Possibility to introduce iPad capability for iPhone-App via Update?

Question

Hi there.

There has been a lot of talk around iPad-Apps / Approval / Store-related Questions. I've recently built an App which I'm just about to release / send to Apple for approval. I'm thinking about developing a dedicated iPad-App as well. Now, in order to not have two seperate Apps in the Store (one for the iPhone, one for the iPad) i want to create an universal-App for both platforms. However, i couldn't figure out if it is possible to first send in my iPhone-only app and later publish an update that enables my app to run on both platforms.

Does anyone have an idea on that topic?

thanks in advance sam

Answer 1

Yes, you can update an iPhone app to become a universal app.

Many apps are already doing that. Universal apps provide the better user experience, I think, as they reduce the number of "duplicates" in your iTunes library (and on your iPad). Unfortunately, a great many developers are going the "two separate apps and make the iPad one really expensive" route instead, too.

The only downside to universal apps I can see is the increased size (all the iPad-only stuff that iPhone users do not need), which could be a factor for the more fancy applications. Does anyone know if iTunes is clever enough to strip this out when syncing?