How to Copy iPhone Apps When Setting Up Your iPad
If you’re buying your first iPad, the best way to transfer apps to it is during the setup process. To bring over apps from your iPhone, create a backup before you set up the tablet. Next, during the setup of the iPad, choose to restore from the backup you made of the iPhone. The restore function during the setup process doesn’t actually copy the apps from the backup file. Instead, it downloads them again from the App Store. This process keeps you from needing to manually download the app.
How to Copy an iPhone App to the iPad Without Restoring
If you aren’t setting up a new iPad, you need to download the app from the App Store manually. It’s free to download an app to multiple devices as long as those devices are registered to the same Apple ID. If the app is universal, it will run great on the iPad. If the app has an iPhone version and a specific iPad version, you can still download the iPhone version to your iPad.
Types of Apps in the App Store
When it comes to compatibility, three kinds of apps are available in the App Store:
Universal: These work on both the iPhone and the iPad. When running on an iPad, universal apps conform to the larger screen. Often, this means a different interface than on the iPhone. iPhone-Only: A few apps are designed specifically for the iPhone, especially older ones. These can still run on the iPad. However, they run in iPhone compatibility mode, which enlarges the iPhone app somewhat. Phone-Specific: Finally, some apps use unique features of the iPhone, such as the ability to place phone calls. These are unavailable to the iPad even in compatibility mode.
What if I Still Can’t Find the App?
Unfortunately, there are still a few iPhone-only apps out there. Most of these are old, but there are still a few newer and useful apps that only work on the iPhone. The most popular of these is the WhatsApp Messenger. WhatsApp uses SMS to send text messages, and because the iPad only supports iMessage and similar text messaging apps rather than SMS, WhatsApp won’t run on the iPad.
