Introduction: Tackling Apple Device Management for Solopreneurs

Do you sometimes feel like you’re wrestling a herd of Apple devices instead of running your business? You’re not alone. Today, I will help you streamline your workflow and maximize efficiency when dealing with multiple Apple devices like Macs, iPhones, and iPads. By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly what to do to ensure that your business-critical applications are always at your fingertips, regardless of the device you’re using.

Stick around till the end since I will share something that folks in Europe will need to be aware of, and that might become a reality worldwide in a not too distant future as well.

I’ll unpack all of this after the intro.

Welcome to the Macpreneur Podcast Episode 89

Hello, hello, and welcome to episode 89 of the Macpreneur podcast. 

Whether it’s your first time or you’re a long time listener, I appreciate that you carve out some time in your busy solopreneur schedule. 

Unlocking Apple Podcasts App Features for Enhanced Listening

If you’re listening to this with the Apple Podcasts app and your device is running at least iOS 17.4 or macOS Sonoma 14.4, you will now be able to access a transcript that has been generated automatically by Apple.

When the episode is playing, you just tap or click on the icon that looks like a speech bubble. You can even search for specific words. And if you click on any paragraph of text, the player will jump to that portion of the episode.

Mastering iCloud Synchronization for Your Business

As a successful solopreneur, you’re likely using more than one Apple device in your daily operations.

Back in episode 88, we touched upon iCloud synchronization, what it can and cannot synchronize. The fact that iCloud can synchronize data doesn’t mean that it does so automatically, or even that it should.

Finally, I debated whether iCloud should be used for business data.

If you have missed this episode, either make yourself a mental post-it note or press pause and visit macpreneur.com/episode88, where you will find a video version and a full transcript as well.

Streamlining Application Access Across Apple Devices

So, this episode is the second one of a three-part series, and today we will explore how to make sure that we can access business-critical applications across all our Apple devices.

In the next episode, Episode 90, I will cover tips and strategies to access our most important documents everywhere.

Okay, so let’s talk about the applications that we rely on for running our solopreneur business.

And here I have both bad news and good news for you.

The bad news is that there is no way to automatically synchronize the applications that are installed on your Apple devices, even between similar platforms like between two Macs or between an iPhone and an iPad.

Now, for Mac applications, the reason is simple. There is much more to the icon that you see in the applications folder because as soon as you launch a Mac application for the first time, it will create files in a subfolder inside a hidden folder called the Library folder. And not only are those hidden files updated every time you use the app, but they also depend on the version of the app and sometimes the version of the Mac operating system.

On iPhone and iPad, it’s a little bit different because every file internal to an application is stored within what is called the application sandbox. However, it’s still the case that the content of this sandbox depends on the app usage and the app version as well.

Navigating the App Store: Tips and Tricks for Solopreneurs

Now let’s talk about the good news: there are still ways to streamline the installation of applications on multiple devices.

Here, we’ll cover two kinds of apps: the apps that are available in the official App Store and those that are only available from the developer’s website or a third-party store.

The nice thing about App Store applications is that you can install them on more than one device. On iPhone and iPad, it’s possible to configure them so that whenever you download a free app or purchase a paid app on one mobile device, it automatically gets downloaded on your other mobile devices.

To do this, open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap on the App Store section. You will see an automatic download section where you can turn on app downloads automatically. This is a great option for devices that have enough internal storage space; otherwise, it could be a problem.

Also, note that it will only start downloading future applications automatically, not those that are already associated with your Apple account.

For apps that you got or purchased in the past on another mobile device with the same Apple account, there is a trick to quickly access them. Just long-press on the App Store icon, then tap on the Purchased option. The App Store will open and immediately show you the list of applications in reverse chronological order, from the most recent to the least recent.

Another tip: to quickly see the apps that are not yet on this device, tap on the tab that says ‘Not on this iPhone’ or ‘Not on this iPad’.

On Mac, to install a free or paid app on another device, open the Mac App Store, then click on your Apple account name in the bottom left corner. Like on iPhone and iPad, you will see a list of apps in reverse chronological order of when you installed them for the first time. If you see a button that says ‘Open’, it means that the app is already installed on your Mac. If you see a cloud icon, it means that you haven’t installed it on that Mac. Unfortunately, there is no special tab to filter applications that are not yet on the device, like we can do on the iPhone and iPad.

On a side note, you might be wondering how many devices you can install applications from the App Store. Well, according to Apple, you can have 10 devices, and out of those, no more than 5 computers associated with your Apple ID for purchases.

It’s important to understand that this list is different from the list of devices that you are currently signed into with your Apple ID. To check which devices are registered for purchases, go to Settings or System Preferences, then go to your Apple ID. There, you will see a list of devices where you are logged in.

It is separate from the list of devices that have been authorized for purchases or using applications that you have purchased. To check that, click on the Account Settings button, where you see all your purchased apps in the top right corner. Then, go into your account settings, scroll, and you will see a Manage Devices option. Clicking on that will show you the list of all the devices, as well as the date the device was registered for purchases. My recommendation is to deregister any device that you don’t actively use anymore. Next to each device, you will see a Remove button. If the button is grayed out and not clickable, it means that the device was recently used to download an app. Every time you do that, there is a 90-day delay that kicks in, and you will see the remaining days before you can deregister that device.

If your Mac is still running on an Intel processor, you’ll only be able to install Mac-specific applications. However, if you have a Mac with an Apple Silicon chip, such as the M1, M2, or M3 family of chips, and if the app developer has allowed it, you can install iPhone and iPad applications directly on your Mac too.

In the Mac App Store, under Account, you will see the iPhone and iPad apps section. From there, you can download iPhone and iPad apps on your Mac.

A mobile device application running on a Mac is far from perfect because those apps haven’t been designed specifically for Mac. However, in some cases, it’s a nice alternative to just converting a website into a local Mac application or resorting to accessing the data from Safari or another browser.

Managing Non-App Store Applications and Software Licenses

Now, for apps that are not available on the App Store, especially the paid ones, the first thing to do is double-check that you can install the app on multiple devices.

So, for that, start by visiting the developer’s website. If you don’t see information there, you can send a support email. For instance, I use an application called ScreenFlow, which allows me to do screencasts, edit videos, and so on.

This app has a hard limit on the number of Macs where it can be simultaneously installed. So, at one point, I had to deregister an old Mac to activate the license on my new Mac.

In other cases, the number of devices where you can install an app is linked to a subscription plan. I’m using Sophos as my anti-malware application of choice, and the free plan only covers three devices. The paid plan, which I have, allows up to 10 devices to be protected with a single subscription. But I know that I won’t be able to download, install, and configure Sophos on more than 10 devices.

So, a tip: whenever possible, remove any license from a paid app before you erase an old Mac. This will prevent you from needing to contact the developer, which could delay the ability to run a business-critical application on a new Mac, for instance.

Another tip is to leverage a service like Setapp, which centralizes the management of software licenses. In case you don’t know Setapp, it’s a bit like the Netflix of Mac applications. 

Before discovering Setapp, every time I bought a license for a new piece of software, I needed to create a new item in 1Password, making sure that I kept a record of the name and the email address associated with the license. I had to copy-paste the license code and the version covered by the license. Now, with Setapp, I just pay a flat monthly fee and have access to a catalog of more than 240 Mac applications. The base plan covers 1 Mac, the intermediate plan covers 1 Mac and 4 iOS devices, and the plan I have, called Power User, covers 4 Macs and 4 iOS devices.

Normally, you can only try Setapp for free for 7 days. But with my referral link, the free trial period is extended to 30 days. To get this special bonus at no cost to you, just visit macpreneur.com/setapp and start streamlining how you manage your software licenses today.

So, before the recap, there is one more thing I’d like to mention.

Understanding the Impact of the Digital Markets Act on App Distribution

Since March 2024, major actors in the digital economy like Apple, Google, and Microsoft must comply with the Digital Markets Act, or DMA for short. The goal of this EU legislation is to regulate the power of so-called gatekeepers, which are companies that serve a huge number of people, and by huge, I mean hundreds of millions of people.

At this point, you might be wondering why I am talking about that. Well, it relates to the iOS App Store because Apple has been deemed a gatekeeper and is now legally obliged, in Europe, to allow developers to distribute their mobile applications outside of the official App Store. So, developers can now directly allow users to download or buy applications from their websites or via alternative app stores.

At the time of recording, the way that Apple is offering to do that still needs to be fully reviewed by the European Commission. So the dust has not fully settled yet, but regardless of how it will pan out, it means that apps that used to be available from the App Store, because it was the only way, might not be in the future.

So, one of the tricks that I mentioned earlier won’t work with these apps anymore.

On the flip side, MacPaw, which is the developer behind Setapp, has already announced that they will offer their own third-party app store for iOS in Europe. And I’m really curious to see firsthand the release of the future Setapp store and if it will have a positive impact on the number of apps available in their catalog.

Solopreneurs who live outside of Europe won’t be impacted by that for now.

However, I suspect that other governments around the world are watching closely how the enforcement of the DMA is unfolding, and I would not be surprised if this kind of regulation spreads internationally in the not-too-distant future.

Remember GDPR and how governments around the world started enforcing similar privacy laws as a result? In any case, I wanted to give you a heads-up about that because it is rather timely when this episode is airing.

Recap and Final Thoughts: Optimizing Your Apple Ecosystem

So to recap, we’ve explored different ways to quickly access our business-critical applications when dealing with multiple Apple devices.

First, we discussed the ability to automatically download newly purchased apps, which is only available for mobile devices. The first caveat is that it should be activated only on devices with enough internal storage. The second one is that it doesn’t work retroactively, only for future purchases. 

Second, we looked at the Mac App Store, where to find the purchased apps, and also the criteria for installing iPhone and iPad apps on a Mac. 

And finally, we’ve looked at best practices and tips for dealing with applications that are not available through the Mac App Store. 

My recommendation is to consider signing up for Setapp, the Netflix of Mac apps, which simplifies the management of software licenses and streamlines the installation of apps on multiple Apple devices. 

So, one last time, visit macpreneur.com/setapp to get an extended 30-day trial period, that’s 23 more days than if you visited Setapp directly, and have the opportunity to test any of the 240-plus applications that they have in their catalog.

If you found this episode useful, please share it with a fellow solopreneur and tag me on Instagram. My handle is @MacpreneurFM.

So that’s it for today.

Preview: Next Episode on Document Synchronization Strategies

In the next episode, I will finish off this three-part series by exploring tips and strategies to streamline the synchronization of documents managed by third-party cloud providers like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

So, make sure to subscribe or follow this podcast to get it automatically next week.

Until next time, I’m Damien Schreurs, wishing you a great day.

Thank you for listening to the Macpreneur Podcast. If you’ve enjoyed the show, please leave a review and share it with a friend right now.