Does anyone have a source for iPhone vs iPad usage stats of the app store? I have an app that I'm working on that will take some extra time to look right on an iPad, but looks great on an iPhone, and was thinking of release 2 separate apps instead of a Universal app. Just curious as to how much of the market I wouldn't be reaching by releasing iPhone only on initial launch. I've been able to find lots of other stats (ios vs android, ios version usage, etc), but can't seem to find iPhone vs iPad marketshare comparison. It doesn't have to be exact, just looking for a ballpark... off the top of my head I'm guessing around 70% iphone 30% ipad... but just guessing from my own personal observations.

To be honest, you're nearly correct. For my 'Berlitz' apps which are universal, I get around 25% iPad and 75% iPhone.

Cool, I thought it would be right in that range somewhere. It would be interesting to compare a Universal app versus 2 separate apps (one for ipad, one for iphone). I've always released them as Universal, but I notice some of the larger companies release 2 apps (ebay, chase, capitol one, etc). Might be a good time to try it since the iPad tweaks I need to make will take some significant time, while the app as it sits now looks fantastic on iPhone. I'll just add "For iPad" at the end of my app name when I submit the ipad version.

One quick comment, just to play devils advocate. I've seen a post or two where, the author released an iPhone app, but had the iPad app rejected. Apple seems to give a little leeway with 'universal' apps accomodating the iPad. But if your app is 'targeted' for the iPad, they expect you to use the space creatively, not merely 'scale' the interface to iPad sizes. Just thought you might like to know… Cheers! -- Smug

One advantage of using the universal app method is that people who download your app is synced with all the devices. Also, it shows the little plus on the download button showing the user that they can download it on iPad too.

Good points. I could always release the iphone version first, then when it's formatted correctly for ipad as well I could submit it as an update to the original and change it to a universal app, since it would be the same bundle id. That would give me an excuse for an app update shortly after release, and allow for an early iphone release, while still rolling out an ipad version shortly. Some of the menu plugins don't like ipad landscape mode :(

Just in case it may be of any help... On our website, from November 2013 till January 2014, 19.2% of visitors have been using iOS (source: Google Analytics). An undefined proportion of these iOS users actually accessed the website via our apps webservices, and most of our apps are universal iPhone/iPad. Now, keep in mind that 68.6% of these visitors were from Switzerland, where market share of iOS is high compared to Android and others (slightly over 70% according to gs.statcounter.com), but that only some 22.6% of our apps were downloaded from Switzerland. Anyway, global proportion of visits according to iOS device is iPad 60%, iPhone 40%. Cheers Jack

@fushionsch is right in saying that the usage of iOS is more towards iPad, for obvious reasons. With iOS market share, phones have too much fierce competition, so the market share of phones drop. However Apple invented the tablets category and are the standard. Everyone knows that the only viable tablet to get is the iPad. So this does means that tablet share is higher amongst iOS. However on the iPad platform, there are less apps and people use apps less, because it's such a good web browser.

Thomas, you're probably quite right! Even if I'm not sure iPad users use apps less than iPhone users... Here's another statistical insight... As figures in my post don't make the difference between website users and apps webservices users, I've just dug a little deeper. In the usage map data of one of my universal apps (some 24,000 entries), I've found these proportions, which correlate the website usage stats: 57.2% iPad 41.6% iPhone 1.2% iPod Touch Cheers Jack

Interesting. So if hypothetically I release an iphone version and an ipad version, based on the stats I would have more downloads on my ipad version? That being said, my app is in a niche market. It's a theme park app for universal studios. In this case stats may not be relevant... As I see more people taking their phone into the park than their ipad, as it's easier to carry and less risk of water damage on the rides, since it's easier to protect in the users pocket. But then again, it may be used more in the hotel or at home before they even go to the park for pre-park or pre-vacation research... So I'm not sure

I'm not sure... Would anybody pay twice the price to have both versions? I don't have any experience in that matter, as all my apps are free and for me designing universal apps is much more exciting than designing with only one device in focus... Moreover, now with Jake Chasan's Launch Screen plugin, you can go even further in the differentiation between the iPhone and iPad screens... Your app could have 2 functions: one at home with iPad when preparing your visit to the park, the other one with iPhone during the visit...

Hmmm... lots of different scenarios. Yes, I have purchased the launch screen plugin, but have not yet used it. Chris also came out with a new plugin last week that utilizes different content for iphone vs ipad, SplitViewController Plugin, which looks interesting. I notice that with Menu With Image, the banner image at the top does not stretch to 100% width like it should when the ipad is in landscape mode, even with the banner image at the instructed dimensions... at least not on my ipad mini retina. I'll have to find a fix for that before I can continue working on the ipad version.

If you're like me, and create apps that are meant to be used on-the-go, then making an iPad app doesn't make much sense, because I am looking for portability. For example, my Woodstock app would make no sense on the iPad screen. It's meant to be used in a hand as you walk about. And when did you see someone walk around with an iPad getting directions. For tourist apps, it only makes sense making it for iPhone only. Also, another thing to note is that Having said that, when you start giving the user larger amounts of information, then making your apps universal start to make sense. For one of my apps right now, I am going to implement an excel timetable. Although the feature will be available on iPhone, it will be much easier for students to use an iPad to see their class timetable. For all my apps (and for my planned ones ahead), I always think about developing for the iPhone before the iPad.