Apple has just released the latest version of iTunes which is now currently available for download. iTunes 8  includes a few new funky features that will surely help provide a unique experience when playing your loved music, over and over again. Looking to the right, the new look of the “Music” tab is introduced. Keeping everything very simplistic as always, Apple have used black, grey and white to introduce a very focused look. Everyone has different tastes and favourite colours but my assumption is they are trying to target the younger generation with this 2.0 look rather then the wise.

Genius

Genius is a new implementation by Apple which has two parts attached. Firstly is the Genius Playlists which helps save time by creating new playlists based on your song selection. You pick a song, hit the Genius button and voilà!, you have a playlist with all your songs that go together well with your current song selection – neat.

How iTunes Genius Works

The second part is the Genius Sidebar which will recommend songs based on your current playing song. Basically, it introduces new songs which are almost identical with your selected song. It won’t recommend songs that are already in your library. As you can see on the left hand side, (Click to view full image) you choose a song, hit the genius button and it will automatically find you related songs whether that be in your library or available for download through the iTunes store. I would have to say that this is a great marketing tool, allowing different artists to be heard depending on people’s tastes. It doesn’t force you to purchase the song, but it gives you incentive due to it’s relational to what you’re playing. Working on emotion/feelings – smart.

To read more about iTunes 8 new features, visit their website by clicking here and/or to download iTunes 8, click here.