Using the iTunes Store

Using the iTunes Store

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You can search, browse, preview, purchase, and download music, movies, TV shows, tones, and more from the iTunes Store on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.1 With Automatic Downloads enabled, your music, movies, and TV show purchases will automatically download to all of your enabled devices. To learn more about Automatic Downloads, see this article.

To use the iTunes Store on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch you will need:

  • An Internet connection: Purchasing and downloading content requires access to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.2
  • An Apple ID: If you want to makes purchases in the iTunes Store and don’t already have an account, tapSettings > iTunes & App Stores > Create New Apple ID on your device.

Browse and search

You can browse music by featured selections or charts and view by genre. Browse video by tapping on Movies or TV Shows. You can also search the iTunes Store for content by tapping Search, entering one or more words in the search field, and then tapping Search. Tap on an item to see more details. You can preview a song by tapping on the title of the song and preview a video by tapping the preview button.

Purchase content

To purchase an item directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

  1. Tap the price, and then tap Buy or Rent.
  2. Sign in to an existing account, or create a new account if you don’t already have one.
  3. Your purchase is charged to your Apple ID. For additional purchases made within the next fifteen minutes, you don’t have to enter your password again.
  4. Once your purchase begins downloading, it appears in Downloads (under the More menu).
    Image of Downloads Queue
  5. Purchased music is added to a Purchased playlist in the Music app. If you delete the Purchased playlist, iTunes will create a new one when you buy another item from the iTunes Store. Video purchases will appear in the Videos app.

Tones

You cannot purchase ringtones and alert tones from your computer, but you can purchase them using your iOS device with iOS 5 or later. You can purchase tones on iPad, iPhone (3GS or later), and iPod touch (4th generation or later).

To locate tones in iTunes on an iOS device:

  1. Tap the iTunes app.
  2. Tap Tones. If Tones is not visible, tap More > Tones.
  3. Browse for tones. Once you purchase a tone, a dialog is displayed. The dialog gives you an option to set your new tone as your default tone or assign it to a Contact. If you don’t want to do anything with the tone just yet, simply tap Done.
    Image of New Tones Dialog
  4. Tones purchased using your iOS device are synced to your iTunes library when you connect your device to your computer. On an iPod touch or iPhone, you can find tones in Settings > Sounds. On an iPad, you can find tones in Settings > General > Sounds.

Songs and albums

An alert appears if you’ve previously purchased one or more songs from an album. You’ll have the option to tap Buy to purchase the entire album, including the songs you’ve already purchased, or tap Cancel if you want to purchase any remaining songs individually.

If an album has bonus content in the form of a digital booklet, it will be downloaded to the computer when you sync your device or if you check for available downloads in iTunes on your computer.

Videos

You can purchase movies and TV shows in standard (480p) or high-definition (720p or 1080p) format.

  • When you purchase a high definition (HD) video, a standard definition (SD) version compatible with iPod and iPhone also downloads.
  • If you purchase an HD video using iPhone 4 or later, iPad or iPod touch (4th generation), the HD version will download directly to your device, the SD version will appear in iTunes on your computer in the Downloads queue.
  • With older devices only the SD version will download on the device, and the HD version will appear in iTunes on your computer.

Rented movies are available in standard and high-definition. Rentals won’t start playing until completely downloaded.

Downloads status

Tap More, and then tap Downloads.

To pause a download, tap the Pause button Image of Pause Button.

If you need to turn off the device, or leave the area of your network connection, don’t worry about interrupting the download. Your device resumes downloading the next time it connects to a Wi-Fi Internet connection. If you open iTunes on your computer, iTunes completes the download to your iTunes library.

Configure Browse buttons

You can replace the buttons at the bottom of the iTunes app with ones you use more frequently.

Tap More > Edit. Drag a button to the bottom of the screen, over the button you want to replace. When you are finished rearranging the buttons, tap Done.

Image of Configure Screen

Notes

1 Not all content types are available in every iTunes Store country. If you want to purchase ringtones and alert tones, iOS 5 or later is required, and they are only available on iPhone (3GS or later), iPad, and iPod touch (4th generation or later). For a complete list of content offerings in your country, see this article.

2 3G or better is recommended for cellular downloads.

Additional Information

Previous purchases may be unavailable to download again if they are no longer in the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBookstore.