Looks like iTunes Match is no longer downstreaming -- streamloading? -- or whatever weird blend of marketing, legalspeak, and technology led users to see stream-like behavior where Apple claimed there was none. Now with the just released iOS 5 beta 7 it downloads, plays while downloading, but stays on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch after it has downloaded for repeat local playback.
And yes, that may mean you now have to manually manage storage on your device by deleting older downloads to make room for new ones, then deleting the new ones to make room for re-downloading the old ones again, as you so wish. Just like App Store apps work today.
If iTunes Match stays this way through release, does it clear up the confusion or just make things more complicated for Rene's mom?
[Insanely Great Mac via MacRumors]
Reader comments
iOS 5 beta 7 ends iTunes Match download vs streaming confusion?
really is a big drawback for me, if i want it locally on my device its there, its just those random songs i want to hear every now and again that i would want to stream
Que?
Eh... Could care less now about it... I have Spotify... no need for this now...
Does anyone know what happens with iTunes Match files if you cancel your subscription? If you're using the high quality iTunes versions of the files (instead of your own) do you get to keep them or do they get removed from your device?
That's why they call it a beta. It's not finished. There should be no one surprised that features will change as they test it. Performance issues are probably more to blame for what's happening than a bunch of breathless rumor mongers making crap up like "iCloud will be streaming! OMG LUTCABITCPOTH!!!!!!"
(Lock up the children, bring in the cat put on the tinfoil hat!)
Alternatively, perhaps something akin to a Smart Playlist for iCloud could work here -- the user specifies "up to X GB", and as tracks from iCloud exceed that space, the least popular/oldest ones are popped off. Of course, that implies some metadata about tracks that Apple may not have, but it might be a decent approach.
I think it downloads the 256kbps.