iPad App Development: latest news

Creating an iPad app is more and more useful with tablets growth and the different perspective from iPhone development.

Since its beginning in 2010, the worldwide know Apple tablet has now 6 generations. It attracts developers specialized in mobile development who create sophisticated apps. Here are a few tips you shouldn’t neglect when you want to have your app develop by a mobile agency.

1. UX with a bigger screen

iPad is a different device, it has its own features. It’s screen doesn’t look like an iPhone’s screen, nor an Android’s screen. The screen is bigger; you have to think about all the space you got. Having an iPhone app on an iPad is a loss: the used space won’t be optimal. Therefore, user experience is not the same on different devices. Moreover, different iPads exist: iPad Mini (7.9 inches), iPad Air (9.7 inches) and iPad Pro (9.7 or 12.9 inches). You have to think about these changes during the process of creating an app.

2. iPad Apps – 2 different appearances on the App Store

When you search for an app on an iPad, there is a filter: “Just iPad” and “Just iPhone”. This option is important: indeed, iPhone apps can be downloaded for iPad. Its optimization won’t be excellent, but you can have it in your apps portfolio. For example, our communication agency Swiss Tomato’s app “Beach Guide – Switzerland” is only available for iPhones. However, you can download it on your iPad. The app’s ergonomic is as seen on an iPhone.

3. Multitasking on iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4

The multitasking feature appeared on iPads. You can find 3 forms of multitasking:

•   Split View: 2 apps can be opened next to each other and work simultaneously.
•   Slide Over: an app is opened on the right of the screen without leaving the used app.
•   Picture in Picture: a video is visible while using an other app.

4. App Thinning : an evolution for iOS development

Thanks to the last operating system iOS 9, apps are optimized according to the used device.  A difference is made between iPads with different memory capacities. Therefore, an app will take less place on a low memory device than on a large memory device. This adaptation to the iPad’s space is to consider when developing an app. 3 methods are available to adapt the app: Slicing, On-Demand-Ressource and Bitcode.

5. Apple Pencil: a tool for iPad Pro

Only for iPads Pro, a new tool is available: the Apple Pencil. It revolutionizes the touch you had with the iPad Pro. Full of precision, the Apple Pencil is the solution for creative apps. App developers shouldn’t forget it.