Joke? iPhone and iPod resolutions are almost the same as the iPads (1.28x more).
Greedy and/or cheeky developers is why.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
why in the heck are apps twice as expensive on the iPad?
- Thread starter bbhegedus
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Joke? iPhone and iPod resolutions are almost the same as the iPads (1.28x more).
Greedy and/or cheeky developers is why.
Joke?
Or the clueless ramblings of someone who is not a developer?
It takes significant time and effort to code for the iPad in addition to the iPhone. I know this 1st hand.
Combination of quite a few things. Takes a bit more time to code for th iPad due to the larger display area. The potential market is much smaller. iPhone games work on the iPad, but not the other way around. The ratio of iPhone or iPod touch vs. iPads sold so far is probably 10 or 15 to 1. So far the market has shown they are willing to pay more. As the potential market for apps grow I see the prices coming down. For me there have only been a few apps over $3 that I've been willing to pay for, so I'm voting in the marketplace by not buying the more expensive apps. I'd really like World of Goo, but not at $10 when I can get a bunch of other games combined for that.
this is a great idea. greedy companies make two seperate versions of a game, one for iPad and one for iPhone and expect you to pay for both of them. If you notice, unless an app is free or made by a developer who cares more about customer satisfaction than money, the app won't have a little "+" next to it saying it's compatible with BOTH iDevices. That's why stupid companies make "HD" versions of apps. it's ridiculous.
Actually I am not sure I can agree. If an app on the iPad is exactly the same as on the iPhone, but with just a higher display resolution, then yes, this app should be universal. If the ipad version differentiates a lot from its iPhone counterpart, then I would say that the extra cost is justified. Have a look at Omnifocus on the ipad and on the iPhone. They are very different. Pocket Informant on the ipad has nothing to do with the iphone version. Things app on the ipad is also very much different in comparison to the iPhone version, and the list goes on and on.
Of course there are many apps that take advantage of the HD moniker and charge extra, without being worth it. Tower Madness HD is the same version as on the iPhone but costs more, Nova on the iPad the same...there are many games that do that and it is a shame. These apps should be universal and be offered at a reasonable price.
Of course there are many apps that take advantage of the HD moniker and charge extra, without being worth it. Tower Madness HD is the same version as on the iPhone but costs more, Nova on the iPad the same...there are many games that do that and it is a shame. These apps should be universal and be offered at a reasonable price.
first off i said OVER
so let's say you have a 16GB iPhone 4, it cost $200 then you buy a 16GB iPad and it costs $500. 500>200 x 2
get it?
What does the price you pay Apple for the hardware have to do with the cost of the apps? Developers don't get any of the money from Apple from the sale of hardware.
You must not know how contract subsidization works. They charge you 199 but over the life of the contract you may pay four or five times the initial 199.
thats true for both devices. if you got a Wifi+3G iPad you'd be paying an extra $100 for the hardware initially plus the contract payments each month. But this thread isn't about the cost of apple devices or contracts. it's about the apps people, and THEIR prices.
It's got little to do with number of pixels, cost of iPod, number of owners yadda, yadda.
It's the price that the market will bear. That is all.
It's the price that the market will bear. That is all.
I think all of those are contributing factors, but you are right, the price is what the market will bear. If users do not want to pay the price and feel it is unfair, they should either not buy or wait for a sale.
I refuse to pay multiple times the iphone's app price just to get it on the iPad. All the difference is "HD" graphics.
I am not sure how much effort goes into turning one game from an SD to HD graphics.
And as far as I am concerned, those who pay for one iOS app, should get it free on all platforms because he paid to use it. Paying once for iPad and once for iPhone to me is likebuying a DVD for the kids to watch in the car, and then buy another one to play on my ps3 HDTV setup. Same content different devices.
I accept to pay more for the iPad apps when the iPad version is really different from the iPhone. You know like a PSP game is different from PS3 game. A different version of the game, not same game different device
I am not sure how much effort goes into turning one game from an SD to HD graphics.
And as far as I am concerned, those who pay for one iOS app, should get it free on all platforms because he paid to use it. Paying once for iPad and once for iPhone to me is likebuying a DVD for the kids to watch in the car, and then buy another one to play on my ps3 HDTV setup. Same content different devices.
I accept to pay more for the iPad apps when the iPad version is really different from the iPhone. You know like a PSP game is different from PS3 game. A different version of the game, not same game different device
and its not really "HD" graphics! the iphone 4 has a better display than the ipad yet we pay more for the iPad apps. And it's got jacksquat to do with the market. If you sell around 15 app downloads for 9.99 you already have the price to enroll as a developer (99.99) because developers get 70% of the profit from their apps. so they could cut that price in half, sell 30 apps and break even. and chances are, theyre gonna sell a lot more than 30 apps and make a profit.
No it's like paying once for the DVD and then again for the same content on Blu Ray.
Do you honestly think that the only cost a developer incurrs when making a game is the $100 developer fee? Never mind the time it takes, any special software for graphics and video rendering, etc.
I don't pay for games that i don't believe are worth the price. If it's priced higher on ipad than iPhone, and nothing is different ill pay the iPhone price.
No, The iPad 3G Plans has no contract, it's pay as you go, so you may just contract the 3G when you're on vacation in the middle of nowhere and you need internet
The iPhone 4 doesn't have better graphics, what makes it better? The 250DPI Hype? that's BS, unless you hold your iPad 2" away from your eyes you will feel the same way as you feel about the iPhone 4's Highres screen holding it 2" away from your eyes.
Selling cheap for more makes sense, iTunes kinda thought that to Record companies with music, and the 1$ Apps sell like Crazy, just look at the Current 1$ EA Games Sale for iPad, most of the Games on the Top 10 List are from them. But many developers do it the other way, They know you will buy the App for 5$ or 10$ and they know they'll get the same revenue for less iPads and a Higher Price.
And by those developers I mean, Firemint, Cultured Code, Illusion Labs and so on, the Premium App developers that make apps that never feel or are cheap
It's not that the iPad apps are more expensive, it's that the iphone apps are dirty cheap 
In all seriousness if you think creating an app is cheap or easy you've clearly never developed a real app in your life, check this out to learn the real cost of an actual iPhone app: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/209170/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-an-iphone-application/3926493#3926493
In all seriousness if you think creating an app is cheap or easy you've clearly never developed a real app in your life, check this out to learn the real cost of an actual iPhone app: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/209170/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-an-iphone-application/3926493#3926493
It's not that the iPad apps are more expensive, it's that the iphone apps are dirty cheap
In all seriousness if you think creating an app is cheap or easy you've clearly never developed a real app in your life, check this out to learn the real cost of an actual iPhone app: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/209170/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-an-iphone-application/3926493#3926493
Thanks for that. Genuinely wondered what kind of hours/cash it takes to make a quality app, and I have to admit I would have counted myself among those who wrote off app development as a quick and easy* buck. It's interesting to read about what it actually takes.
* 'Easy' being a relative term here, seeing as I can't actually program, and would have no hope of doing so myself. Either way, I'll consider myself enlightened.
A 16gb iPhone 4 costs £499 unsubsidised, a 16gb iPad costs £429 unsubsidised. UK prices used for simplicity but it holds in $ too. You cannot compare subsidised price to unsubsidised in a fair way unless you also include the contract costs for the iPhone (but it's still a terrible way of comparing when unsubsidised prices are available).
Get it?
Huh? Isn't that basically what I said? The real cost is $599 (or maybe a bit less if Apple cuts a bit of a deal to AT&T) but you only pay $199 up front because you're paying for it in the contract.
Did you actually read my post? I don't think you did. Try again.