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Blender iPad App Development Halted as Android Tablets Get Priority

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

blender ipad pro
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.

Tags: Android, Blender

Top Rated Comments

W
wyrdness
5 weeks ago

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.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kiro Avatar
Kiro
5 weeks ago
The 4 people owning an Android tablet are cheering in anticipation…
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nickf Avatar
nickf
5 weeks ago
Android tablets are still a thing? Who knew?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RobDacoder Avatar
RobDacoder
5 weeks ago
iPad dominating with much higher market share means this makes no sense whatsoever.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
X
Xiao_Xi
5 weeks ago

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.
https://devtalk.blender.org/t/blender-and-tablets/41558/126
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
thenahon
5 weeks ago
Ah yes, Android. Famously known for stability and widespread use by creatives. 😂
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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