has now confirmed to ZDNet that iTunes won’t make it into Windows Store this year, as originally promised during Microsoft’s Build conference in May this year.

“We have been working with Microsoft to deliver the full iTunes experience to our customers and we need a little more time to get it right,” said an Apple spokesperson via an emailed statement without revealing what specifically is holding this up.

According to author Mary Jo Foley, the plans still remain for iTunes to hit Microsoft’s app store at some point, but neither Apple nor Microsoft provided any updated timing.

This is bad news for both companies, even more so considering iTunes’ popularity and the fact that Windows 10 S runs only sanctioned Windows Store apps. iTunes is one of the apps Windows 10 S users search for on Microsoft’s store most frequently.

Of course, users of regular Windows editions can manually download iTunes from Apple at any time, something their Windows 10 S counterparts are unable to do because Windows 10 S is a slimmed-down version of Windows that can only run apps available in Microsoft Store.

Hosting iTunes on Windows Store would also make it easier for Windows users to find the app.