Blender is building a full-featured iPad app, but it's not clear when it will be released

AppleInsider

Blender is working on a native iPad version of its popular 3D creation suite, with the goal of delivering a complete multitouch experience tailored to artists who rely on tablets.

A current mockup of the potential Blender for iPad app

In an update posted to its developer blog, the Blender team outlined early plans to bring its eponymous app to the iPad Pro. But it didn't stop there, and also suggested that the app could make an appearance on other devices, like the Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and Wacom MovinkPad.

The first version will focus on sculpting and basic object manipulation, with hopes of bringing tools like the Grease Pencil and storyboarding later.

The team's current mockups show a single-window workflow that prioritizes screen real estate and quick access to tools via floating UI elements and contextual overlays. Menus are collapsed by default, and the usual Tool Settings header has been replaced with floating panels tailored to pen input.

Blender's long-term goal is a fully native experience across touch-first platforms, complete with multi-touch gestures, AirDrop, and iCloud support on iOS, and new input handling features.

So, while the initial testing ground is the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, Blender says the project's design principles will benefit all tablet and desktop users. Usability upgrades, such as a "Quick Favorites" editor, interactive shortcut overlays, and icon-supported sidebar tabs, will appear in both the desktop and tablet versions.

Blender says a live tech demo will be shown at SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver, with follow-up discussions and design workshops planned for Blender HQ and the Blender Conference later in 2025. The company also encourages developers with experience in tablet and iOS design to reach out.

These are still very early-stage plans. Blender doesn't have a timeline for release, either.



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mike eggleston

This is very exciting! I know that 3D Printer designers will love the ability to use touch to manipulate 3D objects!

cloudy

I've been using Blender for over a decade and wrote Apple many times to complain for how comically bad Blender support was on Apple devices for many years (like when GPUs couldn't be used because Apple prematurallly deprecated support). So it's great to see Mac support improving over time and now Blender coming to iPads. Sculpting and Grease Pencil are the obvious candidates for iPad support and the Blender Foundation will hopefully start with an iPad companion app to Blender first before trying to bring all of Blender over to iOS.