iTunes 11.0.3 is out, gets its head around multi-disc albums

Apple has released an update to its iTunes music software, which should make the program run faster and grants you the power to see multi-disc albums in a more sensible fashion.

The 11.0.3 update is available to download now, and brings a revamped MiniPlayer. Apple says the new player -- which gives you a minimised snapshot of what's currently playing -- sports a "beautiful new view that showcases your album artwork".

In other words, that miniature player now has album art, as well as a progress bar, letting you skip to the good part of a track without having to jump back into the full-screen version of iTunes. 

The update will hopefully speed up the software, which has garnered a bad reputation for running at a sluggish pace. "Performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries" are part of the update, Apple says.

Fans of epic 'best-of' CD collections will be delighted to learn that you can finally view multi-disc albums as a single collection of tunes. Perfect for that Best of Bowie collection you're sick of skipping back and forth to listen to.

iTunes got a much-needed revamp in November last year with iTunes 11, which brought a revamped interface to the veteran software. That update arrived later than expected, with 'engineering issues' blamed for the delay.

iTunes launched in 2001, finding a large audience thanks to its ties to Apple's iPod. Today though the software competes with rival services like Spotify, making it all the more crucial that Apple works to make iTunes better, and easier to use.