Blender Is Working on a Standalone App for iPad Pro With Apple Pencil Support

Blender is developing a standalone tablet app, with an initial test version set to launch on the App Store for iPad Pro models that support the Apple Pencil. The company plans to expand availability to Android devices and other graphic tablets later. Blender has also shared early design previews of the app. The company plans to brings its 3D modelling and animation tools, traditionally used on larger screens, to more portable platforms.

Blender For Tablets: What Will It Look Like?

In a blog post on the Blender website, the maker of the 3D modelling and animation software revealed that it is currently developing a dedicated standalone app for tablets. It would focus on devices like - Apple iPad, Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and the Wacom MovinkPad, and others. Since the company has revealed its intentions, users might get access to it soon. The company said that it wants to bring the “full power” of the software to smaller screens.

The company noted that to bring its software to tablets, it will have to expand the existing input methods, improve application templates, which would eventually run on a “regular Blender build”. The app will first be tested on the iPad Pro variants with Apple Pencil support, and subsequently be released to Android and other graphic tablets. The company has hinted that the iOS version of the app could come with AirDrop support.

With the “Blender on a tablet” app, the company will cater to artists who need a stylus for specific tasks like painting, sculpting, 2D animation, artists who use tablets as their main device, and artists who use Blender while travelling.

On top of this, Blender has highlighted that it will have to overcome several challenges in order to bring the app to above mentioned devices. The company said that there are software and hardware limitations like single and full-screen window workflow, small screen real estate, lack of keyboard and mouse, multiple input methods like touch and stylus, and limited processing power and battery on tablets.

Hence, the company has demoed what the standalone Blender app could look like on a tablet. For object manipulation, it shows that the app could come with a custom application template, a wheel menu window overlay, sidebar tabs with various tools, and easy access to Outliner and Properties Editor in the 3D Viewport.

Blender mentioned that there could be a few tablet-specific features too, such as multi-touch functions and gestures, the ability to handle multiple active regions, the previously mentioned wheel menu, and an interactive status bar.