As a mobile first-mover, Walgreens was early to the game with a distinct app for iPhone and iPad users. However, as Apple and the mobile landscape more broadly move toward unified experiences, Walgreens and other first-movers have to adjust their app strategies. 

?Everyone doing apps today, would release as a universal binary,? said Scott Michaels, executive vice president at Atimi, Vancouver. ?What we are experiencing here, because they were first movers, they had completely separate SKUs. 

Several years ago, iOS required developers to create distinct iPhone and iPad apps. 

For the past few years, it has been possible to create universal apps, which more marketers have started to adopt in order to cut down on the significant resources required to create just one app, let alone multiple ones. 

With iOS 8, Apple is attempting to make it even easier for developers to create not only universal apps, but also experiences that adapt to users? needs on different devices. 

By introducing a universal app, Walgreens is likely laying the groundwork to be able to take advantage of some of these new capabilities in iOS 8. 

?IOS 8 really is starting to blur the lines between an iPhone app and an iPad app by giving us tools to make a unified experiences,? said Matt Yohe, iOS developer for WillowTree Apps. 

?Apple is pushing everyone in the direction of a unified design that can adapt an work on iPhone and iPad,? he said. 

What this means going forward is that marketers will be developing apps targeting specific devices but rather targeting different size classes. In other words, unless there is a specific reason - such as an in-store kiosk - marketers are unlikely to develop standalone iPad apps. 

With Apple expected to introduce larger iPads in the future, this will help marketers cut down on their development costs. 

However, some of what makes iPad apps so special could be lost in the transition. IPad apps often boast beautiful images and cutting-edge design that has helped them become popular shopping devices. 

?Apple?s main selling point in the past was that the iPad was not an upscale version of the iPhone,? Mr. Yohe said. ?Under this new paradigm, this selling point doesn?t hold up. 

?I am not saying that the images won?t be crisp or clear,? he said. ?It is not that an iPhone design will be stretched. 

?But you will no longer be able to make a design that is a one-to-one match on pixels on a comp to pixels on a screen.?

As Apple continues to introduce new devices, such as last year?s iPad mini and this year?s oversized iPhone 6 Plus, marketers are looking for ways to not have to build multiple  versions of their apps. IOS 8 addresses these concerns by trying to make it easier for developers to create universal apps as well as adaptive experiences. 

According to Apple, iOS 8 adds new features that make dealing with screen size and orientation much more versatile. 

?It is easier than ever to create a single interface for your app that works well on both iPad and iPhone, adjusting to orientation changes and different screen sizes as needed,? Apple writes on its site. ?Using size classes, you can retrieve general information about the size of a device in its current orientation. 

?You can use this information to make initial assumptions about which content should be displayed and how those interface elements are related to each other. 

?Then, use Auto Layout to resize and reposition these elements to fit the actual size of the area provided. Xcode 6 uses size classes and autolayout to create storyboards that adapt automatically to size class changes and different screen sizes.?

It used to be that fragmentation was primarily a problem on Android.

 

Marketers recognize the need to offer compelling experiences to consumers no matter what device they are using. This importance for an omnichannel strategy is only growing in importance as the number of devices proliferates and consumers increasingly see no differentiation between devices.

However, developing a strategy that adequately addresses customers? needs can be challenging.

?Given the fact that Walgreens didn?t have a universal iOS app in 2010 when Apple announced the iPad and thus the need for universal apps, this is certainly a step in the right direction,? said Aaron Kirchner-Loeser, marketing assistant at Aurnhammer, New York. ?However, since 2010, much has happened in the technology world it seems as if Adaptive Layouts in iOS8 are replacing universal. 

?Adaptive Apps are what brands should be focusing on developing at this point in time given the myriad of new screen sizes being introduced by Apple,? he said. ?Unlike universal apps, Adaptive Apps use only one code and interface, saving companies both time and money. 

?For instance, with the new 4.7 and 5.5 inch screens on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, in addition to upcoming iWatch that will have a much smaller screen, Adaptive Apps are without a doubt the way to go for Walgreens and companies alike.?