App Store search: “iPad only” vs “iPhone only” filters
It used to be that searching for apps required choosing those native to iPad and choosing those native to iPhone. Using the filters “iPad only” and “iPhone only” resulted in searches limited to those two devices. (Universal apps came up both times, as one would expect.)
For some reason, engaging the “iPad only” filter now also turns up apps that are only written for the iPhone. The only way to find out there is no iPad-native version is to check out the description: iPhone-only apps will state “iPhone” while iPad-native apps will say something like “iPhone app available,” with iPhone-specific screenshots listed in a dropdown menu.
One example is the Citimobile app. There used to be separate versions for iPhone and iPad, then a universal app for both. They’ve since discontinued the iPad version, but the iPhone-only version continues to come up in search even under the “iPad only” filter. Lest you think that’s because there USED to be an iPad app: Credit Karma was never written for the iPad. And yet the iPhone-only version shows up in the iPad-only filtered search.
Seriously, what’s the point of a filter that doesn’t do what its name implies?
