iPhone 4 and HD apps

[BJTC]

Sorry if this has been mentioned and I can't find anything specifically about it, but something that's been driving me nuts ever since the iPad was released (I sat that purchase out because of the resolution and lack of GPS). While I understand why developers would like the idea of re-releasing their games in "HD" form so they can charge again (yes - I realize some don't but it appears to me many do), WHAT is going to happen once the iPhone 4 comes out?

Will there be another "storefront" for it? Will the apps simply be folded into the existing store? Will the iPhone 4 be able to use the iPad store for things like, say, Plants vs Zombies?

I get that the pixel quadrupling will allow the upscaling of graphics the same way as the iPad is (basically) doing with iPhone apps, but does this mean to have the "best quality" version of the apps I own, I'm going to end up repurchasing them in some other "higher res fashion" yet to be unveiled on the app store? Will developers put the effort into making a universal version with enhancements for the additional pixel depth or simply cater to the lowest common denominator. Or, perhaps we just have to wait and see how it pans out...

That's the thing I don't quite get yet, but it seems a little silly to have opened up an iPad specific store and, for that matter, to have released a non-1080p iPad at a resolution *other* than 960x640. It *feels* at least as though the App Store is getting "software fragmented" in a potentially more expensive way (for me, at least) than Android is claimed by some to be getting "hardware/os fragmented".

Agree? Disagree?

K-

 

[0309385]

Yeah,

I want to know if the iPhone 4 will support HD apps they look so sexy on the ipad i want them on the iPhone!

 

[tek210]

Good question. I have several of the apps that are also available in the HD/ipad version.

 

[ChrisGonzales90]

If apple was smart they will have the correct one to be downloaded (ie; you are on an ipad, the ipad verison will download)

 

[mattroman246]

will it support our hd video downloads?

 

[mojo8472]

Slightly concerned that, while the resolution is greatly increased, the screen is too small to cram in any extra UI elements.
The iPad, on the other hand, has a physically much larger screen allowing devs to write a whole new class of apps.

Just worried that this awesome pixel density will only be used to sharpen text and photos, not spur on innovative app development.

Still, Apple's been pretty much spot-on with the iPhones' so far, will have to trust 'em!

 

[jtara]

The "HD" apps currently on the App Store are iPad apps. They won't run on iPhone. There's a lot more to it than simply having higher resolution.

BTW, my speculation is that Apple originally wanted to call the new iPhone "iPhone HD". But the "HD" moniker caught-on for iPad-only apps, forcing Apple's hand. I don't think it was every going to be called "4G" like the press has been calling it - too confusing, implies 4G cell standards.

The adaptation of older apps on iPhone 4 is DIFFERENT than currently on iPad. Keep in mind that this is an iOS 4 feature, and iOS 4 is not yet available for iPad.

On iPad, iPhone apps are pixel-doubled. Period. This goes for bitmaps, controls, and text.

On iOS 4, older iPhone apps have their bitmaps pixel-doubled. But controls and text are DRAWN in the higher resolution.

Now, here's an interesting Catch-22. Will iPad run apps written for iOS 4? Probably not, at least until fall, unless developers jump through a lot of hoops. High-profile apps will have to jump through the hoops. It IS possible to write an app that will run on an older OS and still selectively use a new OS features. It's a pain in the butt, but is going to be necessary, at least for high-profile apps, for the next few months.