Blender: iPad version apparently postponed for now
Last summer, it was widely announced that the 3D creative tool would come to Apple tablets for the first time. Now, development seems to have stalled.
Blender on the iPad: This is what the app should look like when it's finished.
(Image: Blender.org)
When will there be an iPad version of the popular open-source 3D creation software Blender? Apparently not anytime soon. Despite the big announcement of a dedicated version for Apple tablets last summer, it has not yet been released. On the issue tracker on GitHub, a recently updated entry shows that the project has been stopped until further notice: “This project is on hold until further notice.” No reasons were given.
Good news in summer 2025
The Blender Foundation announced in July 2025 that it would implement an iPad version of the software, specifically adapted for Apple tablets. The use of the Apple Pencil for “touching” the digital materials was also to be implemented – meaning operation beyond mouse and keyboard would be possible. Apple tablets with Apple Silicon M chips – the latest being the iPad Pro M5 – should make this possible. Blender should come to the devices with full performance. At the same time, an Android version was also announced for the future.
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Since then, progress has been made in several steps. One goal was to create a TestFlight version, also to get feedback from Apple on technical feasibility. Then, the iPad Pro was to be addressed directly “as a laptop” – with Magic Keyboard and keyboard and trackpad. In a further step, Pencil support and native integration were planned. Not much more can be found in the issue tracker after that – the last entries, apart from the status, are eight months old.
Prototype software exists
A developer commented that the team now wants to focus on the Android version first, even though it was initially supposed to come after the iPad version. The reasons for this are unclear. The Blender Foundation showed the app in a prototype version at Siggraph in August 2025. The application is available in a macOS version 5.0.1 for Apple Silicon machines. This could presumably be used as a basis for the iPad version. The project is not “completely dead” at least.
It is important for Apple to bring more professional apps to the iPad. The company has gradually made iPadOS windowed and more capable of multitasking and adapted its programs, such as Logic and Final Cut. Blender would be an important signal for the platform.
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