(Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

Apple is retiring iTunes by breaking up the program on Macs into three separate apps: Music, TV, and Podcasts.

The change will arrive in the next version of macOS, called Catalina. The three standalone apps are already available on iPhones and iPads. However, iTunes has remained the default media option on Macs to aggregate all your music, movies, TV shows, and podcasts into one platform. But not for long.

"Now when you plug in your phone, this is what you see: Nothing," Apple SVP Craig Federighi said at the company's annual developer conference, WWDC.

(The new Music app on macOS Catalina.)

Apple iTunes dates back to 2001, long before subscription streaming services even existed, and was the only way for people to add or remove music on their iPods.

The same software let you buy movies, album, and individual music tracks. But both the business model and the software's interface have become outdated amid the rise of Spotify and Netflix, as well as Cupertino's own Apple Music and Apple TV+, which will arrive this fall.

At WWDC, Federighi joked about iTunes bloat, and said Apple is mulling adding new features to the app, including the ability to access your calendar and even the Safari browser. However, he expects the new apps to serve Mac users' media entertainment needs.

To improve macOS, Apple is also adding a much-requested feature, called SideCar, which can let you expand a desktop screen to a nearby iPad for use as a second display. In addition, the company wants to make macOS Catalina completely useable with only your voice.

To demonstrate this, the company showed a video of a paraplegic Apple customer interfacing with a Mac hands-free. This involved verbally making commands such as "click send," "open map," and "show grid" to access the different programs.

But perhaps the biggest change to the operating system is one that'll help bring iOS apps to Macs. Apple has been working on a suite of tools, called Project Catalyst, to easily enable iOS app developers to port their software to macOS.

Developers will now be able to use the tools in the beta version of macOS Catalina, which arrives today as a beta. The final version rolls out to all users this fall.