QuickTune: A Mini Apple Music Player that Revives QuickTime

Developed in Copenhagen, QuickTune is a mini player for Apple Music available on macOS that adopts the iconic QuickTime interface.

For those who weren’t around back then (boo, youngsters), QuickTime Player was once the default multimedia player on Mac OS X. Before the rise of iTunes and then Apple Music, QuickTime managed our videos, music tracks, and even VR content. It’s still a tool included by default in macOS, though its look has changed drastically since those days.

With QuickTune, you get all the charm of that retro interface, from the brushed metal texture to the glassy buttons, and not forgetting the very utilitarian LCD display. It’s a leap into the past in terms of design, but instead of playing local files, QuickTune connects directly to your Apple Music library.

Despite its vintage appearance, it offers well-thought-out features like displaying the album cover of the currently playing track, and a detailed view inspired by QuickTime’s file inspector gives you access to plenty of information about the track, such as release year, genre, and artists. The app also allows you to open a HUD to manage and switch playlists directly without launching Apple Music.

Technically, this software is written in Swift + AppKit and uses native macOS components to synchronize with Apple Music. It is compatible with macOS Big Sur and later versions, and works on both Apple Silicon and Intel processors. It’s available in English, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, German, and Polish.

Personally, I find the concept of QuickTune irresistible, even if it’s not necessarily indispensable on a daily basis. For those of you who used QuickTime extensively in the 90s, seeing this interface resurrected in a modern application is a unique experience, similar to the recent revival of Winamp. A little guilty pleasure!

In short, I invite you to take a look at QuickTune as it’s a beautiful homage to this cult player and also a well-designed application to enjoy your Apple Music.