4. Find, Buy, and Use Third-Party Apps

The collection of preinstalled apps that comes with iOS 10 enables you to use your iPhone or iPad for a wide range of popular tasks without first having to find and install additional apps. However, one of the things that has set the iPhone and iPad apart from the competition, and made these devices among the most sought-after and popular throughout much of the world, is the vast library of optional apps.

You can obtain all the apps currently available for your iOS device from Apple’s online App Store. Then, as needed, iOS 10 can automatically update your apps to ensure you’re always working with the most recently released version.

The App Store app is used exclusively for finding, purchasing (if applicable), downloading, and installing apps directly onto your device from the App Store. This option works when your mobile device has an Internet connection. Other apps, such as iTunes Store, are used to acquire various types of content (such as music, movies, and TV show episodes).

You use the iTunes software on your primary computer to access the App Store, as well as many other types of content. Anything you acquire is then transferred to your mobile device either using the iTunes Sync process or by downloading the apps and/or content from your iCloud account.

To download an app onto your iPad that you have already purchased or downloaded onto another computer or device, tap the Purchased icon at the bottom of the screen in the App Store app. On the iPhone, tap the Updates icon, and then tap the Purchased option near the top of the Updates screen. All your app purchases to date are displayed.

When you see an iCloud icon rather than a Get or Price icon associated with an app description, you have already acquired the app, and it’s available through your iCloud account. Tap the iCloud icon to download the app (without having to pay for it again) to the smartphone or tablet you’re currently using. You can only install already purchased apps that are compatible with that iOS device.

From your Internet-connected iPhone or iPad, you can acquire and enjoy different types of content using a handful of different apps. Table 4.1 explains which app you should use to acquire and then enjoy various types of content on your iOS device.

When you begin exploring the App Store, you’ll discover right away that there are in excess of 2 million apps to choose from. They are divided into different categories to help make it easier and faster to find what you’re looking for.

The App Store’s main app categories include Games, Kids, Books, Business, Catalogs, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Food & Drink, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Magazines & Newspapers, Medical, Music, Navigation, News, Photo & Video, Productivity, Reference, Shopping, Social Networking, Sport, Travel, Utilities, and Weather.

iPhone-specific—These are apps designed exclusively for the various iPhone models that might not function properly on the iPad. Most iPhone-specific apps run on an iPad but do not take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen.

iPad-specific—These are apps designed exclusively for the iPad. They fully utilize the tablet’s larger display and do not function on the iPhone or on other iOS devices. All iPad-specific apps do, however, function flawlessly on all iPad models.

Universal—These are apps designed to work on all iOS mobile devices, including any model iPhone or iPad. These apps detect which device they’re running on and automatically adapt.

When you’re browsing the App Store from your iPhone, by default it displays all iPhone-specific apps followed by universal apps, but it does not display iPad apps. When you’re browsing the App Store from your iPad, iPad-specific, universal, and iPhone-specific apps are all listed.

If you’re shopping for apps using the iTunes software on your primary computer, click the iPhone or iPad tab near the top center of the iTunes screen (shown in Figure 4.2) to select which format apps you’re looking for.

The first time you access the App Store and attempt to make a purchase, you are prompted to enter your Apple ID account username and password or set up a new Apple ID account, which requires you to supply your name, address, email, and credit card information. For all subsequent online app purchases, you simply need to enter your Apple ID password (or place your finger on your device’s Touch ID sensor), and the purchase is automatically billed to your credit or debit card or deducted from your iTunes gift card balance.

There are also free apps that serve as demo versions of paid apps. In some cases, certain features or functions of the app are locked in the free version, but are later made available if you upgrade to the paid or premium version of the app.

A third category of free apps comprises fully functional apps that display ads as part of their content. In exchange for using the app, you must view ads. These ads typically offer the option to click special offers from within the app or learn more about a product or service being advertised.

The final type of free app enables the user to make in-app purchases to add features or functionality to the app or unlock premium content. The core app, without the extra content, is free, however.

These apps are typically free, and then you pay a recurring subscription fee for content, which automatically gets downloaded into the app. Many digital editions of newspapers, such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, utilize a subscription app model, as do hundreds of different magazines. Usually, the main content of the digital and printed version of a publication are identical; however, you can view the digital edition on your iPhone or iPad, plus take advantage of added interactive elements built in to the app.

If you’re already a subscriber to the print version of a newspaper or magazine, some publishers offer the digital edition free, whereas others charge an extra fee to subscribe to the digital edition as well. Or you can subscribe to just the digital edition of a publication.

With some publications, you can download the free app for a specific newspaper or magazine and then purchase one issue at a time (including past issues) from within the app. There is no long-term subscription commitment, but individual issues of the publication still must be purchased and downloaded. Or you can purchase an ongoing (recurring) subscription, and new issues of that publication will automatically be downloaded to your iPhone or iPad as they become available.

When you access the App Store app (shown in Figure 4.3 on the iPad), a handful of command icons at the top and bottom of the screen are used to navigate your way around the online-based store.

If you already know the name of the app you want to find, purchase, download, and install, tap the Search field, which is located near the upper-right corner of the screen in the iPad version. On the iPhone, tap the Search option displayed at the bottom of the App Store app’s screen (as shown in Figure 4.4).

Using the virtual keyboard, enter the name of the app. Tap the Search key on the virtual keyboard to begin the search. You can also perform a search based on a keyword or phrase, such as “word processing,” “to-do lists,” “time management,” or “photo editing.”

In a few seconds, applicable results are displayed on the App Store screen in the form of app previews.

If you’re shopping for apps from your iPad, as you browse the App Store, iPad-specific and universal apps are displayed if you tap the iPad Only option near the top of the screen in most areas in the App Store.

In Figure 4.5, in the Search field on an iPad I entered “Note Taking” to browse through various note-taking apps available from the App Store. The search results are displayed as app previews. Scroll down to view all search results. Use the filters at the top of the screen to narrow your search results.

Near the top of the screen are large graphic banners that constantly change. These banners promote specific and popular apps, like Pokemon Go (also shown in Figure 4.3 and Figure 4.4) or app categories.

Tap the Categories icon, and then from the displayed categories listing, tap one that’s of interest, such as Games, Business, Finance, News, or Photo & Video. Only apps that fall into your selected category are displayed (the Productivity category is shown in Figure 4.6 on an iPad). Keep in mind that some categories offer a menu of subcategories to help you narrow down your options.

For example, when you tap the Games category, 18 game subcategories—such as Action, Arcade, Board, Family, Puzzle, Role Playing, Strategy, and Trivia—are offered. Tap a subcategory to view applicable game apps.

To view charts related to a specific app category, such as Business or Games, first tap the Top Charts button, and then tap the Categories option and choose a specific category.

Tap the Apple ID account button to manage your recurring paid subscriptions as well. When the Account Settings screen is displayed, scroll down to the Subscriptions heading and tap the Manage button. You can then modify or cancel your paid recurring subscriptions to digital newspapers or magazines, for example. If you don’t have any active subscriptions, this option does not appear.

Tap the Send Gift option to send an iTunes gift card to someone else. Their gift will arrive via email, and they can redeem it almost instantly from the App Store, iTunes Store, or iBook Store.

Within app previews (refer to Figure 4.5), the app’s title, its logo/graphic, the app’s developer, its average star-based rating, how many ratings the app has received (the number in parentheses), the price icon, and a sample screenshot from the app itself are displayed.

An app description screen (shown in Figure 4.8) displays the app’s title and logo near the top of the screen, along with its price icon (or Get icon if it’s a free app), average star-based rating, and the number of ratings it has received.

You then see three command tabs, labeled Details, Reviews, and Related.

Tap the Details tab to view a detailed description of the app.

Tap the Reviews tab to view a ratings chart for that app, as well as detailed reviews written by your fellow iPhone and iPad users.

Tap the Related tab to view similar apps that are available from the App Store.

Displayed immediately below the Details, Reviews, and Related tabs are sample screenshots from the app itself. In some cases, a promotional video for the app is also displayed.

Swipe your finger horizontally to scroll through the sample screenshots, or scroll down to view the Details, Reviews, or Related information, based on which command tab you’ve tapped.

Below the description is information about new features that have been added to the app in the most recent version. Look for the What’s New heading.

Displayed beneath the What’s New heading, if applicable, is the Supports heading. Here, you can quickly determine whether the app is compatible with Apple’s Game Center online service, for example. As you scroll down on this screen, the Information section offers more useful facts about the app.

Below the Information section, tap the In-App Purchases option, if this option is available, to discover what in-app purchases are available and their cost.

Tap the Version History option to see information about all revisions to the app that have been released since it was first introduced.

Tap the Developer Apps link to discover other apps available from the same developer or publisher. Tap the Developer Website option to access the website operated by the app developer or the app-specific website. When you do this, Safari automatically launches and then loads the applicable website.

Below the App Store Ratings chart are reviews written by other App Store customers. Scroll down to read them.

However, you can save a lot of time searching for apps if you already know the app’s exact title or you know what type of app you’re looking for. In this case, enter either the app’s exact title or a keyword description of the app in the App Store’s Search field to see a list of relevant matches.

If you’re looking for a word processing app, either enter the search phrase “Microsoft Word” into the App Store’s Search field or enter the search phrase “word processor” to see a selection of word-processing apps.

If you’re looking for vertical market apps with specialized functionality that caters to your industry or profession, enter that industry or profession (or keywords associated with it) in the Search field. For example, enter keywords like “medical imaging,” “radiology,” “plumbing,” “telemarketing,” or “sales.”

As you’re evaluating an app before downloading it, use these tips to help you determine whether it’s worth installing on your phone or tablet:

Figure out what types of features or functionality you want to add to your iPhone or iPad.

Using the Search field, find apps designed to handle the tasks you have in mind. Chances are, you can easily find a handful of apps created by different developers that are designed to perform the same basic functionality. Pick which is the best based on the description, screenshots, and list of features each app offers.

Check the customer reviews and ratings for the app. This useful tool quickly determines whether the app actually works as described in its description. Keep in mind that an app’s description in the App Store is written by the app’s developer and is designed to sell apps. The customer reviews and star-based ratings are created by fellow iPhone or iPad users who have tried out the app firsthand. If an app has only a few ratings or reviews and they’re mixed, you might need to try out the app for yourself to determine whether it will be useful to you.

If an app offers a free version, download and test that first before purchasing the premium version. You can always delete any app that you try out but don’t wind up liking or needing.

To customize this auto-update option, launch Settings and tap the iTunes & App Store option. From the iTunes & App Stores submenu, make sure the virtual switch associated with the Updates option is turned on.

Next, scroll down to the Use Cellular Data option. Choose whether you want apps to update using a cellular data connection to the Internet. Keep in mind that some apps that have a large file size associated with them require a Wi-Fi Internet connection to initially download or later update.

At any time, you can see which apps have been updated and read a summary of what functionality or features have been added to the app update (as well as which bugs have been fixed) by launching the App Store app and tapping the Updates option.

If an app listed on the Updates screen has an Open button associated with it, the app has been recently updated. The date of the update is listed in the heading. Tap the app icon or its title to read about the update. Tap the Open button to launch the app and use it on your iPhone or iPad.

From the Updates screen, if an Open button is not displayed, you might see a progress meter indicating the app is currently being updated and downloaded to your device. If an update is available but has not yet been downloaded and installed, an Update button, instead of an Open button, is displayed with that app.

As you’re viewing the Updates screen, apps are listed in chronological order, based on when they were updated. Pending updates, if any, are displayed near the top of the screen (shown in Figure 4.10 on an iPhone).

To determine which apps and content your child is allowed to use on an iOS mobile device, activate the Restrictions options. To do this, launch Settings on the device, tap the General option, and then tap the Restrictions option.

From the Restrictions submenu, tap Enable Restrictions, create a four-digit passcode, and then turn on the virtual switches associated with iTunes Store, Apple Music Connect, iBooks Store, Podcasts, News, Installing Apps, Deleting Apps, and In-App Purchases to limit what your child can do.

Under the Allowed Content heading, tap the Apps option and determine what apps your child is allowed to access, based on the App Ratings.

When you set up iCloud’s Family Sharing, it’s possible to set up your child’s iOS mobile device so he or she needs to ask you for permission (via a text message to your iPhone or iPad) before acquiring any new apps or content. This feature also gives parents greater control over apps installed on a child’s device.