For those planning to use iTunes to download app updates once and then sync them with their iPhones/iPads…
Keep in mind that iTunes will download the latest update. iToys with older versions of iOS may not be compatible with the latest update. So ALL of the iToys you backup and sync to the same Mac need to be running the SAME version of iOS. You can get around this by backing up /syncing the iToys running an older version of iOS to a different Mac.
I know this because we usually backup and sync all of our iToys to the same iMac. This allows us to use iTunes to download updates once and then sync them with our iToys without re-downloading the same apps three times*. But our iPhone 5s and iPad Mini are currently running iOs 7.1.2 while I decide when I want to update them to iOS 9.0.1. Currently both of these iToys can’t sync 26 apps via iTunes, because the newest version is not compatible with iOS 7.1.2.
— GetRealBro
* We live less than 40 miles from our state’s capitol and the very best uncapped internet we can get has a theoretical 6 Mbs bandwidth. But most of the time what we actually get is more like 1 or 2 Mbps So iOS and app updates can be painfully slow and frequently timeout.
How is it half a game?App Thinning sounds like a bad idea to me. What if the app gets removed from the app store? You'll only have half a game?
For those planning to use iTunes to download app updates once and then sync them with their iPhones/iPads…
Keep in mind that iTunes will download the latest update. iToys with older versions of iOS may not be compatible with the latest update. So ALL of the iToys you backup and sync to the same Mac need to be running the SAME version of iOS. You can get around this by backing up /syncing the iToys running an older version of iOS to a different Mac.
I know this because we usually backup and sync all of our iToys to the same iMac. This allows us to use iTunes to download updates once and then sync them with our iToys without re-downloading the same apps three times*. But our iPhone 5s and iPad Mini are currently running iOs 7.1.2 while I decide when I want to update them to iOS 9.0.1. Currently both of these iToys can’t sync 26 apps via iTunes, because the newest version is not compatible with iOS 7.1.2.
— GetRealBro
* We live less than 40 miles from our state’s capitol and the very best uncapped internet we can get has a theoretical 6 Mbs bandwidth. But most of the time what we actually get is more like 1 or 2 Mbps So iOS and app updates can be painfully slow and frequently timeout.
How is it half a game?
The idea appears to be that your device only downloads the resources you need, so it would only download the first few levels of a game and dynamically download the rest as needed. That's just prone to be a headache.
No that's not what it does. It only downloads the resources for your device. Say you download a game that's made for iPad air 2 through iPhone 4s.
App thinning means if you owned the 4s, only the assets needed to run the app on the 4s will be downloaded making a smaller app size.
The iPad air 2 art assests etc. will not be downloaded.
You get the complete game with only the parts optimized for your particular device.
I've been advocating for this for years ever since Retina iPads came out.
That's one aspect, dynamic downloads is another part.
Oh, this works. I backed up and kept the apps in iTunes “up to date” on an iPhone 3Gs* until just a few months ago. You don’t even have to use a separate Mac. Each account on a Mac has its own folders for MobileSync (where the backups are stored) and Mobile Applications (where the apps are stored).This is true only in a limited sense. ....