Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

mark-vdw

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 20, 2013
158
246
Question out of curiosity (a few google searches didn't explicitly answer it for me): does iOS 9 App Thinning functionality allow developers to create a single universal app across iOS, tvOS and watchOS, with the App Store being smart enough to download only the relevant modules to each device? Or does each platform require a seperate app, grouped together via Universal Purchase, and does App Thinning only remove the differences within a specific platform (e.g. binaries optimized for iPhone 5 vs 6)?
 
This from Apple may be able to answer your question:

To distribute your iOS app and tvOS app together with a universal purchase, both apps need to use the same app record in iTunes Connect. You can create a new app for both iOS and tvOS using the same app record or add a platform to your existing app record. The iOS app and tvOS app share the same bundle ID but must have their own version in the app record and must be uploaded separately. The iOS app and tvOS app may have different version numbers and build strings.

So it sounds like they are completely separate applications that the App Store will allow to share resources (minus WatchKit for on demand since those are technically extensions) and those individual apps will be sliced along the platform built for to devices in that platform (iOS -> iPad, iPhone 5, iPhone 6, etc) | tvOS ->  TV | WatchOS -> 42mm, 38mm).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.