Feature initially left out of iOS 6

Apple has reimplemented the ability to gift apps to people via an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, observers say. While the feature has never disappeared from the desktop iTunes version of the App Store, it mysteriously vanished from iOS in the upgrade from iOS 5 to iOS 6. To bring up the option, a person has to tap the Share button on a title's App Store page. A form lets users pick the email address to send to, a custom message, and when the app will be delivered.

The temporary absence of gifting is likely connected to changes at the App Store itself, which saw a major overhaul coinciding with the switch to iOS 6. It may also be that returning the feature to iOS shoppers was a lower priority, assuming that more people buy gifts from their computers than on iPhones and iPads.

by MacNN Staff