I dry all my excess apples (which is a lot). There is no way I can eat all my apples, even if I store them in a shed or refrigerator.

I dry them just until they are barely dry, so that they are still chewy. I don't like them crunchy. They still last a long time this way.

One time I dried plums & apples together. The plums dripped sweet sticky juice onto the apples. The result was awesome - dried apples with infused plum juice. This year I am going to try to do this to a whole bunch of them. I am also going to try making "cookies" - a dried plum between two dried apple slices.

I also put dried apples out for the kids - they love them -- they eat them like potato chips. They certainly do not do that with a whole (or even sliced) apple.

I think that certain apples are better for drying than others. I like sweet & chewy dried apples. Tart apples are too much tartness for me when dried. But I do like tart dried apples on a salad.

Dried apples from the store are awful, I think because of the preservatives they put on them, and also they have to get all the moisture out to ensure that they last forever without spoiling.

Regarding health benefits, I would not be a bit surprised if dried apples absorb fats (and perhaps other bad things) as they go through your digestive tract. A whole apple would probably not do that. Might be worth some study.