A brochure can start with a scribbled logo and end with carefully placed photographs and type. Affinity’s new combined iPad app puts those stages in one project: drawing, photo editing, vector design and page layout. Announced on 2 November, it is now listed in Belgium’s App Store, with the core tools free for individuals.
Based on 6 reviewed sources · See sources
From a pencil line to a finished page
The app brings Sketch, Vector, Pixel and Layout workspaces together in a single .af file, the same project format used on desktop. Vector tools turn shapes and curves into editable artwork; pixel tools handle photographs. A designer can move between those tasks and a multi-page layout without exporting each stage to another app.
Affinity’s original launch post presents the combined iPad workflow. Its “desktop power” description is the developer’s claim, not a performance comparison tested by Marketer Fizz.
View the original post on X ↗Canva’s launch material shows Apple Pencil and touch controls, alongside AI tools for expanding an image, upscaling it and reducing blur. Those AI Studio features require a Canva premium account. A free Canva account is required to use the app itself.
Check the project before moving it
The Belgian listing requires iPadOS 18 or later. Affinity’s separate system requirements list supported models and say its machine-learning tools require an M-series chip. Check the supported-model list before planning a job around those tools.
Some desktop features are absent at launch, including Books, batch processing, Data Merge and recording macros. Data Merge is the tool for producing personalised layouts from a data list. Affinity also cautions that importing documents from Adobe apps can simplify or flatten some features, so a file opening successfully does not guarantee that every element remains editable.
Right-to-left text support remains planned: Affinity’s 2 November reply says it plans to bring it next year.
The useful test is your next handoff
The practical test is whether a project survives the handoff with its editable elements and revisions intact. Our campaign workflow feature follows the work between a first image and final approval. The combined app changes where that work can happen; the launch alone does not establish how much time it saves.
Sources
- Affinity for iPad — launch and creative workflow
Canva · Announcement ·
- Affinity for iPad — features, account conditions and desktop differences
Affinity · Documentation
- Affinity by Canva — Belgian App Store listing
Apple App Store · Documentation
- Affinity — iPad system requirements
Affinity Help Center · Documentation
- Affinity for iPad — original launch post
Affinity · X · Announcement ·
- Right-to-left text support — planned timing
Affinity · X · Announcement ·
Written with AI assistance from the sources above. Analysis and practical implications are our interpretation. Our editorial approach.
