(Pocket-lint) - Apple's iTunes store is exclusive to iOS devices. This is a fact of life. However, a recent report has claimed Apple is now considering giving Android device users access by launching a standalone iTunes app on Google Play.
Billboard has reported - citing three unnamed sources - that Apple might one day launch an iTunes app for Android phones, mostly because Android is growing faster than iPhone. Oh, and there's supposedly a "double-digit decline" in music download sales for the US iTunes store - and Apple wants to stem this loss. To do so, it reportedly wants to give Android users the opportunity to purchase music from iTunes instead of Google Play.
But that's not all: Apple is also talking with "senior label executives" about launching an on-demand streaming service to rival Spotify and Beats Music, among other things. It is unclear how such a service would be different from iTunes Radio. That said, Apple seems to be exploring all monetary options at the moment. Robert Kondrk, an iTunes executive, has even purposed an exclusive album-release window for digital versions of albums ahead of physical CD releases.
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While all that sounds fine and dandy, it's important to remember that Apple still has a lot of red tape to clear before it can simply launch a new streaming service let alone an iTunes store app for Android. It has to trudge through difficult negotiations with record labels, and apparently, the company is still in the early stages of that process. We could be months or even years away from seeing these final products. That is if they even come to fruition.
We've contacted Apple for a comment and will update when more information becomes available.