Since 2017, Astropad has gained popularity as one of the top professional art studio apps for its ability to mirror any Mac application to your iPad. It allows creative professionals to use their iPad's convenient size and touch-screen to create intricate work on programs designed for a Mac computer, while avoiding spending hundreds of dollars on a separate graphics tablet.
Over the last 4 years, the app has been so well received (with 5 stars on the App Store and thousands of reviews), that Astropad is expanding to PC compatibility as well. The beta version of the PC/iPad mirror function, Project Blue, is currently free open to the public, and can be used with any Windows studio drawing or animation program like Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender, etc.
Although Astropad does not magically give your iPad 3D touch capabilities, it is compatible for use with the Apple Pencil (with both Mac and PC programs) for pressure sensitivity as well as pencil-like precision.
The full app isn't free in the App Store, costing a moderate $29.99 to use the Standard Version. You can also get the Studio Version for a subscription of 79$/year, which has more features and is maximally optimized for the Apple Pencil. A complete graphics tablet with a display, however, can cost over 500 dollars, so we can't complain. Astropad also conveniently connects to your computer over WiFi, as well as through a USB cable.
Although it cannot replicate all of the functions of a professional graphics tablet completely (such as thousands of pressure levels), it does the job amazingly well in most aspects, mirroring your drawing canvas to the handheld gadget complete with customization UI's and sidebars.
Astropad Standard vs. Astropad Studio
In case you were wondering about the differences between the two Astropad purchase options, Tom Froese's got them listed out for us (Windows support is coming to both):
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ASTROPAD STUDIO FEATURES (79$/year)
30-day free trial period
Crystal clear and ultra fast
Gesture shortcut customization
Keyboard support
Customizable pressure curves
Magic Gestures - create your own gesture shortcuts with touch-pencil combinations
Shortcut Sets
Unlimited upgrades
WiFi and USB connection
Pressure sensitive
Designed exclusively for Apple Pencil
Color Corrected - true to your source material
Needs iPad iOS 91 or later; iPad mini 2(2013+), iPad Air (2013+), iPad Pro (2016+), iPad 5th gen (2017+)
Needs Mac OS X 10.11 or later
Windows Support Coming Soon
Optimized for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil
Priority creative pro support
Unlimited updates
Syncing of settings across devices
ASTROPAD STANDARD FEATURES ($29.99 one-time purchase)
No trial period — you have to buy to try
WiFi and USB connection
Pressure sensitive
Supports Apple Pencil
Customizable shortcuts
Works with iPad iOS 9.1 or later, iPad mini 2 (2013+), iPad Air (2013+), iPad 5th gen (2017+)
Needs Mac OS X 10.11 or later
Continual updates to improve performance
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