[Macworld]

Post your comments for Free up space on your iOS device here

[pawhite524]

This one is a keeper. As the new owner of an iPad 3 16 gig wifi only I figure to use this frequently.

[ConnorMeeblings]

I had a huge chunk of 'other' space on my iPod touch and thought what in the world is this? After sorting through some stuff I decided to empty the photo stream on it (which accumulated a huge amount) and that giant 'other' space went down. I didn't download those pictures but does remembering them take space as well?

[calver]

What would be the procedure for deleting downloaded movies? They use a lot of space.

What is best method for streaming movies that is purchased from I tunes store for your IPad?

Does streaming actually take up space on an IPad?

[alterbentzion]

Another tip: If you use voice recorder apps like Griffin iTalk orVoice Memos, back up/export your recordings and then delete the ones you don't need in your pocket. I freed up about 1GB (on my 8GB Touch!) that way.

[Luke_Macwalker]

About the "Other" category that is regularly ballooning over 3 GB, here is how to get it down to 200-500 MB.
1. Right-click on the iDevice and make a backup
2. In the main window, click on the Restore button
3. Choose your previous backup in the popup
This deletes everything on the iOS device then restores everything back except the "Other" which will be very small after the deletion then grow only moderately during the restoration.
Last week I claimed back more than 3 GB both from my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 (both 16 GB devices).

[Inkling]

Better still, Apple should make the app installation process smart enough that the graphics for the latest iPad aren't installed on a iPhone 3GS.

[greyone]

Photostream? No thanks. Get Cloud Photos -- a new app that leverages DropBox -- the way it should be leveraged -- for organizing, uploading, and sharing photos in iOS (and among all your devices).

[classicmacs01]

calver, on 28 March 2012 - 12:51 PM, said:

What would be the procedure for deleting downloaded movies? They use a lot of space.

What is best method for streaming movies that is purchased from I tunes store for your IPad?

Does streaming actually take up space on an IPad?

Did you buy the movies on the iPad from the iTunes Store? If so, sync your iPad to your computer to copy them to your computer. Then uncheck the movies in iTunes under the Movies tab under your iPad and click Apply to re-sync and delete the movies from the iPad. To stream the movies from your Mac to your iPad, while you are at home on your Wi-Fi network, turn on Home Sharing in iTunes and on the iPad (Music settings). Then tap the Video app on the iPad and your Mac will appear, as long as iTunes is running. Tap the Home Sharing icon in the Video app and it will access your Mac and display the movies. Then you can stream them from your Mac to your iPad. You cannot stream movies from the "Cloud" to your iPad from your iTunes purchases. That feature is only for the AppleTV. Streaming does not take up any space on the iPad.

[classicmacs01]

The article should have mentioned that iTunes Match is only a useful tip for an iOS device that has internet access when you want to hear your music. iTunes Match is useless for an iPod Touch or iPad Wi-Fi when a Wi-Fi network is not available (or if you have no cell service in a particular dead zone area). A better tip should have explained how to create a Smart Playlist in iTunes that randomly chooses from your main library of music and limits the playlist to a specific size, 1 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB, etc. Then you sync only that playlist to your iOS device. You also have the option in iTunes to sync that playlist as well as choosing a few specific artists or albums that you really want on your iOS device, in addition to that custom playlist. This method controls the size of the music on the device and gives you access to your music regardless of cell service or Wi-Fi access, and you don't have to spend money to do it.

My Smart Playlist for my 64 GB iPod Touch 4 chooses from a specific list of Genres (eliminate Holiday, etc. when it is not the Holiday season) that I want to hear, and then check the box that says Limit to, and from the drop down menu choose MB or GB. Enter a number in the field and then selected by Random from the 2nd drop down menu. Also check Live Updating. My limited playlist is set to 10 GB. I also have a few artists and albums checked in iTunes that I want on my iPod Touch, in addition to my random playlist of 10GB. This method caps the music at a limit that I set, so I can have room for apps, photos, and video. While I at home on my Wi-Fi network, the Home Sharing feature gives me full access to my entire library of music and video on my iPod Touch.

[timwux]

Lex,

Do you know if the app space usage includes the in-app downloads for each?

I ask because before I knew this feature exited, I guessed that the Jamie Oliver and Mario Batali apps I was using were taking up an enormous amount of space, holding the videos I had already watched. One of the two apps had a convenient "delete all downloads" option--when I hit that, I found a mountain of unused capacity.

Thanks for this keeper of an article--explains it in plain English, so I can share it without needing to hold everyone's hands!

[DocNo]

classicmacs01, on 29 March 2012 - 07:50 PM, said:

iTunes Match is useless for an iPod Touch or iPad Wi-Fi when a Wi-Fi network is not available (or if you have no cell service in a particular dead zone area).

Not true. You can go to the bottom of a playlist, tap the "download all" button and if you have the space it does just that. The files are downloaded and cached locally on your phone. I recently went on a trip and did that before I got on a plane - worked like a champ.

It's not obvious, though and I discovered it completely by accident. I think Apple needs a way to pin or anchor playlists to a device so that the songs are never automatically purged from a device - but this works OK for now.

Quote

A better tip should have explained how to create a Smart Playlist in iTunes that randomly chooses from your main library of music and limits the playlist to a specific size, 1 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB, etc. Then you sync only that playlist to your iOS device. You also have the option in iTunes to sync that playlist as well as choosing a few specific artists or albums that you really want on your iOS device, in addition to that custom playlist. This method controls the size of the music on the device and gives you access to your music regardless of cell service or Wi-Fi access, and you don't have to spend money to do it.

All of the above still works with iCloud just fine - in fact, that's how I handle music on my iPhone. $25 a year is a pittance for having your whole library available - as well as my non-iTunes downloaded songs that are of, ahem, questionable quality upgraded to higher quality versions where applicable.

Quote

While I at home on my Wi-Fi network, the Home Sharing feature gives me full access to my entire library of music and video on my iPod Touch.

And for $25 a year, in addition to upgraded songs I get my whole library from wherever I am, not just at home.

This post has been edited by DocNo: 31 March 2012 - 08:22 PM

[DocNo]

timwux, on 30 March 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

Do you know if the app space usage includes the in-app downloads for each?

I'm not Lex, but if you go into the Settings app on your iOS device, tap General then Usage. Tap on an app and then it will show you the amount of space take up by the documents and data associated with that app.

[Mystakill]

Inkling, on 29 March 2012 - 06:56 AM, said:

Better still, Apple should make the app installation process smart enough that the graphics for the latest iPad aren't installed on a iPhone 3GS.

Having not developed any apps for iDevices myself, I don't know if there's (yet) a standard way of declaring which resources within an app are for which device(s). If not, then that would have to be done before any auto app-slimming could be added.