In other words, would it be possible to avoid the current sync system, and just use the app as more of a client, and storing all the files on the cloud instead - like you can optionally do with Photos.
I consistently use Devonthink TG to add scans and stuff, and having the sync as an asynchronous process that I can never rely on just sucks…
Obviously this system should not preclude the normal “local-first” solution, that would break the app for almost all existing users 
Welcome @tofagerl
While who knows what the future may hold, (1) this is not technically feasible nor is it planned, and (2) DEVONthink is not comparable to Photos.app. This is also counter to our basic philosophy of decentralization. See…
Also, what is the specific issue with sync?
What method are you using?
I rely on the data sync between my Mac and iPad (Bonjour and iCloud Cloudkit)
No issues at this time
Oh, it’s not that the sync doesn’t work, it’s just that it’s asynchronous.
I never know when it’s done syncing, so I keep opening up DT on the mac and having to open DTG on the iPhone because the stuff isn’t synced yet.
If the sync was guaranteed (Insert jokes about Apples battery focus here) to happen within seconds it’d be perfect 
What sync method are you using?
CloudKit
Well, there’s part of the problem. CloudKit has been known to be problematic for many people (and other developers). It’s not for everyone or we would have stopped offering it. However, it has been problematic for some.
Do you actually need to use a remote sync option?
There is a forum post on syncing: Sync Types Explained. This is a good place to start.
Welcome to the forums.
I used to employ sync strategies similar to you, but have since moved exclusively to Bonjour. Feels much more stable.
If you always have your Mac and iPhone side-by-side when you sync, then Bonjour is probably the best sync method for you.
I’ll try that this weekend
Of course, the best thing would be for the iOS app to just be allowed to always keep itself in sync, even if you might get slightly less battery time.
Damn control freaks… They really make it hard for us other control freaks ;p
Apple restricts how long an iOS app can stay, and what it can do, in the background.
If you wonder why Apple puts such restrictions in place, the Android ecosystem in China is the perfect counterexample. Android phones manufactured and sold in China do not incorporate Google Services Framework, nor is the Play Store available in mainland China. Instead, those phones run on tailored Android OSes. Manufacturers retain numerous backdoors for certain third-party apps, which are often pre-installed. Many third-party apps stores exist, with no app screening, no oversight, no developer policies, nothing.
Among the worst of Chinese apps is WeChat, a social media app that regularly consumes 4+ GB RAM on a phone with 12 GB of RAM, even when it’s in the background. No one knows what WeChat is doing with so many resources.
Another notorious offender, Pinduoduo (brand name Temu outside of China), sends barrages of ads for low-cost goods and sale events through notifications which cannot be turned off. Pinduoduo was even caught last year to have exploited 0-day security breaches, so they can surveil users of the Google Play version of the app. Pinduoduo, one of the most popular online shopping platform in China, was subsequently banned from Google Play in March 2023 for being a malware outright.
Both of these absurd stories involve rogue background activities. Of course, they should never have happened at all. Apparently, Apple feels the only way to fend off such abusers is to put hard limits on background activities, for anything other than first-party services.
I know, that’s what the smileys were about
Technical considerations aside, I deeply appreciate the security/privacy of the current method for sync. 18 years on, the DEVON team has made me feel they value privacy and security as much as I do.
Oh yah, awesome app too 
Indeed! While we are not alarmists or prone to seeing bad actors behind every tree, we do believe peoples’ data is their own, no different than the belongings in their home. From our standpoint, what happens with that data should be up to the owner.
User-controlled data is a big reason we advocate local syncs first. (There are sound technical reasons we advocate it too, but we’re waxing philosophically now 
) I like to sum it up this way: Your data synced only on your network only to your devices.
If someone chooses to put that data in the hands of others, i.e., via syncing to a remote server like Dropbox, that is their choice to make. And we provide the encryption key option to make that sync data pretty much useless to anyone but the owner.