In the days leading up to Apple ’s Wednesday iPad annunciation , developer were just a little bit nervous over the rumored Retina display . Crisp graphics should normally be something to celebrate , but , as pointed out byThe Next Web , Apple ’s 20 MB over - the - air cellular download limit would choke universal apps needing to incorporate Retina - quality graphics .
On Wednesday , Apple quietly raised this limit to 50 megabit , give developer added wiggle elbow room for such maneuvers . But even so , these demarcation put app - makers in a tight spot . While few are likely to choose 3 G or LTE over W - Fi when put in an iPad app , the same is not true for iPhone users , who often snaffle programs on the go .
general apps , which cluster graphics plus for both the iPhone and iPad into a individual software system , will be hard pip . Last week , The Next Web ’s Matthew Panzarino spoke with the developer of Consume , a stat tracker app , who account that adding Retina graphics would balloon his app to almost twice its size , from 18.3 MB to 35 MB . If we strike other apps follow a standardized shell , that would put a Twitter program like Tweetbot up around 32 megabyte ; most biz I own would be favorable to occur under 100 MB .
Even 50MB is too low a limit for downloading some iOS apps over a cellular connection.
The 50 MB limitation is more sane than 20 Mbit , for certain . But at this level , it seems unmatched that Apple still caps data in this style . It made sentience to set an initial 10 mebibyte cap when the App Store first launched in 2008 : Everyone on AT&T had unlimited data plans , and the cellular overhaul ’s 3 G connection was still relatively young with big gaps in coverage areas . Apple wait a twelvemonth and a one-half before expanding the cap to 20 megabyte in February of 2010 ; by then , users had run up against limits not only when it came to getting apps , but when require to download to a podcast or a music television from the iTunes Store . The move may also have been in part a preemptive Retina graphics work stoppage , asthe iPhone 4 was released later on that year .
Even 50 MB is too gloomy a limit for downloading some Io apps over a cellular connection .
But with Apple ’s focus more and more on an untethered , cloud - driven product line , does it make sense to set a toilsome cap for information ? A jacket crown does n’t seem to be in place to appease the cellular toter : Aside from Sprint , no provider offers outright plans , and some throttle those who download too much . You ’d think carriers would rather the limit be lifted — more data deplete , more data sold . Those who sweep up against the high end of their data plans are quickly warn , and unlike other overage in the industriousness , cellular information plans are fairly easy to elevate .
Cellular common carrier aside , Apple already extend disjoined ordinance controls within iOS : The Store screen of the configurations app has a switch for using cellular datum to make purchase , and parents worried about their children expire on an app bender can disable app installation whole . Even so , there are still those users whodon’twant to download large files — or those who might incidentally end up doing so — but Apple could easy compromise on this topic with an alert : “ You ’re about to download a file over 50 mebibyte on your cellular connecter . Do you desire to continue ? ”
I can sympathise the company want to protect its users from overage charges , or worrying that its cellular providers might take over up . Apple aims to provide the best user experience potential , and angry customers or a slow store could hinder that . But it ’s been nearly four year ( and25 billion downloads ): There are other tribute in place . If it does n’t adversely affect the larger user experience , those of us willing to make up for 4 GB of information should be able to pass that downloading an 150 MB game over - the - gentle wind if we so take .
[ Serenity Caldwell is a stave editor for Macworld . ]
