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Next Version of iTunes Restores Local Contact and Calendar Syncing

Tuesday March 18, 2014 11:45 am PDT by Juli Clover
ituneslogo.jpgApple today seeded a new version of 10.9.3 to employees, reports 9to5Mac, but more importantly, the company also launched a new iTunes 11.1.6 beta, which includes an important syncing feature that has been missing since the launch of Mavericks.

According to the release notes, iTunes 11.1.6 "restores the ability to sync contacts and calendar information to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from your Mac running OS X 10.9.3."

When iOS 7 and Mavericks were introduced back in September, Apple removed local syncing in favor of cloud syncing, allowing users to sync calendars, contacts, bookmarks, and notes only via iCloud. Many users were unhappy with the feature removal and their inability to sync information to their iOS devices using their Macs.

Apple's Support Communities has a 212 page thread on the issue, and MacRumors has received multiple complaints about the removal of local sync since Mavericks was released. It appears that the next version of Mavericks and iTunes 11.1.6 will restore the feature, once again allowing users to sync locally.

At the current point in time, iTunes 11.16 and the newest version of OS X 10.9.3 are only available to Apple employees, but the betas should be seeded to developers in the near future.

[ 187 comments ]


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pmz
72 months ago
"Had no idea this was missing, since I use iCloud instead." -Everyone
Rating: 26 Votes
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Nermal
72 months ago

Seriously who is still using iTunes to sync Contacts and Calendars in this day and age? :eek: iCloud does everything you need and is the most reliable cloud syncing service on earth.


There can be valid reasons for doing it locally. Imagine for example a one-person business that wants to sync their customers' phone numbers from their computer to their phone. It's a violation of privacy law to give those details to a third-party so it therefore must happen locally.

Edit: I've had a few responses to this. It's based on my own understanding of the NZ Privacy Act which I was led to believe forbade the disclosure of personal information to third-parties without express permission. I could be wrong; I'm certainly not a lawyer, but that's my understanding of the local law. This document (http://www.privacy.org.nz/the-privacy-act-and-codes/privacy-principles/limits-on-disclosure-of-personal-information-principle-eleven/) appears to back this up, as this disclosure doesn't appear to meet any of those criteria.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Rigby
72 months ago

Seriously who is still using iTunes to sync Contacts and Calendars in this day and age? :eek: iCloud does everything you need and is the most reliable cloud syncing service on earth.

People who have confidential contacts or appointments that are not suitable for the cloud (where the information is potentially accessible by hackers, government agencies, and Apple). Think lawyers, investigative journalists, business people without a corporate exchange server etc.
Rating: 13 Votes
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newagemac
72 months ago
Not sure why anyone would go through the time and hassle of doing that anymore but I guess whatever floats your boat.
Rating: 11 Votes
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longofest
72 months ago
Wow! Amazing how much innovation we've seen from Apple today. 8GB iPhone 5C, iPad 4, and now this! They are just kicking Google's butt when it comes to innovation :rolleyes:

I kid. kind of.
Rating: 10 Votes
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dumastudetto
72 months ago
Seriously who is still using iTunes to sync Contacts and Calendars in this day and age? :eek: iCloud does everything you need and is the most reliable cloud syncing service on earth.
Rating: 9 Votes
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Dulcimer
72 months ago
I just read an article yesterday about how tech companies are forcing us to use their cloud solutions, of which we have no control. The author included the example of how Apple removed local Calendar sync through iTunes and forced iCloud on its users.

Glad to see that Apple is reversing its decision.
Rating: 9 Votes
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larrylaffer
72 months ago
I never even noticed that they had removed that.

Quick Jimmy, to the cloud!
Rating: 8 Votes
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meme1255
72 months ago
Someone FiNALLY understood that they just can't do they whatever they want?
Now just fix remaining bugs in Mavericks and everyone will be happy :)
Rating: 8 Votes
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MagnusVonMagnum
72 months ago

Seriously who is still using iTunes to sync Contacts and Calendars in this day and age? :eek:

Seriously, who the frack are YOU to assume everyone thinks the same way you do? :eek:

iCloud does everything you need and is the most reliable cloud syncing service on earth.


Honest to god, I can't understand WTF people think they and what they do is the only damn thing other people also do and that the whole world somehow revolves around their decisions and that of their similar minded and/or aged friends. Some of us care about privacy and don't want all our information floating around the planet on every server owned by god only knows who that could potentially intercept that information when it's not necessary to do so. Believe it or not, I don't even own a "smart" phone. It's not worth $70+ a month to me to text people where I am and what I'm doing when neither I or they gives a crap what I'm doing or what they're doing. If I have something to say to someone, I do the ancient thing, CALL them instead of treating them like they're a mass chain mail with "text". And with the $62 on average I save a month, I can buy a brand new Macbook Pro every other year instead with that money which I actually use instead of walking around trying to surf the Internet while I'm walking with my thumbs which is in no way comfortable to do.

Young people today apparently don't gives two whole thoughts about PRIVACY at all and realize that putting all your personal information online and in some server called the "cloud" somewhere isn't really a smart thing to do. People wonder how and why their identities are being stolen like never before and it's because people don't do a damn thing to protect themselves like keeping private information private. You have zero expectancy of privacy when you post everything you do online and worse yet through open WiFi etc. Cyber-crime is rising at unprecedented rates and people are just willy-nilly throwing everything about themselves around the Internet when NO ONE and I mean NO ONE needs to know those things online.

WTF is the point of Facebook and Twitter and constantly texting everyone where you are and what you're doing 24/7? As if you're a superstar and the world is just utterly fascinated with every breath you take. Putting crap in the "Cloud" is a sure-fire way to hand your contacts and bookmarks to anyone that wants them, particularly the corporations that run them and promise privacy one day and then turn-around the next day and announced they've changed their privacy policy and here, it's 30 pages long, please read it and expect it to change again next week and every week until everyone is so sick of seeing it, that if they EVER took the time to read it even ONCE, they won't do it every week. Pretty soon you don't even realize you've given them permission to share your data with everyone on earth.

It amazes me that people are in such a rage about the NSA spying on them and yet they freely allow all their personal information to float around private corporate servers 24/7. It's unreal. People can't even see the sheer hypocrisy in it all.

So yeah, I'd like to sync my contacts and other personal information locally. It's none of Apple's business who I'm friends with, what plumber I use or what pizza places I frequent. And woe to all the short-sighted people that don't give two thoughts to privacy or security. They will be the first ones to have their backs up against the wall when the crap hits the proverbial fan. But hey, that's their choice. Just don't force me to sync everything I do online or buy some Chromebook POS that practically needs to be online to even use a calculator application....
Rating: 6 Votes

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