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I have an existing iPhone app and it seems that a significant proportion of my users these days are running it on iPad (I can tell because a lot of the emails I get from users have a "sent from my iPad" signature).

I am now implementing the iPad version and I'm doing it from the same code base, which is convenient to do. But when I'm done, I wonder if I should actually release it as a universal app. I could instead upload it as a separate, brand new iPad-only app.

If I make it universal:

  • ✓ My existing iPad users will be delighted when they update and suddenly see iPad support.
  • ✓ I benefit from existing ranking/traffic to my app, won't have to build it up from scratch.
  • ✗ My iPhone users will see an update for nothing.
  • ✗ User ratings might get confusing as the two versions are quite different

If I make them two separate apps:

  • ✓ I can set different pricing for iPhone and iPad
  • ✗ Existing users of my iPhone app who are on iPad won't know there's a new version for them. And if they discover it, having to migrate their data will annoy them. As will paying once more for it.

Am I missing any other tradeoffs that may help decide which route to take? Does anyone have experience to share from taking either route?

Clafou
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    Well worded - and very important question for developers. Shame on on the moderators for closing it. I get that it's not purely code-related - but a lot of developer questions on SO are not simply code - and this question is the exact question I was looking for an answer too - worded much better than I would have done it. – Rhubarb Jan 17 '12 at 18:31
  • Thanks for the moral support! I got useful answers (with facts, references and specific expertise, to quote the box below), which certainly helped me. But I can understand the need for moderation. – Clafou Jan 18 '12 at 17:35

2 Answers2

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There's no other way about it. You should go universal.

The only reason against having a universal app would be different pricing (and I think that may piss off customers quite a bit. Especially the existing ones who are using the app on their iPads).

I can come up with loads of reasons:

  • Customers see an app update alert for the universal support. Making a separate iPad app means you have to manually reach out to the iPad customers to notify them

  • Code is more manageable. What if you're creating a data handling class that supplies information for tables/views? Why would you want to have two copies of the same code in two different projects? What if you fix a bug in the future and have to do the same fixes twice in different projects?

  • Having a universal app makes you look more professional as a developer

  • As your project continues to grow, having two different apps is going to be a development nightmare in terms of making changes, running updates, etc.

  • Some third party libraries require some form of app ID to function. Others exist that require you to pay per app implementation. Why pay twice for different apps when you can have it done within a single universal app?

  • Customer experience - Users who own iPhones and iPads will expect a certain amount of syncing of the app between their iPhone and iPad using iCloud et al. I don't think a user will be too happy to know that their data is not syncing across their devices.

  • In App Purchases for one device would have to be bought again for the other one (this won't go down well with customers).

... I can go on and on all day. To summarize, unless you have a VERY good reason to have separate apps (and I honestly can't think of any), go universal. Universal apps come across as clean, well built, and professionally made. They make a good impression on the customers, and are a breeze to manage for the developer.

Making two separate apps for iPhones and iPads is like taking a website and splitting it into different standalone versions with their own individual domain names for different browsers... doesn't make sense :)

Sid
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    Well answered - but I wouldn't discount the "separate price" advantage argument. It seems that users are prepared to pay extra for the iPad experience. I have no experience, but I note that popular apps like InstaPaper do that successfully. If the separate price strategy works, and significantly increases the bottom line- then that outweighs all these other disadvantages doesnt it? – Rhubarb Jan 17 '12 at 18:36
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    True that, but with the new iOS5 changes (iCloud syncing especially) users would expect some sort of synergy between app implementations. Also, when backing up apps during device syncing, I kind of think that having two separate backups of the same app (for iPhone and iPad versions) might end up being clumsy. Anyway I'm not saying separate pricing should be damned :), but the list of disadvantages that stem from that would also be a lot (I can think of one right now - In App Purchases. In App Purchases for iPhone would need to be bought again for the iPad implementation) – Sid Jan 17 '12 at 22:22
  • Anyway you do raise a point; But I will say that though it does happen, the majority of the apps are going universal. – Sid Jan 17 '12 at 22:23
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    As a developer of a rather successful split instance of an app the split pricing works and even having to rebuy inapp features annoys people but they still pay. We reuse a lot of the iPhone screens but end of the day there is more screen real estate on an iPad and we put more effort into adding value to that real estate. They pay for that extra development cost. The code base is shared so all the core parts get updates and then the iPhone and iPad have proper subclasses where all the finer points get tweaked. That said I am at this article because we are considering a universal model. :) – Josh Peak Jun 22 '12 at 05:13
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    you don't need to have separated code to manage two separate apps. you just need another target.. – Rafael Sanches Dec 19 '12 at 02:58
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I saw an interesting blog post (below) where it shows that you dilute your download rank on iTunes if you have separate apps.

http://www.cocoanetics.com/2011/05/to-universal-or-not/

Taryn
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Robotic Cat
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