How do I manage apps without iTunes

Management of iOS Apps is now confined to the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

If you need to download an app you've bought before, open the App Store app on your iPhone or iPad, and go to the Purchased section there. (on an iPhone its under Updates).

You can then see all the Apps you've ever bought directly on the iOS device, and an choose which to download. You can even limit the list so that only non installed Apps on the device are displayed in the list.

If you want to have purchased apps automatically download to all your devices when you buy or download them in one from the store, you can turn on Automatic Downloads in Settings->iTunes and App Stores.

OK, let's go back to your original post, because I think you are getting confused about iOS Apps vs. Mac Apps among other things:

Howard Brazee wrote:

Today iTunes “upgraded” itself, and apparently no longer lets me use it to manage my iPhone & iPad apps. Correct - the iOS App Store has been removed from iTunes Store on the Mac. It now resides in the iTunes Store on the iOS device.

I always buy my apps in iTunes.
That way I don’t need to cut and paste my password because access to my desktop computer is limited. Not sure what this means, but if you purchase your apps via your iOS device, you can use your Touch ID or your password.

I have lots of apps which I don’t keep on my devices, and I can scroll through them and select some to load.
Or I used to be able to do that.
I now don’t know how to browse through apps that I have already paid for when they aren’t on my devices.

And I had my iPad set to automatically load new apps that I buy, but my iPhone only loads new apps when I tell it to.
I only need to download apps once, not separately for each device.

I decided to see what happens when I went to the app store on my iMac.
It appears that I can no longer order it from my Mac. The Mac App Store and the iOS App Store are totally unrelated. The software for a Mac is an entirely different animal than the software for an iOS device. So, they are separate entities.

I need to download it on my phone or my pad.
Or go to one device, buy it and download it, then go to the other device and download it separately! I thought computers were supposed to make things simpler! If you want Apps that you are downloading to download to all devices at the same time turn on "Automatic Downloads" under Settings>iTunes & App Store.

And some apps I paid for and had on my Mac are no longer available in the App store. Yesterday, I could have loaded them on my iDevices.
Today I can’t. These apps can still be put onto your iOS device. The User Tip I posted already has a link that explains exactly how to do that: The New iTunes: How to "Sync" Apps no longer av... | Communities

(apparently it doesn’t have my ringtone anymore either - I’ll have to find some way to save the one I paid for in case I need to rebuild my phone from scratch). These are also covered in the linked article in the User Tip above.

So how do manage apps now?

As far as your last post, when you are looking for all of your purchased Apps you can do so by doing the following:

1. Tap on the App Store on your device

2. Your "Signed-in" indicator in the upper right-hand corner displays on any of the views in the App Store with the exception of the Search view

3. Tap on that indicator (circle with your photo or initials) to see your App Store account info

4. Tap on Purchased

5. If you see names listed here it is because you are using Family Sharing, so select the your name since it is your Apps you want to see

6. If you want to see all of your Apps, click on All. It will list them all. The ones that are not on your device will have a little cloud next to them. If the cloud is grey, then the item is no longer available in the App Store, and you will have to use the method above to move it to your device if you wish

If you don't see all of your Purchased apps, make sure you aren't looking for apps that may have been purchased by one of your other Family Sharing members. Also look to see if they have been hidden: HIDING AND UNHIDING PURCHASES

I also noticed that the display order in the App Store Listing appears to be newest to oldest purchase. Not sure how that will work for folks wanting to manage their apps?

Best of luck,

GB

Howard Brazee wrote:

I have lots of apps which I don’t keep on my devices, and I can scroll through them and select some to load.
Or I used to be able to do that.
I now don’t know how to browse through apps that I have already paid for when they aren’t on my devices.

OK, so to browse your purchased apps you will open your App Store on your iOS device, then click on: Updates in the bottom right-hand corner. When you do this, you will see "Purchased" at the top of the screen. Tap on that, then on either "All" or "Not on this Phone" to see your list of apps.

I had my iPad set to automatically load new apps that I buy, but my iPhone only loads new apps when I tell it to.
I only need to download apps once, not separately for each device.

OK, so are you saying that this is the way you want that to work? Automatic Download of new purchases to your iPad, but manually selecting which of those purchases you may want to download to your iPhone, correct?

Howard Brazee wrote:

I decided to see what happens when I went to the app store on my iMac.
It appears that I can no longer order it from my Mac.
I need to download it on my phone or my pad.
Or go to one device, buy it and download it, then go to the other device and download it separately! I thought computers were supposed to make things simpler!

So, you wouldn't find anything relevant to a iOS device (iPad, iPhone, etc.) in the Mac App Store. That store has only applications that can be used on a Mac.

I'm still confused about what you want to happen when you purchase a new app. Do you want it to download to all of your iOS devices? If so, then sign into the iTunes & App Store with the same Apple ID on all devices, and turn on Automatic Downloads for Apps on each of the devices. Then, anything new that you purchase will now download to all devices at once.

So, best to state each of the particular issues you are running into, so we can address. Change is sometimes a bit frustrating, but it is conquerable.

Cheers,

GB

Hi

I have also updated to iTunes 12.7 on my Mac. If you go to ~/Users/(your username)/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Mobile Applications you will see that all your downloaded iOS apps are still in there.

Hence, you can install Apple Configurator 2 (Apple Configurator 2 on the Mac App Store), plug an iOS device into your Mac, select it in Configurator and click on Add -> Apps -> Choose from my Mac, browse to your Mobile Applications folder and mange apps on your iOS devices that way if you really want to.

However as other people have already said here you have always been able to download the purchases you have made with your Apple ID on any iOS device by going to updates -> purchased in the iOS App Store.

Why don't you use iTunes 12.6.3? Apple Configurator 2 may also be an option. It's available in the Mac App Store.

Doesn't matter. Since the Apps are tied to your Apple ID, not your computer or even iTunes, as long as the Apple ID signed in in Settings->iTunes & App Stores is the same one you used in iTunes on your computer to buy them, all your apps will appear in the App Store on your iPhone and iPad, and you can download them from there.

@Gail, It means the new iTunes version (12.7) no longer has an iOS apps section where you can manage your downloaded apps.

Hi Monty,

Here is a support article that explains how to download your purchased apps (among other purchases), but it has been updated for iOS 11:

Download past purchases

For iOS 10, you would open the App Store icon, click on the Updates tab, and at the top of the Updates page, you will see Purchased. Tap on that, then on your ID (if needed), then select All if you want to see all of your purchases (downloaded ones will be distinguished from ones that are not downloaded by a little cloud), or select Not on this Phone, if you only want to see ones that are not currently on your device (they will all have a cloud). Tap the cloud to download.

For accessing apps that are no longer showing on the App Store purchased list, but which you had downloaded in your Apps library on the Mac, see this User Tip: The New iTunes: How to "Sync" Apps, Books for Windows, and Ringtones

Cheers,

GB

Hi, Monty. Scrolling down to the bottom still did not make the "Purchases" link appear at the top for my iPhone 6s. I plunked around a good bit this morning and did finally locate it.

Open the App Store app. From any page inside that app, click on your account photo at the top right. That takes you to a page for "Purchases".

lopezcallejon wrote:

I want to do it from my computer

You cannot do it from your computer with the exceptions noted in the very lengthy post just above yours. The iOS App Store now lives on the iOS device, and you will have to do your business with that store on an iOS device until something else comes along.

lopezcallejon wrote:

What if I want to put the apps in order. Previously, I used I tunes to place the icons and keep the iphones and ipad in order.

You will have to do that on each individual device by manually moving things around as you wish.

GB

Howard Brazee wrote:

I just noticed, my iTunes folder still has a "Mobile Applications" folder with 73 GB of data in it. I'm guessing this is all wasted space and should be deleted. It has all of my purchased apps that apparently cannot be accessed.

You can drag the ipa files from the Mobile Applications folder onto your device in iTunes and they will sync if they can be run on the device, and are not offloaded from the device.

Beyond that, if you have no use for them any more, yes, you can delete the folder.

Hi allen777. I'd like that too, but it ain't gonna happen. It's not the Apple way.

If you look at the release notes for iOS 10.3, see link: Download iOS 10.0 - iOS 10.3.3 Information, one of the key features is Indian cricket scores. No mention of the all-new APFS filesystem.

And, as I already mentioned, the new app thinning deployment method may preclude involving the multi-platform iTunes program. But, please go ahead and offer your feedback.

Mac desktop app data solution for managing iPhone File Sharing Apps data without iTunes!

Howard, I don't know yet how we can manage apps on the desktop in this new world of iTunes 12.7 but I have a solution for managing the data of the iPhone File Sharing Apps without iTunes!

I'm a computer audiophile and I like listening to different hi-def formats of music in quality music players in my iPhone, instead of the lesser Apple player & formats. iTunes 12.7 has, of course, eliminated my ability to import those quality files and enter them into the high-def player apps databases. File Sharing Apps, and all Apps for that matter, are gone for good in 12.7 (which means for a while, at least).

One solution I found today under iOS 10.3.3 and OS 10.12.6 (we will see about 11 & 10.13 soon) is to use a Mac app called PhoneView. I use this on my 2012 Mac Mini and can directly add or subtract 3rd party files files like music, docs, and videos, directly into the File Sharing 3rd party app (database) in my iPhone 7+. For example, from my desktop, I can add a 24/96 music file into HD Player on my 7+ and be listening to it through this mobile device right away.

PhoneView also permits me to view, download and upload many other data types as well, but I'm more interested in music.

Other apps may able to the same or more but I have not tried them. I have used Phoneview on and off for many years, as Apple adds of subtracts iTunes features, and it works quite well. After trying the software, I bought it in 2008, and the upgrades have been free since.

http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/

Since that functionality is no longer available in iTunes, it would be helpful if it could be made available elsewhere in Mac OS (and it could be argued that Apple has a responsibility to do so).

On the macOS platform, try the Apple Configurator.

Apple Configurator 2 on the Mac App Store

Apple Configurator - Official Apple Support

Personally, I'm very disappointed in Apple about this.

Tell them here >>> http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Did you see this? iTunes 12.7 was just released.

Changes in the new iTunes - Apple Support

You can no longer manage apps in iTunes. No downloading or syncing of apps from iTunes on a computer.