When we think of gifts, we imagine colorfully wrapped presents of different shapes and sizes. For a long time, gifts were things we could touch, but now we can gift intangible things, like apps.

An app can be a great gift, especially if it's something someone needs—like a design app for your graphic designer friend. You can easily gift an app from your iPhone or iPad; this article will teach you how.

How to Gift Apps From an iPhone and iPad

You can only gift paid apps from the App Store. As such, free apps can't be gifted. Here's how to gift apps from your iPhone or iPad:

  1. Open the App Store app on your device.
  2. Find and select the app you want to gift.
  3. Tap the Share button beside the app's price, then tap Gift App from the iPhone Share Sheet.
  4. Personalize your gift, then confirm it.
  5. After buying the gift, the person you sent it to will receive an email, which they can open to redeem their gift.

Besides apps, you can also gift other products from Apple, like books from Apple Books and music and videos from the iTunes Store. If you're unsure what to gift someone, you could send them an Apple Gift Card, which they can redeem into their Apple Account Balance to purchase apps, books, music, movies, and Apple subscription services.

Note that to send gifts, you need a valid payment method. If you've changed your App Store country, you won't be able to gift apps unless you have a valid payment method for the country you've changed it to.

Resending a Gift From Your iPhone and iPad

If the person you're gifting the app to can't find the email to redeem the app with, you'll likely have to send the gift again. Here's how:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap your Apple ID name at the top, then choose Media & Purchases.
  3. Tap View Account.
  4. Sign in with your Apple ID or Face ID if you have it enabled.
  5. Tap Gifts, then select the gift you want to resend.
  6. Confirm the recipient's email, then tap Resend Gift. If you don't see the option to resend the gift, the recipient has already redeemed it.

Gift Apps to Your Loved Ones

Instead of racking your brain over the perfect physical gift to get your loved one, why not opt for something from the App Store? You won't have to worry about hitting the stores and spending hours looking for the perfect gift because you can send them something from your device, wherever you are, in no time.

Whether you want to gift a photo or video editing app, a lifestyle app to a productivity app to improve their productivity and efficiency, or a game to keep them entertained, there's an app out there for your loved ones.