If you have ever used iTunes synchronization between your iPhone and computer, you would hardly be able to
Here are the declared features of the program:
Advertising
Advertising
- Export files from iPhone
- Import files from a computer
- Backup iPhone / iPad (full or selective)
- Data recovery
- Fix iOS issues
Today we will look at each of them in turn, but first, let's talk about the interface.
It's worth starting with the fact that the program is available onRussian, but we received the English version of the product for review. But regardless of the language, the interface is quite simple and minimalistic, and using the program is intuitive – which cannot be said about iTunes. Versions are available for Windows and macOS; in our case, the test was carried out on a Mac.
Advertising
Advertising
Before you begin, you mustconnect iPhone or iPad via USB. It is noteworthy that all further actions will be performed without connecting to the Apple ID and the need for synchronization, because of which you can accidentally transfer settings to the phone or computer that you were not going to transfer, and all that. Yes, iTunes, this is a stone in your garden. We connect an iPhone and see how worthily the program will cope with the stated tasks.
1. Export files from iPhone
So, we connected the device to the computer, and the program instantly recognized it.
You can choose what to do next usingtiles on the main screen, or you can navigate through the tabs at the top of the interface. Now we are interested in the second tab – a file manager in which we can view files on the iPhone and download what we need to our computer. The list of what we can download corresponds to the panel on the left. This:
- Photos, videos and entire albums
- Music and playlists
- Video
- Contacts
- Books
- Bookmarks
- Messages
Let's start with a simple – Photo and video.Through the file manager, you can view the entire contents of your albums, or just your Camera Roll without any sorting. Below you will see the number of files in this folder and their total weight. If you don't have enough space, then this is a very convenient way to remove unnecessary – It’s easier to select photos from previews on a large computer screen than from a phone. Simply select unnecessary files, click on the squares in the upper left corner to highlight them, and then Delete to erase the selection.
Let's select a few files and try to download.To do this, select the desired photos in the same way (the selected files are marked with turquoise checkmarks on the screen) and click Export. It was not possible to take a screenshot of the process – It took less than a second to download 15 MB! Open the download folder (you can change it in Export Settings).
Ready! Photos are saved in .HEIC by default, videos – in .MOV. Photos retain all metadata and are available in original resolution. In the settings you can change the export format.
We will not dwell on the other types of export separately, but we will give formats in which different types of files and data are stored:
- Photo in HEIC: JPEG / HEIC
- Live photos: JPEG or HEIC + video in MOV, or only JPEG / HEIC photos
- HEIC Video: H.264 or HEVC
- Albums: all photos from the album are saved in the selected format (JPEG / HEIC) to the specified folder
- Contacts: XLS
In addition, in the same tab you can see how much space all applications and documents from them take up, and remove unnecessary ones from the device.
2. Import files from a computer
In (almost) any of the tabs you canupload your files to your smartphone from a computer. Remember how in iTunes you had to first add files to the library, then synchronize and wait ten minutes until the program finishes dancing with a tambourine? There is no such problem with iCareFone. Click Import, select the necessary files or the whole folder, and the program will do everything by itself. It took a couple of seconds to import 42 MB! How do you like it, iTunes?
And yes, this way you can add to your iPhoneTracks that aren’t in Apple Music. True, the design in this case directly depends on what data is sewn into the source .mp3. However, in just a couple of clicks, I managed to add the songs of Metal Gear Rising's Jamie Christofferson, not available in Apple Music, to the rest of the tracks from the music service.
A great outlet for those whose favorite artists are not represented on iTunes and Apple Music!
However, be careful:you will need a third party player. The fact is that from the “Music” Files downloaded this way disappear after about half an hour. Read our article about which third-party player is best to choose for your iPhone! By the way, there you can also find out how to bypass the VKontakte limit by listening to music in the background for half an hour.
3. Backup iPhone / iPad (full or selective)
Backup in iCareFone is cool for two reasons. First, you can choose what type of data you need. Maybe you do not want to back up your applications because you have little space. Or you don’t need a call history. This is your smartphone and you decide what you want to save! For the sake of experiment, we will backup all the data and see how long it takes.
And in the screenshot above you can see the secondthe reason why iCareFone backup is light miles better than iTunes backup. You can save it to your external hard drive! Of course, you can also do this through iTunes – but to do this, you still have to first make a backup on your computer, and only after that transfer it to your hard drive and reconfigure the backup folder in iTunes… in a word, there are too many unnecessary movements, and it is still not relevant for those who do not have enough space on the computer’s hard drive.
So, let's launch a backup… and wait 1.5 hours. Moreover, approximately half of this time occurs in the last 2%! The total data weight was almost 40 GB.
All this time you can safely perform othertasks on the computer, this does not affect the speed of recording a backup copy (unless you are using all the computing power of the computer, of course). The main thing – Do not disconnect your iPhone or iPad during this process. So the iCareFone slogan “Let's make iOS 12 backup easier than ever” more than justified.
Advertising
Advertising
4. Data recovery
Advertising
Advertising
Of course, you can not only make backupcopy data, but also transfer them to a new device. To do this, simply select the desired file and start synchronization. Again, this does not require an Apple ID. If you previously made a backup via iTunes, then these backups will also appear in the list of available ones (you may have to enter a password if you encrypted the files). Interestingly, iTunes does not see backups stored on an external drive.
5. Fix iOS problems
iCareFone Helps Solve Problems Relatedincorrect installation of new software. If, after updating the iOS or installing a jailbreak, your smartphone does not load beyond the Apple logo, cannot exit recovery mode or displays a black screen when it is turned on, this utility should help.
The program will offer you two modes:Standard or Advanced. In both cases, your device will be updated to the latest version of iOS and will lose any jailbreak if you had one installed. The developer also notes that the utility helps fix only those problems that are related to the software component of the smartphone or tablet. If the breakdown is physical, of course, there is only one way for you – to the service.
Advertising
Advertising
What is the difference between the two modes? It is only one. Standard involves restoring the device while retaining all user data, while Advanced completely resets all data and iPhone / iPad settings.
Total
Does iCareFone deliver on its promise of “replace iTunes”? Definitely for sureYes. Last few years to transfer filesI only use AirDrop between the computer and the phone, and iCareFone was the first adequate utility to offer something as simple and convenient, but for a wired connection.
As for backup, I personally dobackup for each iPhone once in his life: before buying a new one. This is a disgusting habit, do not be like me. However, if you use iTunes, you probably understand why I do not like to make copies. iCareFone, of course, is unlikely to teach me how to backup every week, but this program is really much more convenient and allows me not to clog tens of gigabytes of data from an iPhone.
Finally, the feature to fix iOS problems is simplecharming. This is not something that a file manager or backup program should be able to do, but iCareFone can do it. This is hardly the main selling function of the program, but its very presence – a very nice gesture from the developers.
If you want to train yourself to make backups and ease the process of transferring data from your computer to your phone – iCareFone is definitely a must-have for you. Download Tenorshare iCareFone for Windows and macOS.