While Apple has made strides in bringing long-missing apps to the iPad in recent years, there are still five iPhone apps that remain noticeably absent.
After years of requests from users, Apple finally introduced the Health, Weather, and Calculator apps to the iPad in iPadOS 16, 17, and 18, providing a tweaked experience for the bigger screen. However, this week's debut of Apple Invites, an event-planning app exclusive to the iPhone, highlights that Apple is still not bringing all of its first-party applications to the iPad. Here are five apps we're still waiting on to come to Apple's tablet:
Invites
Apple introduced the Invites app earlier this week, offering a streamlined way for users to create, manage, and send event invitations. The app allows users to design invitations with customized backgrounds, photos, and AI-generated imagery via Apple Intelligence's Image Playground.
It integrates with Maps and Weather to provide location and climate details for attendees, and features RSVP tracking along with collaborative Apple Music playlists and shared photo albums.
Despite its clear utility, Apple Invites remains natively unavailable on iPad, with the only options being running the iPhone version or using the browser version via icloud.com. Given that iPads are commonly used for light productivity tasks, planning, and creative work, the absence of Invites on the platform is a peculiar omission.
Wallet
First introduced in 2012 as Passbook and later rebranded as Wallet, Apple's digital wallet app is best known for storing credit and debit cards for use with Apple Pay. However, Wallet also houses event tickets, boarding passes, loyalty cards, and transit passes.
While the iPad lacks NFC hardware, making contactless Apple Pay in stores impossible, there are still several Wallet features that could benefit iPad users. The ability to view transaction history, receive Apple Pay notifications, and manage delivery tracking from online purchases could all be useful on a larger display. For example, iPad mini users might find Wallet beneficial for accessing event tickets or passes without needing to switch to their iPhone.
Sports
Apple Sports launched with iOS 17.2, providing users with real-time scores, standings, and statistics across a wide range of professional and college sports leagues. The app integrates with Apple News and Apple TV.
Apple Sports similarly has not yet made the jump to iPad. While iPad users can obviously access live scores through Safari or third-party apps, the lack of a dedicated Sports app on iPadOS is an unusual limitation for such a simple app.
Given the iPad's famous suitability for media consumption, including watching live sports through services like Apple TV+, the absence of a native Sports app makes little sense. Users who might want to monitor games while working or browsing on their iPad are left without the convenience that iPhone users enjoy.
Phone
While iPads cannot function as standalone cell phones, they are capable of receiving calls via an iPhone using Continuity, yet there is no Phone app for the iPad.
This means iPad users cannot initiate continuity phone calls without first opening FaceTime or a third-party VoIP app. There is also no call history, no favorites list, and no way to access voicemail directly from the iPad.
Journal
Apple introduced the Journal app in iOS 17.2 as a new way for users to document their daily experiences, incorporating text, photos, locations, and audio recordings into structured journal entries. The app uses machine learning to offer prompts and suggestions based on a user's daily activities.
Unlike many other iPhone-exclusive apps, Journal cannot even be downloaded and run on an iPad. Because it is a system app rather than an App Store download, there is no workaround for iPad users who might want to use it in Stage Manager or another multitasking mode.
Given that journaling is often associated with extended writing and reflection, an iPad version would seem particularly useful, allowing users to write longer entries with a paired Magic Keyboard or Apple Pencil. The lack of an iPad version is made even more conspicuous by the fact that many popular third-party journaling apps, such as Day One, offer excellent cross-platform compatibility.
