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Developers and iPhone 4 are killing the iPad

M

MattWylde

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 17, 2009
162
0
I love my iPad. I love my new iPhone 4. However, I have a huge heart ache with the way that Apple has introduced and promoted these products. It has not been the Apple experience that I have been used to experiencing.

Let me start with the App store. Apple has boasted about the iPad and how easy it is for the developers to make their existing iPhone apps to be iPad specific. To date, maybe 25% of my apps have updated for iPad specific display. The iPad has been out for 3 months now. What in the hell is the problem? Where are the apps? Not only are the apps not iPad specific, they lack originality. The only good "new" apps that have been released are Netflix and Hulu. Seriously, do you have another iPad only app that you'd recommend to someone (and no, I'm not talking about Games...which again is another sad story for iPad users)? To top it off, the apps that ARE iPad specific, are considerably more expensive.

WHERE ARE THE NEW AND GREAT iPAD APPS????

The only thing I can think that has hindered progress on these applications is the new iPhone 4. Developers again have let me down with apps for that device and iOS4. The phone has been out for a week now, and more importantly, iOS4 has been available to developers for MONTHS. I find it very hard to believe that implementing iOS4 features (i.e. saved-state for multitasking) that Apple provides the API's for is very time consuming. Sure it takes effort, but months? Apple might as well not release a developer copy of the iOS if devs aren't going to do anything with it until a new device is released. This leads me to my next heart ache.

The iOS4 updated apps do not include iOS4 features. I can't tell you how many apps that I've updated this week with a note saying "updated for iOS 4" or "iOS4 tweaks" only to have those apps not include the saved-state feature, low-resolution icons, or retina display. How in the HELL can they claim it is updated for iOS 4 without implementing those features? What a freaking joke. Sure, let me say my app is iOS 4 ready (only because it doesn't crash) and let me and Apple rake in the money from the poor saps who were fooled by the update terminology. The people with the new iPhone 4 are looking specifically for apps that are iOS 4 ready. Apple is letting developers update their apps and claim that they are iOS 4 ready (even though they don't include any of the new iOS features like multi-tasking) so that they can dupe the consumers to buy that app. This has resulted in an inconsistent experience, and one that I can say is not pleasant.

With all of the hype of "updating" the apps for iOS 4, maybe developers have forgotten about the beloved iPad. I certainly haven't seen any new great iPad apps lately, or even at all really. Apple has clearly said that it takes the developers to make these iDevice products be great.

Come on developers, step up to the plate and at least start swinging. You can't hit a home run if you don't swing the bat!
 
miles01110 said:
Looks like someone got caught up in the iPad hype and forgot that the iPhone is Apple's/the developers' bread and butter.
Click to expand...

Why so bitter?

I do enjoy my iPad, and I definitely enjoy my iPhone 4. We ought to have applications on both. I would buy more if there were any out there.

The problem is that iPad is in a weird limbo between OS3 and 4. It won't be that way for long—eventually we'll get to see an announcement for the features in iOS4 for iPad. Software development will roll right along then. You'll also see more development when more competitors roll out tablets (HP's WebOS Slate, etc).
 
While i agree to a certain degree, Reeder for iPad a few weeks back and its single handedly changed the way i consume my daily news!
 
i have a ton of great apps on my iPad. yes they might be a bit pricier than the iPhone versions, but they are also a lot more useful too. i see no shortage of iPad apps personally.
 
The iphone has a much bigger market, (because the touch is so cheap) plus the devs know when the next iPad comes out with a retina display they're gonna have to start all over again.
 
I actually think iPhone 4 will push more developers to do universal apps since they have to upres everything to pretty much the same resolution for both devices.
 
I've said it previously that the iPad app selection sucks. I love the Angry Birds game as much as the next guy, but its been out for a couple of months now and its still the #1 game? These developers need to get on the stick. However, in all fairness, the newly released 'Samurai: Way of the Warrior' looks kick ass on the iPad screen..:D
 
Are you specifically requesting NEW apps or UPDATED apps? At this point, what else do we need on the iPad, or what else do we need in "app form"? If you're so disappointed, email the developers of the specific app you'd like put into iPad form and ask nicely if they have an ETA.
 
btrav13 said:
Are you specifically requesting NEW apps or UPDATED apps? At this point, what else do we need on the iPad, or what else do we need in "app form"? If you're so disappointed, email the developers of the specific app you'd like put into iPad form and ask nicely if they have an ETA.
Click to expand...

Or, sign up at ADC and see just how easy it is to code an iApp. :)
 
I think the slow conversation rate of iPhone apps to iPad is upscaling the graphics. unless they start from the beginning with the original image files, its quite a pain to do. The iPhone 4's resolution is much closer to the iPad and this should give developers a good base to work on for both the iPad and iPhone 4.
 
dissdnt said:
I actually think iPhone 4 will push more developers to do universal apps since they have to upres everything to pretty much the same resolution for both devices.
Click to expand...

Great point.

—but remember: iPad apps are not just iPhone apps with higher res. You have to change the design to fit the size. It's somewhere between iPhone and Mac, I think?
 
MattWylde said:
I find it very hard to believe that implementing iOS4 features (i.e. saved-state for multitasking) that Apple provides the API's for is very time consuming. Sure it takes effort, but months?
Click to expand...

Software is hard. Good software is really really hard. And a good OS harder still.

That is why all of Apple's competitors are struggling now to come up with a tablet to rival the iPad. Anyone can slap the hardware components together. But the software is excruciatingly difficult to get right.

As a software engineer with over 20 years of experience, I'm continually amazed how Apple can produce such world class software at the pace it does.
 
koruki said:
I think the slow conversation rate of iPhone apps to iPad is upscaling the graphics. unless they start from the beginning with the original image files, its quite a pain to do. The iPhone 4's resolution is much closer to the iPad and this should give developers a good base to work on for both the iPad and iPhone 4.
Click to expand...

I think it's more because of the desire of developers to do something extra on the iPad beyond the enhanced graphics. Many developers don't want their iPad apps to be just large iPhone apps, so they're taking the time necessary to enhance content, change navigation paradigms, and add features.
 
The reason for iPad specific apps shortage is because iPad has only been out for a couple of months. For a really good app, it can developers several
months of coding and testing. For a device that has only been out for 3 months there are many good iPad apps and games. Most developers have only started on creating iPad apps because they wanted to see how many units of the iPad would sell. Now that developers know that iPad is success, they can invest money into developing apps. Give it a 3 or 4 months and you'll see some great apps.
 
brinatech.com said:
The reason for iPad specific apps shortage is because iPad has only been out for a couple of months. For a really good app, it can developers several
months of coding and testing. For a device that has only been out for 3 months there are many good iPad apps and games. Most developers have only started on creating iPad apps because they wanted to see how many units of the iPad would sell. Now that developers know that iPad is success, they can invest money into developing apps. Give it a 3 or 4 months and you'll see some great apps.
Click to expand...

Add on to that most developers would probably have waited to see initial sales to check if there was a market before starting work and having to get their heads around what makes a good app on a screen that size.

Honestly though, have people these days got the patience of a three year old or something? It's bad enough people complain about the price of apps (come on folks, a few pounds / dollars for full-blown applications is not expensive in anyone's book) but to be bitching about 'where are the great apps' when so many are already out there and the device has only been around for three months is just pathetic.
 
Aside from the rebuild resolution points above, it's probably worth noting that a whole genre of apps I find useful on the iPhone such as Linkedin, Tweetie, Facebook, &etc are pretty much redundant on the iPad simply because I now have a 9.7" browser. For me, it's unlikely I'd want iPad specific versions of web-based functions/sites simply because it's not difficult to use the browser to access the web in all its glory:)

The iPhone apps which provide an interface to web-based functionality are very useful because the device is small, and there's not a great requirement for an iPad version because the device is relatively big and extremely usable as a "net book" equivalent from that pov.

Excellent iPad specific apps will come and some are already here, but until Apple gives us some sort of file system then I suspect developers are hamstrung to really provide killer apps rather than apps which are "merely" good.
 
Remember, making an iPad app takes more than just higher resolution images. The iPad has unique functionality and user-interface elements.

It takes time to re-think and engineer how to interact with an iPad app.

The iPad hasn't been out very long. I've found some great apps, and if they cost a little more than iPhone apps, that's not a big deal to me - I get a lot more use out of them than any of my iPhone apps. Those developers have to eat, too!
 
I'm trying!!! :p But it takes lots and lots of time to make a game especially for both iPhone and iPad. (Especially when you are a single developer like me who's regular job requires a 12 hours a day, 7 days a week (literally) work schedule : /) It also costs lots of $$$ depending on what you are targeting.

For games, my setup is:

iPad: $500 - $850
iPhone: $300
Maya: $3500
Photoshop: $700
ZBrush: $600
Logic: $500
Virtual Instruments: ~$6000 (for game music, good virtual instruments that don't sound virtual cost a lot)
Corel Painter: $500
Wacom Tablet: $400
Mac: $3400
Monitor 2x: $1800
Harddrives: $1200 (allows for backups of projects)
Unity3D: $2400 (iPhone Pro + UnityPro since you have to buy them as a bundle)

That is a TON of money to lay out. Sure there are cheaper alternatives and it all depends what type of game you are making and how much you care about quality. For a 3D game the above is great for a single dev but a team would have much much more.

Also the iPad is fairly new and only came out in April. Apps take much longer to make then a few months, not to mention more work needs to go into an iPad app (better artwork takes a lot of work to create, its not as simple as making high res art and scaling it down for the iPhone, especially if you are creating a 3D game). Even though the iPad simulator was available, its more of a tool to test sections of your app, not to run your app only on it then release what you made to the app store, that is begging for trouble.

The new Unity game engine will compile for both iPhone and iPad and is the most painless way (IMO) to program for both devices. I have a feeling in a few months you will see a lot more iPad games and apps.
 
ARF900 said:
The iphone has a much bigger market, (because the touch is so cheap) plus the devs know when the next iPad comes out with a retina display they're gonna have to start all over again.
Click to expand...

They'll be waiting a very long time for that technology to be possible.
 
Developing an iPad app generally requires much more effort and time than an iPhone app. Updating an app already out for the iPhone for retina display takes only a day or two. That is why you will see a whole more updates for the iPhone than new or updates to iPad apps.

Just try to be a little bit patient. Decent apps can take months to develop.
 
There are about 12500 iPad apps on the iTunes store. I think this is a great number, considering that the iPad is so new. I am sure that more and more great apps will come to the platform. One of my favorite apps has been submitted to the app store and is pending approval. Pocket Informant for the iPad is coming! I am sure this will be just one of many great apps to come.
When iOS 4 gets released for the iPad, then we will see even more great apps and games.
 
chrono1081 said:
I'm trying!!! :p But it takes lots and lots of time to make a game especially for both iPhone and iPad. (Especially when you are a single developer like me who's regular job requires a 12 hours a day, 7 days a week (literally) work schedule : /) It also costs lots of $$$ depending on what you are targeting.

For games, my setup is:

iPad: $500 - $850
iPhone: $300
Maya: $3500
Photoshop: $700
ZBrush: $600
Logic: $500
Virtual Instruments: ~$6000 (for game music, good virtual instruments that don't sound virtual cost a lot)
Corel Painter: $500
Wacom Tablet: $400
Mac: $3400
Monitor 2x: $1800
Harddrives: $1200 (allows for backups of projects)
Unity3D: $2400 (iPhone Pro + UnityPro since you have to buy them as a bundle)

That is a TON of money to lay out. Sure there are cheaper alternatives and it all depends what type of game you are making and how much you care about quality. For a 3D game the above is great for a single dev but a team would have much much more.

Also the iPad is fairly new and only came out in April. Apps take much longer to make then a few months, not to mention more work needs to go into an iPad app (better artwork takes a lot of work to create, its not as simple as making high res art and scaling it down for the iPhone, especially if you are creating a 3D game). Even though the iPad simulator was available, its more of a tool to test sections of your app, not to run your app only on it then release what you made to the app store, that is begging for trouble.

The new Unity game engine will compile for both iPhone and iPad and is the most painless way (IMO) to program for both devices. I have a feeling in a few months you will see a lot more iPad games and apps.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this post. Very informative—you put things into perspective. :)
 
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