“As a longtime Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom user, I periodically consider buying a digitizer, such as a Wacom tablet, to better take advantage of editing with brushes and other tools that work with pen-based input,” Jeff Carlson writes for Macworld. “I know photographers and artists who swear by them, but it would be a significant expense for my comparatively modest editing needs.”
“It turns out, though, I already have an excellent pen-based touchscreen device: an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil,” Carlson writes. “Astropad Studio ($79.99 per year) turns that iPad Pro into a digitizer. Most Wacom tablets incorporate a pen-sensitive surface that transmits strokes and taps over a wire. If you want to spend at least $800, the Wacom Cintiq provides a touch-sensitive screen on which to work… Astropad Studio does the same on the iPad Pro you already own, wired or wirelessly… [and] is an impressive way to incorporate pen input into Mac drawing or image editing.”
Read more and see the screenshots in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A decade of Astropad Studio ($799.90) on your various iPad Pro units over the years seems very competitive vs. one Wacom tablet that quite likely won’t last nearly that long.
I stopped reading at “$79.99 per year”
Because you’re either stupid or a ten-year-old. $79.99/mo. is a pittance for a digitizing tablet the quality of an iPad Pro + Apple Pencil.
If Apple were really run by smart, forward-thinking people, instead of caretakers and bean counters, this marriage of iPad Pro and the Mac would already be baked into OS X and iOS.
I too stopped reading at “per year.” I don’t do subscriptions, I pay up front. Not apps, not streaming. And your language and all-too-common tone in response to an honest opinion you don’t like indicate that you should change your name to “Brutal Ahole.” See? It’s contagious.
Totally agree with you about software rental 😡someone will make a competing app that does the same thing without the subscription model
I totally agree with you. This is very close to the ideal I spelt out on here a few months ago that would be perfect for my aviation illustration work in particular and my illustration generally and would be far more practical and useful than say a Surface desktop solution which is cumbersome and compromised by nature.
I would love the Mac and iPad connected as demonstrated here and be able to zoom in close on the iPad to use finger and pen input while being able to see instantly the effect on the Macs screen from a more zoomed out view for what you do in close and looks good isn’t always the case from the size it will more naturally be seen at when finished. My ideal would also allow normal pen and cursor Input on the Mac screen too so both working seamlessly together. So the best of both worlds allowing precise manipulation on Mac and subtle softening techniques on the iPad of the same image without any need to keep zooming in and out to assess the finished effects giving uncompromising flexibility using two uncompromised pieces of independent hardware.
I am sure many creatives and illustrators would equally find this the perfect solution for their work and probably others too) and for Apple itself would generate sales of both platforms while gaining that inevitable coming together over time. Win win, so if this company can get us close to this ideal (how close I can’t quite determine from the article) what the hell is Apple doing to bring it about. Maybe the forthcoming A series chip in the IMac Pro will reveal such a vision is possible and indeed recognised within the company. I for one can only hope.
Do not do rental software. Do not intend to start.
Everybody wants to scratch your pocket for a lifetime instead of just selling you something.
Me too, someone else will come up with a competing app that does the same thing that can be brought outright
This should already be baked in to iOS/MacOS.
Astropad Standard is still getting updates and hss a flat, single price fee of $29.99.
That’s the low-end version of Astropad that doesn’t have all the features of the subscription app.
I wouldn’t have a problem with paying $79.99 for the Pro app as a one time purchase price, but for an annual subscription fee, it’s too much.
I expected this functionality native from Apple when they announced the Pencil. Looks like another Cook issue–no leadership coordination between left and right hands. Apple can’t seem to find the cash to do anything related to Mac peripherals.