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When Apple removed app syncing from iTunes back in 2017, they took away something really useful — the ability to manage your iOS apps directly from your Mac. iMazing gives that control back, and in this TIP video we're diving into the Manage Apps section that we had to skip in our full iMazing show. You'll learn how to build a local library of your apps as .ipa files, download apps directly from the App Store through iMazing, and pull in apps from your purchase history — all stored safely on your Mac, independent of Apple's servers.

Once you have a library, the real power kicks in. You can install and uninstall apps across any connected device, check for updates and choose whether to keep older versions, and — one of the most useful features — view the full version history of any app and roll back to a previous release if an update breaks something you rely on. We also cover how to export your complete app list to a CSV file, giving you a sortable inventory you can open in Numbers or Excel. If you want the full iMazing picture, check out SCOM1581 — but this TIP stands completely on its own.

Where iCloud and Finder give you basic, all-or-nothing backup and sync, the iMazing 3 utility puts you firmly in control. It lets you create unlimited local backup snapshots, browse and extract exactly the data you need, and transfer files freely between your device and your Mac, all without touching iCloud and with your data staying entirely on your machine.

In this video Lee takes a deep look at what iMazing brings to the table. He looks at backups and iMazing's snapshot approach which gives you a Time Machine-like history of your device. You learn how to extract and export your messages, WhatsApp conversations, contacts, calendars, notes, voicemails, call history, and Safari data. Lee also covers photo and media transfers, battery health monitoring, and iMazing Mini, the companion app that keeps your devices backed up automatically in the background.

There are a number of options to choose from when backing up your Mac, from Time Machine to clone backup and more. When it comes to iOS devices there is not as much flexibility. You can choose back up to iCloud or to your Mac but you can't access incremental backups or specific folders on your iOS devices. iMazing 2 is a utility for macOS that brings that flexibility to the iOS platform and give you a lot more control on your backups, their frequency, and the information you can access from those backups.

In this screencast, Todd begins with a quick refresher on what is available as part of the operating system. He then dives into the options that iMazing 2 offers to help you configure and manage your iOS backups, and shows you how to transfer information to and from your device.