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General It's 2016, I *still* can't remote install apps...

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scottylans

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 31, 2008
188
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Disclaimer: I also use Android, I like both systems.

I just went to a website for an application I'd like, on the front page there's 2 buttons, for the iOS app store and the Google Play (app store)

The google one, I can sign in to the store, click a button and remote install the application I've found, to my phone, right then and there, from my desktop PC. My phone is in another room, charging right now.

My ipad is also in another room charging. Why oh why oh WHY can I not log in to a web based store and just remote install the application? It's super frustrating.
Sure I can and will install the app manually on the ipad but I don't want to. I want to just click a button and send it there.

Does anyone know if Apple is even considering this yet? I'm shocked they don't have it. Android phones have had it in one form or another for nearly 6 years.
 
scottylans said:
Disclaimer: I also use Android, I like both systems.

I just went to a website for an application I'd like, on the front page there's 2 buttons, for the iOS app store and the Google Play (app store)

The google one, I can sign in to the store, click a button and remote install the application I've found, to my phone, right then and there, from my desktop PC. My phone is in another room, charging right now.

My ipad is also in another room charging. Why oh why oh WHY can I not log in to a web based store and just remote install the application? It's super frustrating.
Sure I can and will install the app manually on the ipad but I don't want to. I want to just click a button and send it there.

Does anyone know if Apple is even considering this yet? I'm shocked they don't have it. Android phones have had it in one form or another for nearly 6 years.
Click to expand...


This has been standard for a lonnnnnng while......

Go to settings/itunes and app store/ and turn on apps on your iPhone

Then you can buy apps on your computer and apps will install on all iOS devices with this turned on
 
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I don't use itunes on my computer, as soon as Apple made it possible to live without that, I went that way, as I imagine a whole heap of people did. I do not sync or backup to PC ever.
 
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scottylans said:
I don't use itunes on my computer, as soon as Apple made it possible to live without that, I went that way, as I imagine a whole heap of people did. I do not sync or backup to PC ever.
Click to expand...

These are settings on your phone, not iTunes

However, the app store is part of iTunes. If you want this remote feature, you need iTunes obviously
 
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Even if I have itunes installed on my desktop PC, I still can't remotely install apps from a web site, on any PC (once successfully signed in)

EDIT: I'm also playing Devils advocate to myself here kinda.
I DO have itunes installed on my PC, but my ipad has never been plugged into the PC and they are both totally unaware each other exists.
When I DO click the link, on the website it opens
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stocktwits/id389157776?mt=8
Then I click "View in iTunes" which then prompts me to install itunes, it isn't clever enough to open in itunes, seemingly itunes:// links are dead.
 
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Just a test, I use iTunes on Mac (PC is the same), and click a free app to download.
iPhone is not connected to Mac using cable. Both are not even in the same network.
I turn "Automatic download" for App ON on my iPhone.
Then, that newly purchased free app is being downloaded both on my Mac and on my iPhone.

So, I feel frustrated why you cannot remotely install apps while you are using iTunes and all your devices are signed into the same iTunes account plus you have app automatic download ON on your device.
 
electronicsguy said:
You can wait for another 100 years before Apple allows that.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's an unrealistic or unreasonable request though, right? I mean...... Apple (partially) already run a web based store, it just contains an "open in itunes" link - that front end just needs a "deploy to iphone, deploy to ipad" kind of button.

It's really frustrating, I know many MANY people who will see this thread and respond won't understand (because you're not used to it) but I assure you as someone who swore off Apple, went to Android and then decided to come back to a middle ground - that once you're used to this feature you miss it. Very handy.

(FWIW, I have 2 Android phones, an iPhone and an iPad)
 
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Agreed it'd be useful. I can do this with my PS4- buy a game on the store website and choose to download it to my PS4, which it can do even if the PS4 is in rest mode. No iTunes equivalent required.
 
I want to use a feature, but I'm not willing to use software for it.

I don't care if that's how it's done, I wanna do it my way because I know better than Apple!
 
oneshotpro said:
apple's app store isn't on the web, its in itunes...thus you need to use itunes.
Click to expand...

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/tweetbot-4-for-twitter/id1018355599?mt=8

Apple has entries for all software available in the app store via the web, this interface just needs a change with some backend work (not small, I admit) which will allow remote installs.
Again, it's 2016.... Android had this from 3'rd party applications nearly 7 years ago and official google support 5 or 6 years.

[doublepost=1460296925][/doublepost]
GreyOS said:
Agreed it'd be useful. I can do this with my PS4- buy a game on the store website and choose to download it to my PS4, which it can do even if the PS4 is in rest mode. No iTunes equivalent required.
Click to expand...

Exactly, imagine if you needed to have some idiot software on your desktop PC to do it and couldn't do it from any web page. Archaic.
 
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But even with iTunes, don't you have to download to the PC/Mac in order to automatically download on the iOS device? Or is that wrong?
[doublepost=1460305847][/doublepost]Also, saying 'iOS doesn't do this because it's not a thing that does this' is not an argument
 
GreyOS said:
But even with iTunes, don't you have to download to the PC/Mac in order to automatically download on the iOS device? Or is that wrong?
[doublepost=1460305847][/doublepost]Also, saying 'iOS doesn't do this because it's not a thing that does this' is not an argument
Click to expand...
It's an explanation, isn't it? Whether or not some would wish it was otherwise is separate from that, kind of like some wish they could side load any app they want, or have filesystem access, or many other things that aren't part of the iOS system design.
 
You: It's 2016... I wanna do this...

Us: You can do that.

You: But that's not how I wanna do it.

Why are we still discussing this?
 
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Jayson A said:
You: It's 2016... I wanna do this...

Us: You can do that.

You: But that's not how I wanna do it.

Why are we still discussing this?
Click to expand...
OP is saying it's 2016, why can't he do it the way he described, which is something various other platforms support, but not iOS.
 
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Ok but doesn't me downloading the app on the iMac to iTunes make the app be there on the machine itself; so I download a 500MB Game from web link. Web link opens iTunes. iTunes downloads app. Isn't app stored then on my computer?
iTunes then tells my phone to install an app that I just waited to download to my computer.... Even though I can't ever run it there.... What a waste of time and confusing. You should be able to click the app, it open iTunes; you press purchase. Then it turns into install and since you're on OS X it asks what iOS device you want it to install to.
Googles Play Store implementation of this is leagues better than the App Store's.
 
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jgelin said:
Ok but doesn't me downloading the app on the iMac to iTunes make the app be there on the machine itself; so I download a 500MB Game from web link. Web link opens iTunes. iTunes downloads app. Isn't app stored then on my computer?
iTunes then tells my phone to install an app that I just waited to download to my computer.... Even though I can't ever run it there.... What a waste of time and confusing. You should be able to click the app, it open iTunes; you press purchase. Then it turns into install and since you're on OS X it asks what iOS device you want it to install to.
Googles Play Store implementation of this is leagues better than the App Store's.
Click to expand...
Definitely, and it's incredible some people posting here can't see the difference. To break it down..

Current method:
- Requires iTunes install
- Requires you to download the app to your PC/Mac [personally I have no des
- No discrete choice about which device you want to download the app to - only an all or nothing option on the device.

Much better method:
- No need for iTunes
- No need to download to PC/Mac
- Just log into online store, purchase the app, pick which device(s) you want to download the app to.

Even if iTunes was still required, the last two points more or less could be applied to improve it.
 
GreyOS said:
OP is saying it's 2016, why can't he do it the way he described, which is something various other platforms support, but not iOS.
Click to expand...
And the real answer to that question is because it's iOS and that's how Apple designed it. Beyond that we can talk about wishing that Apple would do it--basically discussing it amongs ourselves--but that's essentially it.
 
C DM said:
And the real answer to that question is because it's iOS and that's how Apple designed it. Beyond that we can talk about wishing that Apple would do it--basically discussing it amongs ourselves--but that's essentially it.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what we're doing, bye now
 
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