Apple Apps On Windows

Switching from Mac to Windows wasn’t hard. I had already mostly migrated to Google’s ecosystem from Apple’s. In doing so, I discovered that most of my iTunes movie purchases are also available on YouTube. But unfortunately, not all are; I don’t know why. Yet no worries because I also discovered that the Apple TV app I enjoyed on the MacBook is — surprise! — also on Windows. Plus one more thing: the Apple Music app is likewise on Microsoft’s OS.

Before I talk about those, let me briefly reminisce about 20 years back to when I first experienced Apple apps at all, thanks to their availability on Windows. I don’t recall which one I used first, but there were two: iTunes and Safari. These were my first taste of Apple’s design. Safari on Windows was okay. iTunes was far better than Windows Media Player, especially the iTunes Store.

I mention that to point out that Apple has for years had a presence on Windows on some level. It was the case back then that many people used an iPod for music and Windows for computing. And it’s the case now that many use an iPhone for, uh, phoning and Windows for gaming…and computing. Apple still needs a presence on Microsoft’s turf, much like it needs Apple Music to also be on Android where so many people are.

I found the current native versions of Apple Music and Apple TV in the Microsoft Store. I had been using the Apple Music web app, which is quite good, on my Chromebook, so I figured I’d use it on Windows. But I’m glad I tried the native app instead; it looks and feels basically just like the one on my M1 MacBook Air. Nice. It has a 4.2 out of 5 rating on the Microsoft Store.

The Apple TV app, though, has a 2.1 out of 5. But I decided to try it anyway. Glad I did because it’s basically the same as the one on my Mac. It works well enough so far. Two niggling things I dislike are: 1) it doesn’t go true full-screen during movie playback and 2) the volume is inexplicably far too low. Otherwise, movies seem to stream without issue. I need more time with it to be sure.

The takeaway here is that some of Apple’s apps and services are not locked only to Apple hardware. You can use some outside the walled-garden with little to no loss in quality. Even on Windows 11. And it’s not too surprising since this has been the case for over 20 years. Let’s see how this holds up in the next 20.