Once upon a time you could organize/rearrange the apps on your iphone via your computer screen while the phone was plugged in. My phone is currently on 11.0.3, and my itunes is 12.7.0.166, so both up to date, and I no longer see this option available.
Does it no longer exist? If it does can you show me where to find it? Searches in Google and Apple Support only point me to outdated articles.
Management of apps, books, and tones has been removed from iTunes 12.7. See Changes in the new iTunes - Apple Support for details. The intention is clearly that management of these generally takes place on the device.
See the Manually add items from your computer section of Manually manage content on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iTunes - Apple Support for the control that remains. This can be used to copy apps (including apps that have been withdrawn from the store), ePubs, iBooks, PDFs, and tones from your computer to your device. The File Sharing feature for copying data between apps and the computer is still there. You can also use iCloud Drive, or Dropbox to move content to and from the device.
A long time criticism of iTunes, at least from some quarters, is that has been that it has become bloated. Perhaps this is an attempt to address that. I let both my iOS devices update automatically when there is an updated app, and I'm not interested in hanging on to old apps that a developer has withdrawn, nor do I need to rearrange my apps often, so while the change is drastic, I don't think it really affects me much. I'm more irritated by the changes to iTunes U, and iBooks in iTunes for Windows.
See Deploy apps in a business environment with iTunes - Apple Support for access to iTunes 12.6.3 if you want to revert to a build with app management features. Windows users need to uninstall the current copy of the iTunes application first. See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash for steps to revert to a pre-iTunes 12.7 version of your iTunes database.
tt2
I don't have any problems using the current build of iTunes. The information on the option of reverting to an older build is provided for those that do.
iTunes 12.6.3.6 is explicitly compatible with devices running iOS 11, including iPhone 8 and X. Installing that build is a reasonable approach for those who want to be able to manage multiple devices from a single library or manage home screens on a computer rather than on the device. That said Apple have signalled that it is primarily intended for business users and that they don't plan to provide ongoing support for it. It is, perhaps, unlikely that it will get an update to support iOS 12.
tt2
If you use MacOS, Apple has a tool called Apple Configurator. Its purpose is to simplify deployments for educational and enterprise institution. Among many tools included in it, you can also find (you guessed it) a home screen layout organizer.
To access it:
thelawfam1 wrote:
yes the feature is gone per the chat rep. i just spoke with. 😠
Yes, it has been gone since last fall. That has been mentioned a few times in this thread.
2 options:
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For Mac, the free Apple Configurator 2 will allow you to rearrange apps.
[Edited by Host]
This is very bad news for me. I have 8 pages of apps on my iPhone and have relied on the iTunes app to easily make order of chaos in the past. This has made it easy to use folders to advantage and strategically organize the first couple screens of apps for efficiency of use. Now, I must do this on the phone itself. When I'm trying to add to a folder on app page 1 or 2, the existing apps overflow to succeeding pages and apps I'm used to in a particular location get shoved down to the next line, different column, different page, etc.
Yes iTunes had become a weird grab bag of functions, but iPhone app organization really needs help by providing the functionally of the Mac's extra screen acreage. Please Apple! Listen to our plea!
This cool feature to arrange apps and move screens around is no longer in iTune 12.7.
Apple, please bring this feature back. When my iPhone is filled with apps, iTune allows me to arrange my apps quicker.
Otherwise, let users create new screens or re-order the screens on the iPhone.
Luckily, Apple has a tool called Apple Configurator. Its purpose is to simplify deployments for educational and enterprise institution. Among many tools included in it, you can also find (you guessed it) a home screen layout organizer.
This feature has move to Apple Configurator 2 on the Mac App Store.
Go to: Actions -> Modify -> Home Screen Layout ...
The answer is organize apps on your device, or, if you have a Mac, get the Apple Configurator 2 app from the Mac App Store.
You just responded to a 10 month old post that has been answered many times already in the thread since the original question.
There is also another option to using an older version of iTunes if you have a Mac: The Apple Configurator 2 app in the Mac app store.
They apparently made the decision to remove it. My guess is the product manager that made this decision is under 35, has good vision and does not suffer from carpal tunnel.
Mpastore05 wrote:
They apparently made the decision to remove it. My guess is the product manager that made this decision is under 35, has good vision and does not suffer from carpal tunnel.
Or, Apple finally listened to all the people who've been submitting feedback that iTunes has gotten terribly bloated over the years.
But, what do I know, I never used iTunes to organize my apps. Oh, and I'm 56 and wear reading glasses.
pat0653 wrote:
The iPhone and iPad are great bits of hardware. iTunes is a really rubbish bit of software.
I wouldn't go so far as to say it's rubbish but it certainly has become bloated. Thankfully, Apple has decided to reverse course and start removing features. Removing app management is a great start.
yep, that is a bad move by apple. Apple is supposed to be easy to use, useful functions..using a phone to arrange 30-100 apps is not worth attempting..painful.. trying to flick an app three, four pages across...fark... thats why I came looking for the iTunes arrangement area..
come on fix it please...
be like nike! Just do it.
See the Apple Configurator manual: Apple Configurator - Add Apps - Apple Support
Keep n mind the Configurator is meant for managing enterprise and school devices, and while it can be used to manage a single one and install apps, its not meant directly for final users.
Otherwise, management of Apps directly on the iPhone or iPad is in my view a very easy thing to do.
Just open the App Store tap on your picture at the top right corner, and then on Purchased apps. You'll get a list of Apps that are installed, and those that are not but have already been bought / downloaded at least once but are not currently installed.
Other options have been posted several times in this very very long thread already.
how to organize apps with itunes?
