Latest version of iTunes dropping iOS sync. So now do it sync apps now?

If you want to regain the app management features removed with iTunes 12.7 see Deploy apps in a business environment with iTunes - Apple Support and install version 12.6.3. Windows users need to uninstall the current version of iTunes first. See also Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash for steps to roll back to the pre-iTunes 12.7 version of your database.

tt2

All App management for iOS devices will now need to take place directly on the device, from the App Store App's Purchased section.

You can no longer use iTunes to download Apps, but if you still have Apps you want to copy over to a device, you can still do that by dragging the App package file (ipa) from the Mobile Applications folder in your iTunes Folder, and drop it on the device in iTunes and it will still sync it,

Beyond that, all App management should now happen directly on the device.

Brian Hawke1 wrote:

....

The only way I could update the iOS apps was to use the App Store icon on both iPhone and iPad and down load the app updates twice. ....

This is the way you must do it from now on. Each device must

manage itself.

mikebrown wrote:

Brian, I updated to iTunes 12.7 and quickly started to look for alternative means of managing IOS devices without relying on iTunes. I had previously invested in iMazing for Mac and iExplorer. Playing with iMazing, I found it has been updated for iTunes 12.7 and can store backups and recover from them on an external drive. So I can manage the family's iDevices from my Mac.

Have been taking a look at iMazing myself and looks like

an option to at least have apps stored locally. However, it

may not put all of an app that may have post-purchase add-ons.

Example, the Garmin GPS app doesn't get its maps backup on the

Mac. Then again, their not there in iTunes either. So not much difference

if you need to restore from iTunes or iMazing. I know that the maps aren't

backed up as they are almost 2GB and that addition doesn't show up anywhere.

mikebrown wrote:

....Anybody found a solution, especially for those that can't afford unlimited cellular bandwidth?

Move somewhere close to a public WiFi.

harntse wrote:

I have two devices, iPhone & iPad. Do I now have to download twice to have the apps updated? If this is true, I wonder why Apple can invent such an idiotic change!!

There are, if I have counted correctly, 34 different iOS devices, before you go into details regarding differences in cellular capability, or installed versions of iOS. Since iOS 9 was introduced each device gets a slimmed down version of the app that only includes the code and resources used on that device. Updates initiated from the device only need to download the changes from the previous build. If you allow each device to update itself automatically when it needs to it then you don't need to put any effort into managing the updates, and the amount of data pulled over your network should be significantly smaller.

tt2

To give a personal answer: I haven't plugged my iPhone into a computer for years. Everything updates at night when the phone is locked and charging. This happens automatically if you flip on these settings:

I'm not actually sure I own a cable that would connect my phone to a computer if I wanted to. I guess I probably do, but I've honestly never thought about it. It took about one night to decide I much prefer this way of doing things.

harntse wrote:

I have two devices, iPhone & iPad. Do I now have to download twice to have the apps updated? ...

Yes.

harntse wrote:

...If this is true, I wonder why Apple can invent such an idiotic change!!

Product Feedback - Apple

I see many good explanations in many of these replies.

One underlying thing i’ve noticed as the iTunes App Store has evolved in this direction is an increased lack of transparency! It started with not being able to sort the order of reviews to see the most recent to not even being able to sort by current version anymore. This makes it easier for developers to hide surprises that customers may not agree with! I always used to wait a few days and scan reviews for the current version before committing to an update.

iTunes on a computer was also a good way to revert back to a previous version if I found the it was a mistake to update a particular app, whether because it was buggy or removed / changes features in ways that I did not agree with! Yep, poof, transparency is gone!

The bandwidth argument. I get that each version of an app is now tailored to each device type, but the file size variation is not as drastic as people think. Downloading a 100mb app to 4 devices separately, with a 30-40% file size variation on the high end, is still not as efficient / green / carbon footprint / 4G friendly as you might think!

I have two devices, iPhone & iPad. Do I now have to download twice to have the apps updated? If this is true, I wonder why Apple can invent such an idiotic change!!

I havenever owned a smart device so I can't speak from firsthand experience but about a year ago Apple changed how iOS apps were structured. They started producing versions customized to the hardware on a specific device. You could no longer, for example, download to a phone, transfer to a computer, then sync to an iPad. You could download a one-version-fits-all directly to a computer and sync to a device but maybe they are changing even that?

Brian, I updated to iTunes 12.7 and quickly started to look for alternative means of managing IOS devices without relying on iTunes. I had previously invested in iMazing for Mac and iExplorer. Playing with iMazing, I found it has been updated for iTunes 12.7 and can store backups and recover from them on an external drive. So I can manage the family's iDevices from my Mac.

However, that doesn't solve the problem of browsing for IOS apps on my Mac. I found the updated IOS App Store in IOS 11 on my iPhone to be a hopeless mess. There is just not enough screen real estate to show alternative apps, and I am not prepared to develop carpal tunnel syndrome flipping my fingers forever. For anyone who has an 16GB iPhone and wants to tailor their current apps to their activities, trying to find a specific version of an app in the listing of purchased apps in IOS 11 is also an exercise in futility. The icons are there, and a download button, but not the size of the app... and it is only the latest version. Anybody found a solution, especially for those that can't afford unlimited cellular bandwidth?