When downloading an app on your iPhone, you may be curious to know if it will work on your iPad. You may also be curious to know if it offers an app for the Apple Watch. Or if you can use it with the new fourth generation Apple TV. In this guide I will go over you how to identify which apps work on which devices.
iOS Apps
For this example, I am using Sky Guide and searching the App Store on an iPhone. If I am curious to see if Sky Guide will work on an iPad as well, I notice a little plus sign (+) near the button that you use to download. Or it may say “open” if it is already installed on your device, like how it says on mine, and in the example below. The plus sign means that the app is universal and is optimized to work on iPhones and iPads.
If you have an Apple Watch, and are curious to see if the app offers an Apple Watch app, just looking right below the app icon. It will say “Offers Apple Watch App”, just as the screenshot below shows.
Another way to look to see the compatibility of the app is to scroll down on the app on the App Store to the Information section. In the Compatibility section, it will tell you the devices it is compatible with and also will state the iOS requirement. If you are running iOS 7 on your iPhone, and the app requires iOS 9, you would need to update to the newest version of iOS. Under Information, the App Store gives another way of telling if the app offers an Apple Watch app.
Mac Apps
Since Mac apps are on the Mac App Store, and not on the iOS App Store, if you purchase an app from the Mac App Store, you can’t use the same app unless you download or purchase the iOS equivalent. One reason behind this is because iOS devices are optimized for touch, instead of OS X apps, they are built to be different. You can find out about the compatibility behind the app in the Information section of the app you selected to view.
In all, Apple has made it very easy to determine which apps you can use on different devices. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask a question in the comments below.