Affinity for iPad is finally here – and its core tools are free

3 hours ago 8

Canva’s all-in-one creative app brings photo editing, vector design and page layout to Apple’s tablets, with a new workspace built for Apple Pencil.

Tablet displaying photo editing software with a curves adjustment panel open over a portrait of hands wearing red gloves.

Canva has launched Affinity for iPad, bringing its combined photo editing, vector design and page layout app to Apple’s tablets, while adding a new sketching workflow. The release follows a year-long wait for the iPad version after Affinity pulled its standalone desktop apps from sale and replaced them with a single application.

Affinity says it designed the new app specifically for iPad, with an interface built for touch and Apple Pencil. That includes the new Sketch Studio, which lets users make hand-drawn designs with support for Apple Pencil features such as pressure and tilt. The Sketch to Shapes tool then turns hand-drawn forms into vector shapes within the same program.

Canva

As with Affinity for desktop, the iPad app supports Raw processing, though photographers can take advantage of the sketching features as well. Users can sketch over photos to plan where a subject or prop should sit. Separately, the new Mask Tool helps identify boundaries as users trace challenging edges, such as hair, fur and foliage, with Apple Pencil.

Canva says masks, color adjustments and retouching remain editable, even in documents with thousands of layers. Sketches, vector designs, photos and layouts also live in the same .af file, reducing the need to move between apps as a project progresses.

Tablet displaying a graphic design software interface showing a digital layout with an illustration and article about artist Isabela Humphrey.

That extends to creating multi-page documents, such as zines, lookbooks and photo books. Users can arrange text and images with master pages and grids, then export a print-ready file with color management, all within the same app used to edit their photos.

Affinity for iPad also gains AI tools for the first time through Canva AI Studio. Canva says these tools are meant to make tedious tasks easier, allowing users to focus on creative decisions. They include Generative Expand, image upscaling, motion blur reduction and noise reduction. Users can also access a Decompose Layer tool that separates a flat image into editable layers.

Tablet screen displaying an image editing app interface with a before-and-after slider overlaid on a photo, featuring Motion Blur Reduction settings and toolbars along the sides.

Affinity for iPad is available now through Apple’s App Store. As with the desktop version, its core sketch, vector, photo editing and layout tools are free for individuals, though a free Canva account is required. The optional AI tools require a Canva premium plan; Canva Pro costs $18 per month or $144 per year in the US.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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