Do we need to keep IOS apps in iTunes if we now sync to the cloud

Question

If all of our apps are now stored in iCloud is it still necessary to maintain them in our iTunes account on our macs, I have an air with limited HD space and with over 250 apps it takes up quite a chunk of space. If we can get updates to our apps in the mobile app and all our purchases are stored in iTunes storewhere they can be downloaded, it should be safe to delete the apps but I dread having to redownload if Im wrong. Further more will turning off the sync feature in itunes app section cause the apps on my phone to be erased?  Am I missing something?
thx
tony

Answer 1

First, it's always been okay to delete apps from your phone because you can download then again at no additional cost, assuming they are still in the store. You can re-download to your phone, or to iTunes and sync them with your device.
With iOS 5 and iCloud, you don’t have to sync your device with iTunes at all. Interestingly, you can still use the device while syncing is occurring, whereas before it would interrupt syncing.
Both iTunes on the computer and the Store settings on the devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) have a setting for “Automatic Downloads”. With that on, your devices will automatically download anything purchased in iTunes on your computer, and iTunes on your computer will automatically download anything purchased on your devices. You can turn it off in iTunes on your computer if you don’t want to download new purchases to your computer with very little hard drive space. If you have only one device, and won’t be using iTunes on your computer to make purchases, then there’s really no point in turning on “Automatic Downloads” on your solitary device. The “Automatic Downloads” setting only affects the device where it is activated, so setting it on your iPhone won’t affect your computer, and setting if for your computer won’t affect your iPad, and so forth.
Keep in mind that not everything that is in the iTunes Store will stay there forever. Some items do get removed from the store for various reasons, such as an artist, developer, or studio changing their mind about selling it there, and so you won’t be able to download them again if that happens. If you don’t want them on your computer, ideally you would save copies to an external hard drive, at the very least.
That’s the obligatory warning about backing up, which iTunes always warns you in the EULA and elsewhere.
If you delete anything out of your iTunes library, but still want it on your devices, then you will pretty much have to not sync with iTunes ever again. Otherwise, iTunes will try to match everything on your computer (or whatever is selected for that device) with what’s on the device, and vice versa.
With iOS 5 and iCloud, not syncing with iTunes becomes a much more sane option than it was before. This does not remove your responsibility for backing up what you have purchased. If you don’t want it on your computer, you should figure out where else to keep your own personal backup. Again, an artist, or developer, or studio, or whoever created whatever you purchased may change their mind and decide to have the item removed from the store. If that happens, you won’t be able to download it again. This has happened many times already; it’s not often, but it does happen.
If you sync your device with iTunes, you’ll get a dialog asking whether you’d like to transfer the purchased items found on your device to iTunes. If you decline to transfer them to iTunes, then the purchased items on your device will be deleted. If you do that, then you’d have to re-download them again, which you’d likely do directly from your device and that would likely take forever if you did every single time.
In short:
Yes, you can delete the apps and any other purchases from iTunes.
Be sure to use iCloud on your devices, and turn on iCloud's backup option so it'll save your apps data.
Then, do not sync your devices with iTunes ever again.
Also, do not depend on your purchases remaining in the iTunes Store forever.
Keep your own personal backup of all your purchases, just in case they are removed from the store (by the content creator’s request, Apple’s reasons, earthquake, apocalypse, etc.) This will require:
downloading new purchases to iTunes;
choose File > Show in Finder;
copy it to an external hard drive;
then you go back to iTunes and delete it in iTunes (not the Finder) so iTunes will know and keep your library clean.
Hmm, so much for "short".