IPad2 Apps Optomised for new retina screen

Almost every day I am being advised that Apps I use on my iPad2 have been modified/upgraded and optimised for the. New retina screens of the iPad3.

Could these modified Apps cause problems when used in iPad2?

Is there any advantage to be gained by upgrading such Apps, or should I leave well alone?

None of the revisions seem to confirm that they remain fully compatible with the old iPad2 screen.

Leaving them alone results of course in a continually increasing batch of Upgrade warnings, which is a bit of a pain.

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Originally Posted by Catmandoo

Almost every day I am being advised that Apps I use on my iPad2 have been modified/upgraded and optimised for the. New retina screens of the iPad3.

Could these modified Apps cause problems when used in iPad2?

Is there any advantage to be gained by upgrading such Apps, or should I leave well alone?

None of the revisions seem to confirm that they remain fully compatible with the old iPad2 screen.

Leaving them alone results of course in a continually increasing batch of Upgrade warnings, which is a bit of a pain.

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Hello Catmandoo, welcome to the forum.

While almost all updates now appear to be earmarked "optimized for the retina screen", many of the upgrades fix bugs found in the app as it operates in the new iOS 5.1. As both events begin to age, you'll see less app upgrades. When Apple updates iOS again, you'll experience the same amount of activity. I have all three iPad generations, not all three have the same apps. I am finding that as apps are updated, they also seem to behave better on the original iPad. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by MattIM

Hello Catmandoo, welcome to the forum.

While almost all updates now appear to be earmarked "optimized for the retina screen", many of the upgrades fix bugs found in the app as it operates in the new iOS 5.1. As both events begin to age, you'll see less app upgrades. When Apple updates iOS again, you'll experience the same amount of activity. I have all three iPad generations, not all three have the same apps. I am finding that as apps are updated, they also seem to behave better on the original iPad. YMMV.

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Thanks for the reply MattM. It is the YMMV bit that I'm most concerned about, for by then it could be too late.

If one decides to accept an App 'upgrade' Optomised for the new HD iPad-3 screen, and the find it does not operate on the iPad-2 as well as the previous vision did, there appears to be no way of reverting back to the previous version.

Shouldn't App writers be required to affirm backward compatibility for all Apps being Optomised for new iPad models? At least then we would have the confidence to download them to older devices.

All apps written for the iPad 3 are and will remain compatible with the iPad 2. Any apps that break on iPad 2 are due to an unintentional bug and if the app is actively being developed and not abandoned then I am sure those bugs will be fixed as soon as possible.

So don't worry so much just update them.

Unfortunately, in the mobile world, backward compatibility is not guaranteed. Even Apple will eventually declare that it will no longer support a particular generation of iDevice. In addition, you will start seeing notices that state: "this app is not supported on iOS #.#.#." If you spend any time on this forum, you will see comments recommending people buy at least the iPad2, as it would have a longer software support life versus the original iPad. You will also see comments from other members who state that even though Apple no longer supports their iDevice, it still works.

This June 2012, marks the second anniversary of my iPad ownership. It has gone through five iOS updates and many more app updates per iOS, I use this iPad daily. I will keep it for as long as Apple supports it. and when Apple stops supporting it, I'll figure out what to do when that happens. Until then, I'm continuing to enjoy it.

Matt, in the iPad world backward compatibility is pretty much guaranteed to some level as long as your devices are running the same iOS version. It's no accident, it was a design decision by apple.

Even on my jailbroken iPhone 4 still running iOS 4.3.3 I just update all the apps that come out. Some don't support 4.3.3 but those just refuse to update and is not a problem.

That's why I say don't worry so much for newcomers, and just update everything for the best experience.