Products · Product
iTunes
Raised as a usability problem by 627 people on Hacker News over 20 years (2007–2026), in 452 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20Search is slow and CPU intensiveUnreviewed
- 21Movie downloads are too slow to wait forUnreviewed
- 22
- 23Forced to use iTunes to manage appsUnreviewed
- 24
- 25Unsynced apps get wiped on first syncUnreviewed
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33Transferring audiobooks failsUnreviewed
- 34
Every issue, all time, most people first
Nearly unusable due to slowness on non-Apple systemsUnreviewed
20072026- Windows iTunes app is laggy and glitchy to use2024-02-08
- ITunes consumes so many PC resources it frustrates the user2023-04-28
- ITunes is painfully slow to interact with on a modern MacBook Pro2022-09-09
No global search across library and device when searching for a songUnreviewed
20072026- Must point out each song of a lost album individually; it cannot locate the rest2026-05-18
- Searching for a song requires a confusing sequence of clicks and swipes2022-03-09
- Searching and browsing artists loses earlier search context; slow screen transitions make finding music a chore2017-02-20
Can't drag music files onto the iPod, must use iTunes' tedious interfaceUnreviewed
20072026- Adding a song to an iPod now requires going through iTunes, which the commenter finds cumbersome2026-02-02
- Cannot copy music to an iPod without buggy iTunes that updates every time2022-07-23
- Must sync with iTunes and cannot simply transfer files to the iPod2022-02-15
Apple Music clutters the top of the music interfaceUnreviewed
20072026- Too many media types with different paradigms crammed into one app, making it a mess2023-01-13
- Newer music app is buggy and replaces the library-management features people relied on2022-09-26
- Splitting media into multiple apps is worse; Apple Music clutters the top of the music interface2020-02-03
Moving files to iPhone is complicated and forced through iTunesUnreviewed
20072026- Transferring files into an app on iPad via iTunes is clunky2026-10-16
- Forced to use iTunes to move music and ebooks onto iPhone2020-09-13
- Bloated, janky software whose syncing concept is wrong for multiple devices2019-06-01
Syncing music is unpredictable, behaving inconsistentlyUnreviewed
20072026- Syncing forces transcoding of the whole music library and strips album covers2022-09-26
- New songs take multiple tries to scan and appear in iTunes for syncing2019-04-23
- Manual music file management is awful; syncing with the phone risks corrupting the library2017-07-17
Import option silently reorganized the library, unnoticed until files were lostUnreviewed
20072026- Importing music silently duplicated every file into a new format, messing up the user's organised collection2026-08-25
- Music added to the library gets hidden in an internal database, making files hard to find or recover2023-06-15
- Importing ripped music files trashed the whole library2023-01-13
Syncing interrupts playback and forces clicking through popups to cancelUnreviewed
20072026- Playback can't be scrubbed and tracks skip randomly; sync often struggles2022-03-09
- Syncing a device interrupts music playback, which it should not2016-09-19
- Bundles many unrelated functions, so music playback is interrupted by sync and update prompts2016-09-19
Must install the iTunes app to buy music, unlike a browser storeUnreviewed
20072026- Buying MP3s requires installing iTunes, so Linux users cannot buy them2026-07-01
- Non-Apple users must use a clunky app just to buy songs2021-06-11
- Buying an album as a plain MP3 download is a hassle in the iTunes app2019-05-17
UI ignores Windows conventions, making it feel foreignUnreviewed
20072026- Cross-platform GUI feels like another OS, not native to Windows2018-09-18
- Ignores Windows UI conventions, making it awkward to use on Windows2016-05-27
- Non-native design feels jarring and inconsistent with other Windows apps2016-05-27
Purchased music is unplayable on Linux computersUnreviewed
20072026- Purchased music is unplayable on non-Apple computers running Linux2018-11-29
- Buying music has more friction than before, and features like complete-my-album are gone2018-02-12
- Purchased MP3s silently disappeared from the library without any warning or confirmation2015-07-14
Getting back to list view requires clicking a Songs controlUnreviewed
20072026- Browser view is unnecessarily hidden under the Songs view2021-08-30
- Hidden menus and right-click options make managing iPod playlists baffling and slow2016-06-02
- Users can't find how to get back to their song list2015-09-11
Keeping music organized across drives and cloud is overwhelming and confusingUnreviewed
20072026- Transition to cloud music library was confusing and messy2025-06-17
- Music app became cloud-heavy and slow, keeping user from their library2019-10-08
- Keeping a music library organized across drives and cloud is overwhelming and confusing2016-05-05
Must sync with iTunes before the iPad can be used at allUnreviewed
20072026- Buying apps for an old iPad requires an old iTunes, another computer, and Wine2022-01-11
- IPad keeps auto-syncing with iTunes whenever it is plugged in, requiring a manual workaround2015-09-10
- Must use iTunes just to get items onto the iPad2015-02-13
Loading songs onto iPhone takes hours, unlike drag and drop elsewhereUnreviewed
20072026- Dragging music to iPhone does nothing for minutes or silently fails, requiring retries2025-09-17
- Loading songs onto the iPhone takes literally hours, unlike drag and drop on other players2023-06-08
- IPhone skips songs frequently and user can't get them to play2017-03-24
Clicking web links unexpectedly opens iTunes instead of the browserUnreviewed
20072026- Clicking a link loops endlessly between Safari and iTunes2017-09-13
- Clicking web links unexpectedly opens iTunes instead of the browser2013-05-16
- Can't open multiple tabs or easily get links to items inside iTunes2009-09-10
Search is slow and CPU intensiveUnreviewed
20072026- Slow, ugly and hard to navigate; search is terrible2017-07-16
- Search is unforgivably slow and CPU intensive2017-03-24
- Lag between typing and search results appearing2012-12-12
Movie downloads are too slow to wait forUnreviewed
20072026- Rented movie download fails around 2GB with data corruption and restarts from scratch2015-09-08
- Movie downloads from iTunes are too slow to wait for2014-02-02
- HD downloads take hours and stall, frustrating the user waiting on them2013-02-27
Dialog boxes block the whole app, so iTunes can't keep workingUnreviewed
20072026- Modal dialogs block the whole UI for routine actions like starting playback2018-04-23
- Too complicated to use, constantly shows dialog boxes when just playing music2016-09-19
- Dialog boxes block the whole app, so iTunes can't keep working while they're open2016-09-19
Forced to use iTunes to manage appsUnreviewed
20072026- Locking iTunes down and merging several apps into one is bad for users2016-02-15
- ITunes and App Store described as needing a complete rewrite2016-02-04
- Forces users to use iTunes to manage apps2011-03-22
Keeps pushing users to subscribe to Apple Music on iOS and macOSUnreviewed
20072026- UI changed to push Apple Music subscriptions so hard it's annoying2018-02-12
- ITunes and iCloud music handling became frustrating enough to drive the user to Spotify2018-02-05
- Keeps pushing users to subscribe to Apple Music on iOS and macOS2016-09-19
Unsynced apps get wiped on first syncUnreviewed
20072026- Removing app sync means apps can't be restored from a local copy and must be re-downloaded2018-01-30
- Can't keep a copy of an app version; thinned apps don't sync to computer, making saving versions hard2016-01-02
- Sync didn't always work properly and could wipe devices; app was opaque in operation2015-01-13
Downloads fail a third of the time and must be restarted repeatedlyUnreviewed
20072026- Downloads stall when the downloads popover is scrolled while many files download2017-05-02
- Keeps re-downloading already downloaded past purchases, filling up disk space2016-02-04
- Downloads fail a third of the time and must be restarted repeatedly2014-07-31
Fullscreen video on secondary display unexpectedly blanks the primary screenUnreviewed
20072026- No option to stop other monitors blacking out during full-screen video2023-01-13
- Esc no longer exits full-screen video, and restarting reopens it full-screen again2012-06-05
- Fullscreen video on secondary display blanks the primary screen unexpectedly2010-05-06
Clickable controls in the display are undemarcated, so never discoveredUnreviewed
20072026- Hidden clickable controls sit in a glass-covered LCD look that users wouldn't think to press2026-01-18
- Clickable controls in the display are undemarcated, so users never discover them2024-08-03
- Some labels look like decoration but are clickable controls, so users can't tell what's interactive2023-01-25
Opening recorded MP3s is slow and adds them to the library automaticallyUnreviewed
20072026- Renaming an album blocks the app and writes each MP3 slowly, one by one2025-10-15
- Has become cluttered, making it hard to simply manage an MP3 archive2016-05-14
- Opening recorded MP3s is slow and automatically adds them to the library2012-06-25
Failed to copy a single MP3 to a phone, with confusing errorsUnreviewed
20072026- Interface was unintuitive and music transfer to phone was painful and unreliable2019-05-04
- Bad UI and difficulty downloading songs to the phone2016-05-09
- Spent an hour failing to copy a single MP3 to a phone, with confusing errors and UI2015-01-28
Must copy files locally before transferring them to the iPodUnreviewed
20072026- No Linux version, so transferring files needs a slow paid workaround app2022-09-02
- App is slow, crashes, and can't find files; must copy files locally before transferring to iPod2015-07-23
- Syncing iPhone or iPod to Mac takes forever before files can be transferred2011-01-27
Transferring audiobooks failsUnreviewed
20072026- Transferring audiobooks fails and the music app is buggy2024-02-08
- Audiobooks copied via iTunes only appear in iBooks on the phone, not on Mac2018-01-21
- Syncing audiobooks to iPod is difficult and confusing2010-05-02
Endless loop of login prompts even with correct credentialsUnreviewed
20072026- Gets stuck in a login loop on open and has unintuitive design2025-03-04
- Keeps asking to log in repeatedly even after the user dismisses it2018-03-16
- Gets stuck in an endless loop of login prompts even with correct credentials2018-02-12
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Takes several seconds to respond to user actions2026-10-27
- Transferring files into an app on iPad via iTunes is clunky2026-10-16
- Became bloated and sluggish as features were piled onto it2026-08-25
- Commenter found iTunes on Mac has poor user experience despite praise2026-08-25
- Importing music silently duplicated every file into a new format, messing up the user's organised collection2026-08-25
- Sync toggle vanishes when no iPod connected, and defaults to overwriting data on connection2026-08-25
- Syncing an iPod silently deleted the whole library and re-synced, with no clear warning2026-08-25
- Buying MP3s requires installing iTunes, so Linux users cannot buy them2026-07-01
- Must point out each song of a lost album individually; it cannot locate the rest2026-05-18
- Obscure, convoluted error messages and slowness when managing Apple devices2026-05-18
- Sprawling, cluttered UI that is also missing basic features2026-04-21
- Later versions bury features like the 'least listened to' playlist, making them nearly impossible to find2026-04-21
- Adding a song to an iPod now requires going through iTunes, which the commenter finds cumbersome2026-02-02
- Added iPhone and Apple Music support made iTunes awful to use2026-01-24
- Kid can't load and manage songs herself; parent must copy files via folders and plugging in2026-01-22
- Can't copy text like album descriptions anymore on macOS2026-01-20
- Hidden clickable controls sit in a glass-covered LCD look that users wouldn't think to press2026-01-18
- Purchase option is hidden and the UX has worsened over time2026-01-03
- Renaming an album blocks the app and writes each MP3 slowly, one by one2025-10-15
- Dragging music to iPhone does nothing for minutes or silently fails, requiring retries2025-09-17
- Transition to cloud music library was confusing and messy2025-06-17
- Gets stuck in a login loop on open and has unintuitive design2025-03-04
- ICloud payment doesn't accept Apple Pay; account and payment flows are awful2025-03-04
- Hard to find my way around the app2025-03-03
- Back button skips steps and loses context; search is hard to reach and clear2025-03-03
- Cramming in iPod features made it awkward, and the UI now lags2025-03-03
- Updates made the player worse, leaving non-subscribers with a basic player2025-01-07
- Own music replaced by different versions and songs disappear, user can't find their music2024-09-30
- After the split, the new apps are hard to navigate and feel bad to use2024-09-18
- Clickable controls in the display are undemarcated, so users never discover them2024-08-03
- ITunes launches on every earbud play press and cannot easily be disabled2024-07-15
- After restoring an encrypted backup to a new iPhone, every app asks the user to log in again2024-07-06
- Window controls are stuffed into the window awkwardly, unlike Windows apps, so the layout is confusing2024-07-01
- IPod was useless without iTunes; iTunes itself is not an excellent user experience2024-05-06
- Desktop iTunes suggests wiping iPhone media, and media can't be synced back after disk failure2024-04-05
- Confusing app names and mixed content make it hard to know where things are2024-02-09
- Apple Devices app doesn't recognize the phone, so syncing media fails2024-02-08
- ITunes on PC is far worse than the Mac version, and the author hated using it2024-02-08
- Forced to use a jukebox app to manage device content, and videos land in the wrong app2024-02-08
- Trying to be music player, ebook manager and phone manager at once confuses users2024-02-08
- Became slower, buggier and bloated over the years, eventually barely working2024-02-08
- Transferring audiobooks fails and the music app is buggy2024-02-08
- Listen Now screen is slow to load, should be instant2024-02-08
- Windows iTunes app is laggy and glitchy to use2024-02-08
- Can't play purchased movies on TV; limited to five authorized devices2024-02-05
- Unclear where to drag the window; buttons cluttering the title bar2024-01-28
- Unclear which toolbar items are buttons and what they do2024-01-28
- Commenter finds iTunes' interface terrible and avoids figuring it out2024-01-20
- Can't tell how to watch the show without an iTunes account or app2023-12-07
- UI is slow, and seeking or inputs lag badly during video playback2023-11-20