The "Mac Way" again

[Arpangel]

What a palaver, ten music files, I needed to get them off my Mac onto my iPad and iPhone, and load them into iTunes. I had to send them via You Send It to my email, and then open that on the devices as the files were large and the absence of real world USB on these devices stopped a memory stick.
No way would iTunes let me import them, I just want to create a playlist of "my" files!
I wish I was back on PC and Android, life was simpler and more convenient, and now Apple have withdrawn VLC as an app, it's not on their site, any suggestions for other media players?

[paul tha other]

airdrop the files ? best way to get files round a collection of Mac systems for me..

[MarkOne]

I guess the problem is that iTunes isn't really a thing any more. The Music app has pretty much taken over all its duties.

You can import files (with the File/Import menu) on the desktop Music app

Check in the Desktop they are added to the library.

And then assuming you have both devices on the same Apple ID, the tracks will just show up automatically on your iPhone and iPad. Where you can click on them if you want them locally rather than streaming them.

If that's all to 'Appley' for you, then VLC is still on the App Store.

It is easy to move files to the iPhone if you sync the folders in iCloud. You can then use the Files app to search for the media you want to play.

[MarkOne]

or as Paul said... Airdrop them

[Sam Spoons]

It depends on the versions of Mac OS and iOS you are running, in many ways getting audio files from your Mac to your iDevices has got easier as you can airdrop most things but that may require later OS'. I can airdrop music files to my old iPad Mini 4 on iOS 15 from my MBP (Ventura) and from the 'files' app there to the Mac Pro (Sonoma). But, TBF the music app is still 'difficult'

[Arpangel]

Air dropping is fine, but that doesn’t get them into the iTunes folders, why not just have a file search function in iTunes? This lack of USB integration is annoying, and I think they are beginning to realise that now, also iTunes insular behaviour.
I've got a Windows machine which does everyday jobs, and if my iMac gives up the ghost, I'll just replace it with another Windows comp.
I know I can "get around" these issues, but I don't want to have to "get around" them, Air Drop, iCloud, I just want to drag and drop a few files.
I’ll have a look at VLC if it’s still there.

[The Elf]

We've been here before. Copy your stuff into something like Dropbox (or a myriad of others) and use something like CloudBeats, Evermusic, or VLC to play them - it saves all that nonsense with iTunes.

I know other disagree, but I think iTunes is a PITA. Once I got away from it I never even glanced back.

[IAA]

iCloud. It’s nearly perfect.. set up a folder on your iCloud Drive, save to or drag files there. Available to all your devices.

Ian

[Arpangel]

iCloud. It’s nearly perfect.. set up a folder on your iCloud Drive, save to or drag files there. Available to all your devices.

Ian

I don't do all that Cloud stuff, it's an age thing.

[resistorman]

Coming from using an iPad with PC and Android, I learned to hate iTunes with a white heat, so now that I'm using Macs too I have never even opened it. And Apple Music is just as horrid, it still keeps supplanting VLC somehow. I'm also not paying for iCloud, which makes things even worse. Not cool, man... that 'ol walled garden rodeo.

[Arpangel]

I'm also not paying for iCloud, which makes things even worse. Not cool, man... that 'ol walled garden rodeo.

Absolutely.

[Sam Spoons]

iCloud. It’s nearly perfect.. set up a folder on your iCloud Drive, save to or drag files there. Available to all your devices.

Ian

Unfortunately not your, legitimately*, ripped music files, or at least I have yet to find a way... I'm just copying my Music folder into iCloud by way of an experiment but I suspect it will be the same as a single file I copied into the files folder on my iOS 15 iPad Mini 4 and you can't open it from there in the Music app. You can't share music files directly from the music app either you have to 'show in finder' then share them from there...

* From CDs you own.

[Arpangel]

* From CDs you own.

Exactly, and when I asked one of the people at the "Genius" bar in the Apple shop he showed me how to do it, and completely failed to understand what I wanted to do, and then told me that it was because I "didn’t want to learn" that I wasn’t able to do the thing he didn’t understand, I came out none the wiser.
It was thee most impressive "gas lighting" I’ve ever witnessed.

[ManFromGlass]

Due to past experiences I still laugh at that name “Genius” Bar.
Perhaps “My Way or the Highway” is better, or something that includes Drinking the KoolAid.
To be fair to Apple the phone tech support can be very good - a few months ago I managed to stump one of their higher level techs with an issue. We had a one hour phone call that resulted in success. Another call resulted in the acceptance that MacMail has some really stupid flaws in it.
3 steps forward and how many back?

[Sam Spoons]

I've had good and bad support from Apple, usually the bad has been because 'that isn't the Apple way' (though they don't say it in that many words). TBF the good has outweighed the bad by a significant amount.

[ConcertinaChap]

To be fair to Apple the phone tech support can be very good

That reflects my experience. I've never had anything to do with the Genius Bar, though. The name is enough to put me off. Cutesy-poo, as the Yanks would say.

CC

[Sam Spoons]

To be fair to Apple the phone tech support can be very good

That reflects my experience. I've never had anything to do with the Genius Bar, though. The name is enough to put me off. Cutesy-poo, as the Yanks would say.

CC

I guess it depends on what you need them to do...