iTunes vs. iCloud Restore -- Pls Advise

[gadgetfreak98]

Hi all.

Got my iPhone X. I had done backups of my iPhone 7 Plus to both iTunes and iCloud. I had initially done a restore from iCloud (was at work and eager to get started), but later decided I preferred the (theoretical) completeness of the iTunes backup.

So when I got home, I wiped the device and started over using iTunes. After a long time, it completed, but my hundreds of third-party apps never synced over. I do not recall this being an issue before. I called Apple Care and two advisors were pretty unhelpful about what to expect.

So my questions are:

1. Why choose an iTunes vs. iCloud restores anymore. I have extra iCloud space and I did an encrypted backup to iTunes, so I understand those two needs.

2. What am I missing in using iCloud vs. iTunes? I used to think iTunes was the clear winner, but not so sure anymore.

3. I have 300 Mbps wifi and a 2009 Mac Pro as the two conduits to the iCloud and iTunes restores respectively...

If it really doesn't make a difference, I'll stick with iCloud.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Shirasaki]

iTunes restore can be handy if you do not have a stable internet connection, or low quality net. Also you can save multiple versions.

iCloud only saves your latest backup, meaning if you **** once, you are out of luck, especially when testing out beta software.

Especially, back in iOS 8 era, app was restored from iTunes library. Now they are not but only when app is still in App Store. For some apps, this is not an option.

However, iTunes 12.7 eliminates the functionality to (locally) restore app, meaning people are stuck in the cloud forever.

 

[TimFL1]

...

iCloud only saves your latest backup, meaning if you **** once, you are out of luck, especially when testing out beta software.
....

That seems to not be true. When I set up my X I saw 2 iCloud backups for my 7: 11.1 and one from 11. No idea how long they keep them though. I assume a while, I also had a Watch backup from last year showing up when I re-paired my Watch.

 

[gadgetfreak98]

iTunes restore can be handy if you do not have a stable internet connection, or low quality net. Also you can save multiple versions.

iCloud only saves your latest backup, meaning if you **** once, you are out of luck, especially when testing out beta software.

Especially, back in iOS 8 era, app was restored from iTunes library. Now they are not but only when app is still in App Store. For some apps, this is not an option.

However, iTunes 12.7 eliminates the functionality to (locally) restore app, meaning people are stuck in the cloud forever.

So just to be clear, am I just as well off using iCloud?

 

[edlex]

I prefer iTunes because of the encrypted backup loads everything including saved passwords plus it’s faster for me at least

 

[gadgetfreak98]

Doesn't iCloud now also include saved passwords?

 

[Bazooka-joe]

iCloud can be a pain. I am trying to back my phone up to the cloud and 37 gig of photos and videos is taking an age. 2 hours so far and its still saying 3 hours to go. If the servers are being hammered as I suspect they still are then i am in for a long wait.

 

[gadgetfreak98]

I think the most important deciding factor for me now: given the changes to iTunes, if I use iTunes (as I prefer), will I get my apps back as I had them? My attempt to use iTunes last night didn't bring any of those apps over.

Thoughts? If I have to manually reload apps with an iTunes back up now due to the elimination of app management on iTunes, that kind of seals the deal in favor of iCloud.

I did choose "Transfer purchases" before completing the latest iTunes backup, by the way.

 

[Shirasaki]

So just to be clear, am I just as well off using iCloud?

It relies solely on internet quality, both user side and Apple side, as mentioned earlier. And less reliable. However if you are fine with these, then better stick to iCloud cause Apple touts cloud as future.