Blender iPad App Development Halted as Android Tablets Get Priority

[MacRumors]

Blender's work on a native iPad version of its open source 3D creation suite has been shelved, according to the development team.

Back in July, Blender revealed that it was developing for iPad, with an iPad Pro version of its desktop software coming first, complete with a fully-featured multitouch interface and support for Apple Pencil Pro. No release date was announced at the time.

Now it doesn't look like that's about to happen anytime soon. In January, a status update appeared on Blender's GitHub page for iPad development saying that the project is on hold until further notice.

No reason for the halt in development was given in the notice. However, as spotted by YouTuber Brad Colbow, in a response to a comment offering help on the project, Blender developer Dalai Felinto said that the team was now focusing on Android tablets first instead.

During the fall at SIGGRAPH in Vancouver, Blender showed a live tech demo of the software running on iPad, so there's still hope that the project isn't completely dead and will resume at some point. We'll update this story if we learn anything more about a development timeline.

The latest Blender build for Apple silicon Macs can be downloaded for free from the Blender website.

Article Link: Blender iPad App Development Halted as Android Tablets Get Priority

 

[swiftapplefan]

Life is mean

 

[DJC631]

oof.. was really looking forward to that 😢

 

[Drs247]

Suggestion for the article headline
« Blender is run by a bunch of bozos »

 

[Mr_Ed]

Sad. I would love a pencil-ready version of it on the iPad, though it might be limited by memory for more complex models.

 

[tomtad]

Presumably this is in anticipation of Android coming to the desktop

 

[tubular]

I’m a frequent Blender user, and I didn’t even know they were trying for the iPad.

Having said that, I’m not convinced that Blender *can* be put on a tablet. It’s very very keystroke dependent.

 

[podycust]

Sad. I would love a pencil-ready version of it on the iPad, though it might be limited by memory for more complex models.

well to be fair according to googles ai search result for an Android tablet in 2025–2026, the
average RAM (memory) is 4GB to 8GB so no more that iPad Air

 

[nickf]

Android tablets are still a thing? Who knew?

 

[Kiro]

The 4 people owning an Android tablet are cheering in anticipation…

 

[Mr_Ed]

well to be fair according to googles ai search result for an Android tablet in 2025–2026, the
average RAM (memory) is 4GB to 8GB so no more that iPad Air

Agreed. My comment wasn’t meant as a comparison to the Android version. I’ve used it on desktop for years and I know even some of my own projects would probably not completely load on any tablet.

 

[ralph_sws]

Bender stop

 

[Mr_Ed]

I’m a frequent Blender user, and I didn’t even know they were trying for the iPad.

Having said that, I’m not convinced that Blender *can* be put on a tablet. It’s very very keystroke dependent.

True, but my impression is the majority of frequently used commands are also on display-bound toolbars, widgets, and such. We just get used to bypassing all that with keyboard shortcuts for speed and efficiency.

 

[RobDacoder]

iPad dominating with much higher market share means this makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Mr_Ed]

iPad dominating with much higher market share means this makes no sense whatsoever.

I claim no inside knowledge of user statistics but higher market share does not necessarily equal larger number of users likely to use the app. iPad is so popular that a large number of its user base includes people like my elderly parents.

 

[wyrdness]

Suggestion for the article headline
« Blender is run by a bunch of bozos »

Blender is a free, open source app. They're a non-profit foundation who don't charge for their software. The only have finite development resources and need to be careful about how they spend their time and money.

If anyone's a bozo, it's you not them.

 

[klasma]

The 4 people owning an Android tablet are cheering in anticipation…

I’m one of them. Maybe we’ll find the three others in this thread.

 

[PixelPanics]

Android tablets? Yeah sure whatever that means

 

[QuarterSwede]

Presumably this is in anticipation of Android coming to the desktop

This is the only explanation that makes any sense. It’s still early days though so I’m not sure what they’re thinking since the iPad absolutely dominates the tablet space, including business use.

 

[pigeonguy]

Would be the first useful app for Android tablets lol

 

[thenahon]

Ah yes, Android. Famously known for stability and widespread use by creatives. 😂

 

[Xiao_Xi]

This is the only explanation that makes any sense. It’s still early days though so I’m not sure what they’re thinking since the iPad absolutely dominates the tablet space, including business use.

Blender's developers have faced heavy criticism for prioritizing iPad development. Furthermore, it's unclear whether the App Store's Terms of Service conflict with Blender's license.

Blender and Tablets

Thanks everyone for sharing your feedback on this topic. I’d like to address a couple of points before closing this thread. License and distribution. While building and developing Blender for iPadOS and iOS does not pose direct challenges to Blender license, distributing the software on the App...

devtalk.blender.org

 

[GianL]

I have a tablet Android too but not enough RAM for Blender.
Anyway I think Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14, a sub-900$ tablet with a 14" OLED display and a gorgeous stylus included in the box is perfect here.

 

[Spock]

iPad dominating with much higher market share means this makes no sense whatsoever.

It means they don’t want to pay Apple developer fees to release it on the App Store.

 

[theluggage]

Android tablets? Yeah sure whatever that means

Well, Chromebooks for a start (ChromeOS is being merged into Android) and higher-end Chromebooks do exist.