Is there a way I can stop syncing apps with iTunes without first obliterating the apps from the iPhone and re-downloading them?
Now that iOS 5 and iCloud are released, I want to stop storing all my apps on my computer, and instead just let them be downloaded directly to each of my devices. Music, podcasts, etc. should still sync with my computer.
However, when I deselect "Sync Apps" in iTunes, I get the message:
Are you sure you do not want to sync apps? All existing apps and their data on the iPhone "myPhone 4" will be removed.
It seems like an awful waste of time and bandwidth to force the phone to redownload all my apps just to tell iTunes to stop syncing them.
Best Answer
From testing, it seems you can't break that link without having to re-download. Since the change requires you to synchronize the phone, you will need to re-download the files from the phone once you've un-ticked the box, since the synchronize does remove the applications completely.
Unfortunately the answer to your question is right now there isn't a default way, but I suspect it will become possible in future iTunes versions.
I have looked for possible hacks to do this and have yet to find one that doesn't require jail breaking to copy the files back.