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There is often a plus sign in the upper left corner of the price button for an app. Even some free apps have this plus sign.

image from AppStore

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2 Answers

up vote 22 down vote accepted

It means that it is a universal app, able to run on the iPad and iPhone.

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I thought it means the app has in-app purchases. That would be a lot more useful - and a more intuitive use for that + icon. – Torben Gundtofte-Bruun Oct 22 '10 at 9:54
Maybe apps with in app purchase should have two currency symbols. $$ or ££ It sure would be nice, but I doubt it would fly. – bmike♦ Jul 20 '11 at 17:02
Do you want to be looking for apps with in-app purchases? It makes sense to do an icon if its something you want to quickly find (such as ability to run the app on both devices). – RyanJM Jul 20 '11 at 19:45
In-App purchases are considered extras and are 'less important' than conveying that the app itself is a universal binary. – Nicholas Smith Oct 18 '11 at 13:37
up vote -4 down vote

It means there are in-app purchases available under that app. You can turn that feature off under your General Settings, Restrictions.

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The accepted answer is clear here - the + indicates the device works on iPad sized screens as well as iPhone sized screens by having code and graphic layouts to support both from the same app. – bmike♦ Nov 20 '12 at 20:59

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