Steve Jobs Defends New iTunes 10 Icon Against Criticism

145454 itunes 10 icon

With the release of iTunes 10 on Wednesday, Apple has revamped the application's icon for the first time in many years, doing away with the traditional design of music notes on top of a CD. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the change at Wednesday's media event, noting that with iTunes likely to surpass physical CD sales sometime next year, it was time to remove the CD from the icon. The icon change has caused mixed responses, however, with some users appreciating the simplified design while others have criticized it as amateurish in appearance.

Wired reports that one user sent Jobs an email criticizing the new logo for its design and abandonment of the iTunes brand that has developed over the years.

Steve,

Enjoyed the presentation today. But...this new iTunes logo really sucks. You're taking 10+ years of instant product recognition and replacing it with an unknown. Let's both cross our fingers on this...

Despite all of the activity surrounding the media event, Jobs took the time to respond with another one of his brief, to-the-point emails:

We disagree.

Sent from my iPhone

While Jobs obviously provided no additional thoughts on why Apple prefers the icon design over the old one, it's clear that he is taking in users' comments and taking the time to respond rather than simply ignoring the feedback entirely.

The new icon is not the only visual tweak included in iTunes 10, as Apple also took the opportunity to move the "stoplight" buttons for closing and resizing the application's window into a space-saving vertical orientation from the standard horizontal orientation. The company also switched to a a more subdued, grayscale pattern for items in the application's left sidebar.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

SeaFox Avatar
192 months ago
Why is this thread still going? :confused:
Because MacRumors doesn't have a policy to deal with "Necrobumping" threads on the forum it seems, which is generally fixed by moderators by

[LIST=1]
* warning users who do it, especially with posting going off-topic and
* locking the thread to prevent further replies if it continues

Reasons they don't have a policy are probably


* it's extra work for the staff and makes the forum seem more "draconian" in its administration and
* people coming back to the forums causes more ad impressions which makes more money
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iRobby Avatar
192 months ago
Anyone notice how two of the stories with "Steve Jobs" in the title seem to be immortal? It's neat. May this thread live long and prosper, and may I direct some of you to the thread "Steve Jobs suggests blu-ray not coming to mac anytime soon" for another thread full of people arguing about the same **** over and over and over and over. I really shouldn't feed these types of threads, but I too would be sad if this thread were to die. :(
Long Live the King! Stevo!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

But seriously, I like the new icon vs the old one I agree old one was outdated.

I do have one complaint as far as iTunes logos go:

the purple iTunes App logo used on IOS devices is horrendous. They should make the App icon logo look more like the regular logo.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reubs Avatar
192 months ago
Post removed.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dakwar Avatar
192 months ago
I do the same with Chrome since they're both round on my system. I'd change the iTunes icon, but then I have to give it permission to connect every time.

The trouble is they're all round and blue. App Store, iDVD, iTunes, QuickTime Player, Safari, with iTunes and Safari being most similar at first glance AND the two icons I need to click most often.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reubs Avatar
194 months ago
7 months on and I'm still clicking the safari icon when i mean to click itunes. :(

I do the same with Chrome since they're both round on my system. I'd change the iTunes icon, but then I have to give it permission to connect every time.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dakwar Avatar
194 months ago
7 months on and I'm still clicking the safari icon when i mean to click itunes. :(
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)