Anybody who owns both an iPhone/iPod touch and an iPad would obviously want the iPhone and iPad versions of an app that they pay for. However, universal apps are done in a way that has a lot of flaws.
First, file size is an issue since, whether you have an iPhone or an iPad, an universal app contains all of the files for both devices. This will be less of a problem for general usage apps (though it will add up), and a bigger problems for games that have to work around file limits. A game could be using better textures, etc. on the iPad, making the app take up an unnecessary x amount of space on the iPhone (let's say 300MB). We could also say that the iPhone version has to use a lot of seperate lower quality resources, so the app takes up an extra 150MB than necessary on the iPad.
If a developer doesn't want a 600MB app, then they could split the app into seperate iPhone and iPad apps. In this scenario, let's say that you pay $14.99 for the iPad version, and the iPhone version costs $9.99. You'll probably choose the higher quality experience on the iPad and pay $14.99, but find yourself at times when you want to play the game, but you only have your iPhone with you and would have to pay another $10 for the same game to be able to play it on your iPhone.
Finally, we're down to this, which applies a lot to this weekend. What if a developer really wants to charge half price for customers who have already purchased the iPhone version of an app? Or if for $9.99 for an iPad app, you get the $2.99 iPhone app for free if you don't already have it. Older games enhanced for the iPad that I had never bought on the iPhone would be more appealing to me if I could get the iPhone version as well for paying a premium for an older app.
Apple would be better off letting developers bundle seperate iPhone and iPad apps or offer special offers on the apps than forcing developers to develop universal apps that include all of the resources for the iPhone and the iPad whether the device being used needs those resources or not.
First, file size is an issue since, whether you have an iPhone or an iPad, an universal app contains all of the files for both devices. This will be less of a problem for general usage apps (though it will add up), and a bigger problems for games that have to work around file limits. A game could be using better textures, etc. on the iPad, making the app take up an unnecessary x amount of space on the iPhone (let's say 300MB). We could also say that the iPhone version has to use a lot of seperate lower quality resources, so the app takes up an extra 150MB than necessary on the iPad.
If a developer doesn't want a 600MB app, then they could split the app into seperate iPhone and iPad apps. In this scenario, let's say that you pay $14.99 for the iPad version, and the iPhone version costs $9.99. You'll probably choose the higher quality experience on the iPad and pay $14.99, but find yourself at times when you want to play the game, but you only have your iPhone with you and would have to pay another $10 for the same game to be able to play it on your iPhone.
Finally, we're down to this, which applies a lot to this weekend. What if a developer really wants to charge half price for customers who have already purchased the iPhone version of an app? Or if for $9.99 for an iPad app, you get the $2.99 iPhone app for free if you don't already have it. Older games enhanced for the iPad that I had never bought on the iPhone would be more appealing to me if I could get the iPhone version as well for paying a premium for an older app.
Apple would be better off letting developers bundle seperate iPhone and iPad apps or offer special offers on the apps than forcing developers to develop universal apps that include all of the resources for the iPhone and the iPad whether the device being used needs those resources or not.
