Apple has released the latest version of its Mac and PC media hub, iTunes 11. It's one of the biggest refreshes for the software for some time, and the main benefits being that it is much simpler to use, with a cleaner aesthetic.

A number of new features have been introduced, including an expanded view for albums, meaning you don't have to click through to another page to see the tracks and metadata. You can also buy albums and songs directly from your music library without having to visit the iTunes store page. And it is now much easier to create playlists, which are also more visual than ever before.

Adding media to a connected iPad, iPhone or iPod is more intuitive. They appear in the top bar when hooked up and you simply have to click one button and then drag whatever you want onto the sidebar.

Read: iTunes 11: What's new?

The mini player has been redesigned too, and it includes the Up Next feature which is one of the major changes to the larger version. Up Next shows you exactly that, what tracks are going to play and in what order. It's much like a Sonos queue, with album art, title and artist.

Much of the user interface will already be familiar to those with iOS 6 as the new design of the store is similar to those found on iDevices since the update.

You can download iTunes 11 from Apple.com if you don't already have iTunes 10, or will be prompted to download the update the next time you open the older version.

What do you think of the new iTunes? Let us know in the comments below...