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Sync apps in same folders on iPhone and iPad?

Is there a way that one can sync app folder organization across both devises? I just recently got an iPad and I am finding the apps individually across several ‘pages’ overwhelming. It would be wonderful if I could automatically have apps in same labeled folders as I have on my iPhone. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on May 17, 2023 7:27 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 7, 2024 6:28 PM

I’m in a similar situation. Obviously the folder layout will be different due to screen size and aspect ratio. But you’d think that apps could be synced in the same folders. No one has time to duplicate the process on multiple devices.


Sorry I’m no help, but chiming in to add weight to the discussion.

5 replies

Jun 29, 2024 11:32 AM in response to LotusPilot

While I can appreciate your answer, @LotusPilot, this isn’t sufficient. Just because screen dimensions are different, folder icons are the same between devices. Meaning, there is no reason that folders with apps placed in them couldn’t be copied. We can agree the layout of those folders on each screen would need to be customized specific to the dimensions, but when you have many hundreds of apps just the grouping alone is a substantial task. Sitting down with an iPhone in hand to recreate screen layouts feels far too much like a chore and less like a magical experience. I’ll of course submit a feature request but that doesn’t solve the problem today or possibly ever.

May 17, 2023 8:32 AM in response to LotusPilot

Thank you @LotusPilot for this information. While I understand screen layout would not be the same, just having the option to have the apps in the same folders would save a lot of time and frustration. In my iPhone I have at least 95% of my apps in folders and I am accustomed to using them that way. Recreating the folders with the number of apps I have is going to be very time consuming. It has made me not want to use my new iPad as it seems too overwhelming.

May 17, 2023 8:37 AM in response to Susan_B_S

Having many Apps installed on similar devices myself, while freely acknowledging that a little effort may be required, the process isn’t onerous.


Apple do invite submission of comments and feature requests via its Product Feedback portal. If you would like to see changes or introduction of new features in a future iOS/iPadOS release, this would be the most appropriate channel through which to communicate your wishes to Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

May 17, 2023 7:30 AM in response to Susan_B_S

The iPad and iPhone screens differ significantly in their dimensions and layout. As a consequence, screen layout (including App Folders) cannot be synchronised between iPhone and iPad.


While the App Folders can be manually recreated, you’ll not be able to automatically mirror the screen layout between devices. Also consider that in addition to the icon grid-layout that differing between devices, the iPad also supports placement of Widgets on any of the Home Screens - a feature not available to iPhone.

Sync apps in same folders on iPhone and iPad?

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