No More Free App Re-Downloads On iPhones

Before anyone takes Kevin's advice and goes crazy with the re-downloading, remember, unless you direct downloaded an app then deleted it before syncing, your apps are still in your iTunes library. It's only those you buy and delete before you sync that you might want to grab.

sumocat

Honestly with the current iteration of android the iPhone will start becoming less and less of a "desirable" item to me. I can install apps from anywhere and I dont have to give money to Google to write the apps and then give them a cut of the pie to sell them.

I love my Powermac, macbook and iMac, I really like the iPod Touch. I'm not gonna buy a iPhone because of the hostile practices they take with the phone and the "treat the user as evil" model they choose.

All phones I own are unlocked, you CANT have an unlocked iPhone. That in it's self is against what I believe in.

timgray

@whiteflea: I have to re-download apps because of a combination of a) I switched operating systems and reinstalled iTunes, b) pushing the apps from my phone to iTunes failed, and c) my iPhone 3G spontaneously turned into a brick last week, and the only way to get it to start responding again was to do a restore through iTunes, which trashed all my apps and my contacts (when it sync'd up to Windows Contacts it created the names but apparently didn't add most of the actual contact information).

So yes, at this point, this lack of convenience means I'm accelerating my decision to replace my iPhone with a smartphone that is more reliable and that is manufactured by someone who actually stands behind their product. And I will never consider buying an iPhone (current or future model) again. Quite frankly, I don't think that's an over-reaction at this point.

Terrible idea. There's a whole category of apps that I'd declare as "Worth knowing that they exist, and even worth paying a buck or two for, but not going to waste the space (both hard drive and visual) of having them around all the time for the rare occasion I need them." stuff like Level or Distance Meter come to mind, or even Shazam. For those I've always just re-downloaded when I had reason to need it right that moment.

@whiteflea: Just a thought, but considering that there are models out there with as little as 4GB, perhaps some people delete apps they aren't using at the moment, and rely on the iTunes store as sort of "secondary storage". You know, it's this "cloud" stuff we hear so much about.

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.

Sure, take a wireless device, then make sure it's wired. Neat. That's some forward thinking there!

anakin78z

I get that this is annoying, but why is everyone acting like it's the end of the damn world? So you have to download it...for FREE...on your computer and then sync it. Is this lack of convenience so detrimental that it means you are going to not buy an iPhone? Geez...

Also, why are people having to re-download apps anyway?

whiteflea

argh curses, That's really sneaky. I really hate dealing with iTunes as well. Last time I synced my phone, somehow it wiped out my old collections of music completely :(

This better be just for paid apps, not free apps as well. That's quite a hassle to plug in every time I need to re-download. (I use iPod touch for work purposes, and it will be really annoying if we have to plug the iPods back in over and over to re-download the same apps).

@cindeelean

@Melenor: West Side Story...when Maria was singing about being pretty... she said that she was "...pretty, witty and gay." which, since I didn't see any other women around, meant that she was happy.

BTW: I so mean this in a tongue-in-cheek way...wow, a pun and I didn't know it!

wykedengel

I really HATE having to deal with iTunes. The whole sync-your-whole-phone thing just to transfer 1 song or podcast is extremely annoying.

dmccall

@portero23: has it ever not been a negative slur?

Melenor

I can't believe this was really a huge issue, since you basically have to give the other person access to your iTunes account. I have used this to install apps from my iPhone to my wifes iPod touch. But these are apps that I would never buy twice. All this will do is encourage people to use the ridiculously easy methods to jailbreak, and install pirated apps if they have more then one device.

Not cool Apple. Not cool. I've spent more on your app store for various things then I have in years because it's easy, and because I could put games that I enjoyed on my wife's iPod.

@jkrell: You're missing the point. They are not forcing you to repurchase all your apps, just (from what seems implied; this is not happening to me at all, and I am on 3.0b5) redownload them on the computer, not the phone.

Tenpaiyomi

3.0b5 here....no such thing occurring on my phone. I just deleted and redownloaded an app on phone.

Tenpaiyomi

@Mark Edward: Seriously? The slight hassle of redownloading a purchased and deleted app from iTunes is enough to make you not get an iPod Touch? You're not paying twice for the app, it's just a small anti-piracy inconvenience, not a big deal.

This seems silly... they do not make money off the app store anyway so what's the point? This will stop me from buying apps. I'll stick to the freebies. What happens when you upgrade your device? Will you be stuck paying for all of your apps again?

jkrell

Thats awfully lame. I never use my computer for downloading my iphone apps... Kind of defeats the purpose.

Chris Memering

What's the Clingon phrase for "F*CK YOU APPLE!"

Ah yes....

PHERRRRT GAHG BLAWT!

Brad

@portero23: agreed.

@portero23: Don't worry, it was even spelt incorrectly.

@Meetloaf13: fyi... there's a good chunk of people who hate it when gay is used as a negative slur

portero23

@Mark Edward: get 1 and jailbreak - i think its imense!

ritchie82

@Mark Edward: I think this only applies to downloading over the phone network.

Brad

My personal tipping point has been reached. It's time to jailbreak this sucker and move on down the road.

DCGaymer

I was actually considering getting an iPod Touch in a few months... this cements my decision to not get one, now.

Mark Edward

I don't think this is accurate. This message appears under the 2.x and 3.0 Beta versions of the iPhone OS. I've had to re-download a couple of paid apps under various incarnations of 2.x and 3.0 Beta and haven't been charged. The button should probably say "Reinstall".

nunyafishness

Ummm, this is GHEY.

With the advent of a few pretty cool phones (ANDROID) & Palm Pre, I would never even consider and iPhone...and this is coming from an iPod Touch lover.

Meetloaf13

thats slightly annoying... i only have an 8 gig touch so i often delete apps to try new ones etc. I suppose you can still do it through itunes but imo its taking away something that is/was useful - how can that be good?

ritchie82

@paintbox: drag as in 'tedious downer', not as in 'queen'

paintbox

Just a "comment" about the "ghey" thing. If I want to say GAY, I will say GAY, whatever meaning I give it at the time, that will be for me to decide. Political correctness is a real drag sometimes.

paintbox

iPhone users are the bitchiest people I've ever seen. If this were to happen to an app store for Windows Mobile, I wouldn't bitch for a second. Honestly, big fucking deal. Are you that lazy ? Is it THAT much of a hassle ?

Jordan Banasik

Here's why this is a good thing:

If you move the people who are re-downloading an app (which means they already tried it, decided it wasn't worth keeping, then changed their minds) from the phone to their computer, then that opens up a significant bit of bandwidth over time.

That means your call goes through, or your phone can get a better fix on you if you need help or have to find something nearby. It means that there are less people soaking up data because they're being fickle, driving ten under the limit with their blinker on so to speak.

Here's why this is a bad thing:
I don't like having a 5 page dashboard on my phone. I can barely handle 3. That means I delete things often from the phone, but keep them at home on the computer. This also means from time to time I reach for an app that I forgot that I deleted and because I'm out in the field, need to redownload it right on the phone. I think it's convenient, but agree that it's wasteful.

I'm bummed that they're taking this feature away, but I guess it will learn me to depend less on frivolous apps and keep the ones that I really use the most on the phone.

DeeJayQueue

@reynwrap582: True, but I've read where ATT has concerns with the amount of data traffic vrs. voice traffic on the iPhone.

The disincentive of paying for the reload will move people to their computer to download it.

aeronaut

I have two iTunes accounts for a good reason, region locked redeem codes

does this mean I'm going to have a problem in future?

@jeremy_mccurdy: You should find new ways of improving your reading comprehension. This only infers that you have to re-download it, for free mind you, through iTunes on your computer, then sync.

Nowhere was it mentioned that you would have to repay for an app you already bought.

amrcanpoet

@ShakespeareGeek: But those apps you named are free. This is a requirement of paid apps. It's to stop people from buying it through their iTunes account, then logging on another iPhone as that account and re-downloading it.

amrcanpoet

@Phoshi:
I believe it's spelled "spelled correctly".

tinpot

@Anonymous816435:
"But it'll sure save Apple some of the server fees.."
Assuming they get fewer downloaders hitting the App Store servers...seems likely.

@timgray: Now that android 1.5 is out I'm extremely happy with my G1 and have dropped the thought of switching to AT&T + iPhone.

Nearly time to get an HTC HD me thinks

Simieski

@Meetloaf13: Why did you have to ruin a decent comment about android with a lame slur like that?

@aeronaut: You already have to be connected via Wifi to download anything over 10MB anyway, don't you?

reynwrap582

@UnMicD:

"That's between me and wireless provider, and the data plan that I'm paying for."

But it'll sure save Apple some of the server fees..

I'm quite annoyed though, cause I don't have a laptop and I delete an app quite often on my iPhone not because of lack of storage, but because of it'll be easier to navigate the springboard. And some buggy apps require you to reinstall your app and it'll be hassle to go to your comp and sync just for one app..

Anonymous816435

It seems to me that whether I download from the phone or from the PC is really none of Apple's business. That's between me and wireless provider, and the data plan that I'm paying for.

What's next? Disabling Safari and Email when I'm not on WiFi? Taking away features that were available when I bought the product is a really good way to make be not do business with you. That's like taking the automatic transmission out of my car when I do my 1-year servicing. Yes, the car technically still works, but I paid extra for an automatic for a reason. If you're going to take that away, I'd say you owe me some money.

@A refresher in making comments.

@a refresher in making comments.

@Anonymous816435: The majority of users that figure out how to pirate through Appulous will find a way around 99% of the piracy measures that Apple can throw at them.

This is a move to stop simpletons from being able to pirate applications. It's simple and cost effective for Apple to do this.

@leahzero:

Well, the conspiracy is that Apple intentionally writes buggy software for Windows so that it frustrates users into switching to Mac.

However, I don't think it's really a conspiracy. :-P

greenbot

@[interactiveiphone.com] I really don't think this is fair but I guess they have their reasons.

DipDog3

@Ted Avery: Yes, but taking away features doesn't exactly make people want to hop on board the bandwagon. If they take away this feature, they may take away more.

I think the limit is a concession to ATT and their network.

aeronaut

@dmccall: Agreed. It's even worse when you try to do it on a Windows machine.

When I first got my iPhone 3G and took it home, installed iTunes on my PC, and attempted to update the iPhone firmware, it crashed in the middle of updating, and bricked the phone to the point that I could not factory reset it. I had to physically take it to an Apple Store (after making an appointment, waiting to be seen, etc.)...where a Genius plugged it into her MacBook and updated the firmware for me in five minutes.

That did not make my life simpler or easier. Nor will this change.

Can someone explain how this stops piracy?? And does the benefits overweight the hassle? I thought most people pirate through jailbreaking and Appulous/Crackulous.

Come on Apple, go deal with Appulous and not your goody, honest app-paying customers!

Anonymous816435

Why do people moan so much... is it that big a deal? just re-download it on itunes, or, don't delete it in the first place if you want it that bad.

Paul Bentham

Apple: Always trying to find new ways to gouge people for cash.

jeremy_mccurdy

I was thinking this was a really bad idea for those who have restored their iPhone/Touch as you then have to go back to the store to find and re-download all your apps, but then remembered you can grab a list of your downloaded apps via iTunes.

Store>My Acount>Purchase History

Even the free apps you have downloaded are there somewhere!

@Brad: This needed to be said: It's 'K'lingon not this pathetic "Clingon" phrase you speak of.

AtomFury

My brother (also on facebook LOL), surprisingly doesn't read lifehacker.

He's gonna be pissed off once he needs to reinstall an application again, he's dead against (and afraid of) jailbreaking because some stupid employee at The Apple Store said jailbroken phones, even if restored, can be traced and the software used will be shown on apple's computers/servers once fixed at the Geniuous bar.

I think what that employee told him is complete RUBBISH, apple can't track and trace back a jailbreak EVEN AFTER having the device restored (everything restored, wiping existing data, etc.). The scare tactics and BS used are to scare people and stop 'em from jailbreaking their device.

Thank GOD we don't have to jailbreak a pocket pc to get it to run anything, since it does just that (pocket pc applications, emulators, gnu/linux, etc).

FUCK YOU apple.

-Brian

Brian Rootbrian Collins

@Ted Avery:

While I would normally agree with what you're saying there, the move they just made basically cements you just a bit more solidly to iTunes. Currently I upload my music using my preferred media player (MediaMonkey) and whenever I need to upload videos or pictures I must switch to iTunes, delete my music in order to sync, then go back to MediaMonkey to reupload the music. I don't know if this problem still exists though, it's been a long time since I've uploaded videos or pictures.

The point is, redownloading apps on my iPod touch is easy for me using my WiFi connection, but now it means more yet time wasted switching to the inferior player (opinion, I like iTunes but not enough to replace MM), reuploading, and returning to reupload all my music.

Of course, I could just refrain from deleting apps, but why should I be forced to do this? Another reason not to upgrade to an iPhone.

HisNameIsChris

If this is implemented, I will pirate every subsequent piece of software app I install on my iPhone

Rxram

@DCGaymer: How will jailbreaking help? I don't know of any package or app in the jailbreak world that can help you, and I have a jailbroken iPod Touch and check Cydia quite often. But I reccommend jailbreakng for other reasons (unless you plan to use it for getting cracked apps. Don't use cracked apps, seriously). Jailbreaking can help with many, many things, but I don't know how the jailbreak people can tackle this one.

We just have to deal with it. Simple as that. Maybe we should stop being lazy and sync the darn device. Wouldn't hurt to plug it once in a while (to backup). Some of you are annoyed, but I don't think it's a reason to complain. So I want to download an application again, I hook it to a computer. Not like you won't touch a computer anytime soon.

Nytmare10

That's REALLY annoying, given that I CAN'T redownload my apps from my computer! I let my iPhone get out of sync with itunes a long time ago (at an Apple employee's prompting I disabled app syncing, to diagnose a MobileMe problem I was having). It turns out that if I reenable syncing apps now, all my applications and their settings on my iPhone are going to be clobbered by what I've got on my computer (almost nothing)! As long as the app sync function between iTunes and the iPhone is as badly broken as it is as to require a complete overwrite of apps and settings on the phone, this is an unacceptable move on Apple's part.

ConstanceTrout

"Or tap buy to buy it again".

Huh? Why would anyone want to buy something they have already paid for?

rockhopper

@Paul Bentham: I use two computers, both authorized for my iTunes library. If I buy an app on one computer, when I sync on the other computer, the app is deleted without warning because it is not in THAT library, just on my 'phone. (Apple evidently assumes I got it illegally, even though it could easily have iTunes check my account to see if I actually bought it.) That's why we "moan" when Apple makes a boneheaded decision that makes getting back legally purchased apps that we did not delete even more difficult.

GBMax

Pwn'd

All in the name of liberty
I got to be free

Jailbreak, Jailllllbreak
I got to break out

@UnMicD: If you "never consider buying an iPhone again" it won't matter to any of us. It's just sad to see people jump to huge conclusions because of something small. I'd feel sorry for you if the iPhone became the best smart-phone on the market and you were just stubborn and didn't consider it. :)

Brendon Bauer

@Tenpaiyomi: From what I've read there seems to be a point at which this dialogue comes up. Someone narrowed it down to around 5-6mb apps and above. You can redownload all small apps for free with no problem. It's when you try to redownload the bigger apps that you are asked to pay again unless you do it on your computer. Of course, if the app is free in the first place it really doesn't matter if you "buy" it again.

Brendon Bauer

Read closer, the rule hasn't been implemented yet, love.

OprahBabb

@Anonymous816435: i agree this is just stupid