How to Transfer Apps from iPhone to Computer with/without iTunes

We just bought new MacBook Pro’s. We are fairly new to the Apple world – have had iPhones for a little over a year. How do we get our apps on our phones onto our laptops?

Just upgrade to a new computer and now looking for an easy way to transfer files from PC? Just like the above user, you may also want to transfer apps or app purchases from iPhone to your new Mac or Windows PC computer. So, you can get a backup for apps to avoid data loss and view iPhone apps on your computer as you like. Then, how can you transfer apps from iPhone to computer?

Here in this post, we will show you several ways to download iOS apps and transfer iPhone apps to PC/Mac computer with or without iTunes. You can also learn how to run iOS apps on Mac since it’s possibles for M1 Mac now. Just read on to get the solutions to transfer and backup your apps.

Also Read: How to Fix iPhone Not Showing Up on Computer >

How to Transfer Apps from iPhone to PC/Mac without iTunes

Since the traditional iTunes way only supports transferring purchased files, here we would like to share with you the way that can help you sync and back up all your iPhone apps to computer.

As a professional iOS data manager and file transfer app, AnyTrans supports transferring everything between iPhone/iPad/iPod and computer (PC and Mac supported), including apps, music, messages, videos, contacts, photos, etc. So, you can get a backup for iPhone apps, including app files and purchases, and then, view iPhone apps on the computer according to your needs.

To download and see iPhone apps on your computer:

Step 1. Download iPhone Apps on Computer

Get AnyTrans installed on your computer first, and there are two versions: Windows & Mac. Then follow the instructions to transfer apps from iPhone to computer without iTunes:

1. Run AnyTrans on your computer > Connect your iDevice to the computer using a USB cable > Choose “Device Manager” mode > Click on “Apps” to enter the apps manage page.

2. Choose the apps you want to download to computer, then click the Download button to transfer apps from iPhone/iPad/iPod to PC/Mac computer.

3. After the download process finished, the apps from your iPhone should be transferred to the computer as a backup.

Step 2. See iPhone Apps on Computer

Since AnyTrans helps you transferring iPhone apps to your computer successfully, you can go to your computer and check the transferred iOS .ipa files. And, you can click the .ipa files and run iOS apps on your M1 Mac directly.

Or, recover the downloaded apps with AnyTrans’ App Library when you need them.

How to Transfer Apps from iPhone to Computer Using iTunes

iTunes can be the most familiar way to sync iPhone files to iOS devices like iPhone, iPad and iPod. And, iTunes backup includes app data like app settings, purchased app data, app local files like WhatsApp chat history, etc. Therefore, you can transfer apps and other files from your iPhone to a PC or Mac for free using iTunes.

Just learn how to transfer iPhone apps to computer by following these steps:

1. Open iTunes (12.7 or earlier) on your computer.
2. Connect your iPhone to computer via a matched USB cable.
3. Click “Continue” to allow iTunes to read your iPhone data.
4. Tap “Trust” on your iPhone to continue.
5. Choose “Account” at the upper-left corner of iTunes screen > “Authorizations”.
6. Click on “Authorize This Computer” to make sure the computer is authorized.
7. Click the “Sign In to the iTunes Store” button to log into your iTunes store.
8. Choose “File” at the upper-left corner of iTunes screen.
9. Click on “Devices” > “Transfer Purchases From [your iPhone name]”.
10. After the process is completed, the applications from your iPhone should be transferred to iTunes on your computer.

Tip 1: Fix iTunes Not Showing my iPhone Apps

Some users meet the problem – iTunes not showing iPhone apps: I’m running the latest iTunes 12.7.0.166 and I backed up my iPhone to iTunes. I’m trying to transfer an app on my computer to my iPhone. It used to be easy in the older iTunes but not now. I don’t even see an “app” selection anywhere on iTunes showing what’s on my phone or any apps I can transfer to my iPhone wow I’m lost here. Thanks for any help on the matter.

iTunes not showing iPhone apps is because Apple removed the app icon since iTunes 12.7, and you can check how iTunes changed about apps and find the solutions.

Tip 2: Transfer Files between iPhone and Mac

You need to note that: for Mac users, iTunes only supports the Mac with earlier versions of macOS 10.15. But Finder is where you can manage and transfer files between iOS devices and Mac. And starting with macOS Catalina, your music, videos, podcasts, and audiobooks are organized into their own dedicated apps — Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books. So you cannot sync apps or other files to your iPhone or iPad using iTunes on Mac. 

What can you sync with the Finder:

• Albums, songs, playlists, movies, TV shows, podcasts, books, and audiobooks.
• Photos and videos.
• Contacts and calendars.

Further Reading: Photos and Videos Synced from iTunes/Finder will be Removed? Get Solutions >

Share Purchased Apps on Family Sharing

Apple supports you to share purchased apps with Family Sharing. Then you can access each other’s apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books. What you can share with Family Sharing: Apps you can purchase or download from the App Store, subscriptions and in-app purchases from participating apps, etc. Follow the steps below to share app purchases from iPhone to computer:

For Mac Users: Sign in your Apple ID > Open the App Store and click your profile in the bottom-left corner > Tap on Purchased, choose a family member’s name owning an iDevice to view their apps. So you can see the apps from an iPhone to Mac easily.

For Windows PC Users: Sign in with your Apple ID > Open iTunes and choose Account from the menu bar > Find Family Purchases > Choose a family member’s name to view. Then you can download the app items that you want.

Also Read: How to Fix Apple Music Family Sharing Not Working >

How to Run iPhone/iPad Apps on Mac

As you can see, there are three ways for you to transfer apps and app purchases from iPhone/iPad to computer. And you can do it both on Windows PC and Mac. Besides, for M1 Mac, you can even run the iPhone/iPad apps directly after transferred. Apple’s M1 Macs allow you to run iOS apps with ease since the newly Apple Silicon chip is similar to the A-series chips used in iPhone and iPad.

However, some iOS developers have been updating their apps to make them compatible with M1 Mac, others are still not available. But don’t worry, if you want to know which iPhone/iPad apps are ready for M1 Mac, iMobie M1 App Checker can help you for free. Besides, it enables you to check if the apps on your Mac are available on the M1 Mac.

This M1 app checker is so convenient to check M1 compatible apps and the hot apps on the market. Also, it can help you run almost any iOS apps on M1 Mac by exporting .ipa files. And except for the online tool, you can download it on your desktop to check with one-click.

• When you Check iPhone/iPad Apps: Yes, go to download means that the app is compatible with M1 Mac and you can download and run it directly. Not yet, go to export .ipa means that the app is not compatible yet, but you can install ipa. and run successfully.
  

  Check iPhone/iPad Apps

• When you Check Mac Apps: Yes, full native Apple Silicon means that native support for both Apple Silicon Macs and Intel-based Macs. Yes, works via Rosetta 2 means it can run on M1 via Rosetta 2 with some limited performance compromises. No, not yet means it can not run on M1.
  

  Check Mac Apps

Bonus Tip: How to Share App Files between iPhone and Computer

1. Share App Files with iTunes

If you want to share files using iTunes, then follow the step below to copy app files:

1. Open iTunes > Connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable.
2. Click the device icon in iTunes > Tap on File Sharing from the left sidebar.
3. Choose one app and its file > Click Save button to computer, or add from computer to iPhone.

If you also want to transfer other files like photos from your iPhone to a computer, just repeat the same steps above. Or you can refer to this article to get more details about How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer.

2. Share iPhone App Files with AnyTrans

If you want to transfer app files on iPhone, AnyTrans enables you to sync with computer or another iPhone/iPad. To share app files with computer or iPhone/iPad, get AnyTrans first and follow the step below:

Step 1: Go to the homepage and click Device Manager > Click App File Sharing from the bottom-right corner.

Step 2: Then you will see the page that app files are listed, choose one or multiple files > Click To PC to share with computer. Also, you can add files from computer to your iPhone.

The Bottom Line

That’s all about how you can transfer apps from iPhone to computer (PC/Mac) and get to see iPhone apps on computer. AnyTrans allows you to get apps from iPhone to Mac easily. It is far beyond an iPhone data transfer, it is made for every iPhone, iPad, and iPod, including the new iPhone 12 series. Download and install AnyTrans on your computer to make your Apple life easier. Any question on this guide or AnyTrans is warmly welcomed, at the same time, don’t forget to share this guide with your friends.