Blender for iPad development on hold after prioritizing Android tablets

Source: 9to5Mac

Background

Last summer, the Blender team announced plans to bring the open‑source 3D creation software to the iPad Pro with full touch and Apple Pencil support. In July they explained the motivation:

Multi‑touch interfaces like tablets have been common for years, but only recently, thanks to increased processing power, have they started to serve as primary computing devices. To support Blender’s mission of making 3D technology accessible to everyone, it’s important to fully embrace these platforms.

The initial testing focused on the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, with the goal of adapting Blender’s UI to a task‑oriented, lower‑density layout while running on top of a regular Blender build. Future plans mentioned Android tablets and other graphic tablets.

Development Update

Recent information indicates that the iPad effort is currently on hold while the team prioritizes an Android tablet version. YouTuber Brad Colbow highlighted the status, and a public comment on the Blender issue tracker confirms it:

“This project is on hold until further notice,” the team added, “the team will instead focus on the Android tablets first instead.”
— Blender issue #142346

The Android version is being developed as the primary focus, with the iPad support deferred.

Outlook

The iPad project has not been abandoned. There are no hardware limitations on the current iPad Pro, whose performance matches that of Macs, but the team needs more time and resources to give the project the attention it requires. A teaser video from last year remains available for reference.

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