Blender iPad App Development Halted as Android Tablets Get Priority

[theluggage]

256GB SSD is tiny, and 16GB RAM on Windows is far from ideal...

Where does Windows come in to it? Chromebooks run ChromeOS/Android which is Linux with a custom application framework and graphical interface.

Anyway this thread is about the iPad version of Blender being delayed. Last I looked, the iPad topped out at 16GB RAM and no dedicated GPU.

But most importantly, whether or not Chromebooks support Android apps, nobody in their right mind is going to use a touch-based app on a vertical touchscreen.

If only there was a way of somehow using an app like Blender with, I dunno, a sort of board with keys on it, some kinda "pad" that you could "touch", or maybe a little box with a motion sensor that you moved around on the desktop... Sorry, totally absurd, I know... </sarcasm>

 

[jarman92]

Where does Windows come in to it? Chromebooks run ChromeOS/Android which is Linux with a custom application framework and graphical interface.

Anyway this thread is about the iPad version of Blender being delayed. Last I looked, the iPad topped out at 16GB RAM and no dedicated GPU.

Well Blender doesn't publish requirements for Android or Chrome since it doesn't work on those platforms, so I went with the closest analogue (though the Linux requirements are the same as Windows). And as I'm sure you know, iOS/iPadOS use RAM much more efficiently than Android and/or Windows, and Apple Silicon has quite performant integrated GPUs.

If only there was a way of somehow using an app like Blender with, I dunno, a sort of board with keys on it, some kinda "pad" that you could "touch", or maybe a little box with a motion sensor that you moved around on the desktop... Sorry, totally absurd, I know... </sarcasm>

As you literally just said, this thread is about a hypothetical touch-based version of Blender so no idea why you would be talking about the existing, mouse-and-keyboard version.

 

[Zdigital2015]

The rollout started in November already.

Yeah, I just googled it…I need to go see if the update is ready to install on the device. I’ll try to complete it this weekend.

 

[blackcrayon]

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

I would assume Google already has an Apple Developer license. If the Blender team needs another one, and they can't requisition the $99-$299 required, I'm not sure I want to be running their software.

(i.e. There's no way this is the reason.)

 

[gnomeisland]

well well ...

"Wacom and Blender forge a strategic partnership to advance pen and touch experiences for 3D creators on all platforms" - 8/12/2025

https://www.wacom.com/en-se/about-wacom/news-and-events/2025/20250812

Wacom MovinkPad 11

No cords, no setup, no computer - just pick up the pen and start sketching. This lightweight all-in-one tablet delivers Wacom's legendary pen experience for spontaneous creativity, whether you're doodling on the couch or capturing an idea on the go. Running Android 14, an 11.45" anti-glare...

estore.wacom.com

^-- runs android 😉

This is what i suspected. Thanks for digging that up. Disappointed but makes more sense now.

 

[chrispyapple]

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

Android would make a bit more sense, but Chromebooks? I mean maybe in the future

Chromebooks are very clearly not “Android tablets”

Google still has quite a while before they release a true Android-OS. As someone who has used Chromebooks in the past, Blender wouldn't perform very well on these devices at the present state they're in. Android doesn't even run on the metal, it runs through a virtual machine environment which has quite a bit of performance overhead. With the average Chromebook having 8 GB of RAM that's not really much room to work with. High end Chromebooks do have more RAM at around 16 GB, but they're not exactly cheap and would set you back around $1000. At that price, might as well buy a PC with a true operating system.

 

[zonk44]

On GitHub one developer gives “lack of funding” as the reason for the halt

 

[TigerMSTR]

Good. iPadOS is barely even usable. The only thing keeping this platform alive is its best-in-class hardware, and third party app support. I hope more apps migrate to Android, to give the iPad some real competition.

 

[rp2011]

could it be that full MacOS is coming to the iPad Pro hence not needing an iPad version?

 

[Analog Kid]

Didn't Apple invest in Blender some time back?

 

[justanotherdave]

Hilarious.

So they’re going to prioritize a market that all other professional software developers have largely ignored and try to port their 3D modeling suite (processor intensive, BTW) over to a platform where they use phone processors in their tablets and call them “pro” or “ultra”.

Makes sense.

 

[justanotherdave]

could it be that full MacOS is coming to the iPad Pro hence not needing an iPad version?

An unlikely rumor (though one I’ve wished for).

Still more believable than Android desktops/laptops.

 

[rp2011]

An unlikely rumor (though one I’ve wished for).

Still more believable than Android desktops/laptops.

Yeah, wishful thinking. The only reason I brought it up is because of the next version of the MacBook Pro is getting touch support and Apple optimizing the UI for touch targets

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Didn't Apple invest in Blender some time back?

Like many other companies, Apple sponsors the development of Blender.

Alongside a contribution to the Development Fund, Apple will provide engineering expertise and additional resources to the Blender HQ and development community to help support Blender artists and developers.

Apple joins Blender Development Fund — Blender

Apple has joined the Blender Development Fund as a Patron Member to support continued core development for Blender.

www.blender.org

 

[smeagol]

People buy Android tablets? 🤔😂

 

[rydewnd2]

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.

Nothing stops you from using a keyboard with an iPad.

 

[Ctrlos]

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

It literally makes no sense, at all. Now there isn't anything wrong with tablets from the likes of Honor, Samsung or Xiaomi but you don't buy one for serious professional work like you do an iPad. There has so be some other reason as to why they stopped development.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Massive L on Blender. We literally have the M5 chip on the iPad. What Android tablet can match or beat that.

 

[QuarterSwede]

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

And then they should equally face heavy criticism for targeting the anemic Android space.

The licensing info is interesting. Thanks for posting that info.

 

[DaveCummings]

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

Based on some things I heard, it has a lot less to do with that and more of the way betas run. With the iPad, they have to do it through TestFlight. Where with Android, they can side load it. It’s weird because so many other creative apps are the opposite, developing for iPad and not Android, because iPad software is more consistent where Android software and hardware are all over the place

 

[Dreamail]

could it be that full MacOS is coming to the iPad Pro hence not needing an iPad version?

I think this might actually happen. High-end users have been asking for this for years. Certainly I would wish for it.

If truly the next major design revision for MacBook Pros (coming end of 2026 or in 2027) will include touch screens, then of course macOS at that point will need to support a touch user interface as well.
And looking how over the past years every new macOS revision increased the spacing of UI elements and widgets, making it "finger ready" so to speak, I think there is a clear trend towards a touch UI macOS version.

And once macOS is "touch enabled", it does not take much to offer that version of macOS to run on iPad Pros.
Yet Apple surely will find a way to cripple and limit this to iPad Pros only.

iPadOS has been criticized a lot in recent years, especially by reviewers of the iPad Pro, to the point that it is currently almost commonly accepted that Apple has the best-in-class tablet hardware, but with an abysmal OS running on it.

If this opinion is starting to affect iPad Pro sales, and by the looks of it it does, then Apple will be forced to do something or shareholders will revolt.
They can do two things:

• completely overhaul iPadOS
• allow iPad Pros to run a touch ready version of macOS

If they have the latter done already anyway for the rumored new MacBook Pros, the latter is probably the cheaper and easier option for Apple.

I certainly hope this will happen. My latest iPad Pro purchase was the worst and most useless Apple hardware purchase I had done in my past 30 or so years of using Apple hardware. Unless iPadOS changes I will never buy another iPad Pro. It's a total waste of money in my opinion. A plain iPad is good enough. The iPad Pro does not add enough to being worth the extra money - mostly thanks to its pretty "non-pro" iPadOS, which on the iPad Pro runs like a "toyOS".

Finger's crossed. But with Apple you never know.
But if iPad Pro sales start to stagger, and if macOS gets "touch enabled" anyway, I think it will happen.

 

[Tagbert]

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

You mean the $99 per year fee? That is a roadblock?

 

[buddhistMonkey]

I have an M4 iPad with a Magic Keyboard and an external 5K display, and with all the improvements in iPadOS 26, it would be a perfect fit for Blender. I’ve been looking forward to Blender for iPad since it was “announced” last fall, so this news is really devastating.

Sadly, I predict this move will kill Blender on tablets entirely. I think an enormous amount of work will go into making Blender work acceptably well on an Android tablet, but there won’t be much of a market for it, so there won’t be justification for the iPad version.

 

[svish]

Disappointing to hear. Not sure how many customers will be there on the Android side. Hopefully they reconsider and develop the app for iPad.

 

[venom600]

When I saw this the first thing that came to mind is that Apple asked them to stop or wouldn't provide them with the necessary information to complete it the way they intended to.