Windows 8 might never get an iTunes app

If you’ve been holding out for an iTunes app for Windows 8, you might have to give up. According to CNN, Financial Officer of Microsoft’s Windows division has said that users shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 to appear any time soon.

“You shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon,” said Tami Reller, chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Windows division. “ITunes is in high demand. The welcome mat has been laid out. It’s not for lack of trying.”

Windows RT users will probably never get to use it

This doesn’t mean that Windows 8 users can’t get iTunes at all. It is accessible as a desktop application, but you won’t be able to use it as an app in the Windows 8 UI. The desktop version isn’t very suited to being used with a touchscreen, though. It has been designed with a mouse and keyboard setup in mind.

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Apple might not be making a Windows 8 iTunes app because it may not want to help make competing tablets like the Surface better products. The company makes its software for desktops because Windows is the dominant force in the desktop scene and Mac is a niche product. In the tablet space, however, Apple reigns supreme with the iPad.

It’s not all bad news for Windows 8 users, however. According to Microsoft, the operating system now has more than 60,000 apps available, and they have been downloaded around 250 million times so far. The software giant believes that most of the popular apps available on iTunes will be available for Windows 8 by the holiday season this year.

“That’s not just our goal, but it’ll be realistic to achieve that,” said Reller. “We’re almost there.”