Does iTunes not keep a local copy of apps anymore?

[todd2000]

You'll have to excuse me, I've been away from the iOS world for a few years now, but on my old iPod Touch when I synced it with iTunes it would sync a local copy off all of my apps. Now I notice it only keeps the local copies if I buy them from iTunes, and then sync them to the phone. If I buy the app from my phone and then sync, the apps do not get copied to my computer.

So my question is what happens if I were to get a new iPhone? Do I have to download all of my apps again from iCoud on the new phone? It would seem to be a lot faster to just sync them all from iTunes.

 

[CobraPA]

Hmm, mine does, on OSX... Maybe it depends on your iCloud settings. Do you sync to PC/Mac? Mine transfers purchases from the phone to laptop, then transfers locally downloaded apps to the phone. Copies are down in the iTunes library of all the apps.

But yeah, you can also just download all your prior purchases from iCloud or the App Store again. (If the store still has them, that is. If they leave the store for some reason, you'll need a copy somewhere else to restore it.)

 

[todd2000]

Im using OS X and and iPhone 5s. I noticed if I right click the iPhone in the sidebar and click "Transfer Purchases" then all of the apps transfer to iTunes, but they don't do it automatically when I sync. I also went into preferences and turned on Automatic Downloads, which I assume should download the app to iTunes without syncing, and that doesn't work either. All this cloud crap is more of a pain then it is worth... lol

 

[todd2000]

Ok I figured it out.... It only transfers purchases automatically if you have it set to backup to your computer. If you have it set to backup to iCloud it will not transfer purchases automatically.