IPhone – simple way to compare apps in the iTunes library with those actually installed on the iPhone

applicationsiphoneitunes

Thanks to the appshopper.com RSS feeds, I've downloaded a lot of free apps: some good, many forgettable. Is there a simple way to see a list of uninstalled iPhone apps so I can re-evaluate and delete a lot of the duds?

I've seen programs that scan my iTunes library for apps (though some of them miss a lot of results), and IIRC it's possible to read an iTunes-managed iPhone backup to see which apps are installed there.

So, are there any existing utilities that do this? Failing that, I'll upvote/accept an answer that points me in the right direction to create such a utility myself.

Best Answer

Two possible answers...

Assuming you've not actively deleted them from iTunes as well as from your iPhone...

  1. Upgrade to iTunes 10.x if you haven't already
  2. Plug your iPhone into your Mac, open iTunes, sync it.
  3. Click on the iPhone in the side bar and go to the Apps tab

You'll see that some apps are checked and others are not. This is an indicator of whether or not they're installed on the device.

Pretty sure this got introduced in iTunes 10.x (hence the first step)

Assuming you don't delete your old emails... (e.g. Archive in GMail)

The iTunes store should have emailed you summaries of the apps you've purchased (even the free ones) shortly after their 'purchase', so, if you have an email account where you've kept those emails, you could search through them to get a list of each app you've purchased from the iTunes store.