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Astropad
Astropad
4.8
0.0
Astropad free download for Mac

Astropad

Version 3.6.0

Turn your iPad into a graphics tablet.

4.8
Based on 5 user ratesRead reviews & comments
Free
Absolutely Free

Astropad overview

Astropad transforms your iPad into a professional graphics tablet for your Mac. Use your iPad to draw directly into Photoshop and any other Mac creative tools you know and love. Built for the needs of creative professionals, Astropad is true to your source material with color corrected output and Retina resolution. What you see on your iPad is the same as on your Mac. It features breakthrough network technology that keeps up with you even when wirelessly drawing. It really works, allowing you to work from your desk or the sofa. Finally, you can use your iPad as a drawing tablet for your favorite Mac tools including: Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Corel Painter, Manga Studio, Pixelmator, Mischief, and any other Mac app you like! Whether you are a professional digital artist or a hobbyist, Astropad offers the most powerful way to draw on your Mac using your iPad.

Powered by LIQUID
Creating Astropad required innovative new technology we call LIQUID. We tried existing technologies but none of them delivered the performance we demanded. So we developed LIQUID and we are now able to deliver incredible performance and image quality well beyond existing tools.

  • 2x faster than AirPlay
  • Better than the highest quality JPEG
  • Designed specifically for Wi-Fi
Features
  • Provides a natural drawing experience
  • Works with any Mac app
  • Delivers unprecedented image quality, no compression artifacts
  • Blazing fast, keeps up with your drawing
  • Bursts to 60 FPS even over Wi-Fi
  • Works wirelessly or over USB
  • Supports most iOS styluses
  • Pressure sensitive
  • Customizable shortcuts
  • True Retina resolution
  • Accurate palm rejection
  • Pinch to zoom and pan in your Mac apps

Note: Requires iPad companion app ($29.99) or iPhone app (free)

What’s new in version 3.6.0

Updated on Apr 15 2021

Version 3.6.0:
  • Compatibility with Apple Silicon (M1) Macs
  • Improved reliability

Information

License

Free

Size

15.5 MB

Developer’s website

https://astropad.com/

Downloads

12707

App requirements

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0.0

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  • Comments

  • User Ratings

The-Wall
The-Wall
Sep 7 2016
2.0.5
5.0
Sep 7 2016
5.0
Version: 2.0.5
Amazing app! This is the best graphic tool I've seen. I enjoy it every single day, and..wow.. it's free. I think every artist would appreciate it in a great way.
Richys-Mu
Richys-Mu
Sep 4 2016
2.0.5
5.0
Sep 4 2016
5.0
Version: 2.0.5
I have an iPad pro and bought this to use as an drawing tablet to my Macbook pro a Cinema display. I was planning to somehow export my drawings as files to my Mac but it seemed cumbersome and time consuming. For about 20 minutes ago I stumbled upon Astropad here on MacUpdate and instantly knew that this is exactly what I need if it just works as intended. I downloaded Astropad here and put it in my application folder. Took maybe 4 minutes and then I went on to the astropad.com site. It took me a few minutes to understand I needed the $25 app for my iPad pro and bought it on my iPad. It took another two minutes to follow the very simple instructions when i started the iPad app. WOW… two minutes later I was drawing in my favorite Mac applications on my iPad pro. My Mac keyboard and mouse working simultaneously on both my Mac and iPad as drawing with my finger or Apple Pencil. Two minutes later I saved my first test drawing onto my Mac desktop. The interface works flawlessly and also all settings are very intuitive. I was planning to drop my plans on using my iPad to make drawings to my web projects on my Mac as it seemed to cumbersome pulling the files back and forth between Mac and Ipad when making changes. With Astropad all has changed in 20 minutes - I now have the Ultimate tool to make all kind of sketches and drawings on my Mac with my iPad. The best of two worlds combined. The sun just started to shine outside my window!
GymW
GymW
Mar 19 2016
1.4
0.0
Mar 19 2016
0.0
Version: 1.4
Congregations on the developer being open, up front and honest about the actual cost of the application in the description rather than hiding it as many others do by listing part of it here as "free" then getting an unpleasant surprise at the companion end of the real cost after taking the time to download and install the "free" part here, thinking it is actually free. I applaud the developer for full disclosure.
Dorkypants
Dorkypants
Feb 25 2016
1.3.4
0.0
Feb 25 2016
0.0
Version: 1.3.4
Would be a lot more useful if OS X's Ink recognized your iOS device under Astropad as a graphics tablet so you could take advantage of handwriting recognition
OhEssex
OhEssex
Nov 28 2015
1.3.4
0.0
Nov 28 2015
0.0
Version: 1.3.4
This only does screen mirroring, right? I'm currently using Duet because it allows the iPad to be a *separate* monitor while still being essentially the same as AstroPad.
beta-user
beta-user
May 21 2015
1.2
4.0
May 21 2015
4.0
Version: 1.2
Great App. Works quite well with my iPad Air. I would not consider it on par with an expensive graphics tablet, but it comes close and is an excellent tool for creatives. I am using it for photo retouching and I am quite happy with this solution.
MacUpdate-Ishaq
MacUpdate-Ishaq
Apr 29 2015
1.1
0.0
Apr 29 2015
0.0
Version: 1.1
Astropad turns your iPad into a graphics tablet. When the iPad was introduced many were intrigued by the device, but measured its worth by comparing it to the desktop experience. Luckily, innovative app developers used the iPad's increased processing power and larger input surface area to take mobile app development to dazzling heights, excising it from the entrenched role of desktop app development's little brother. The iPad became truly its own thing, and no one but Microsoft thinks tablets should replace laptops anymore. And it's precisely at this point in the iPad’s evolution that the developers of Astropad have returned boldly to the question of how best to pair an iPad with a Mac. Astropad is not ahead of its time, or behind its time – it is exactly on time. First, it offers easily the most hassle-free iOS-to-Mac bridge setup I've ever experienced, as though all the setup mistakes of prior devs were analyzed and corrected in Astropad. It mercifully skips additional setup for the app you're controlling. Instead, Astropad displays a cropped virtualization of your Mac's screen – just fit it to your design app's canvas – that responds to input from the iPad's touch display. The app refresh rate is high enough to eliminate any input lag; there are, however, brief artifacts surrounding the area you are manipulating. They will not affect your work, but it does serve as a reminder that we are in 2015, not 3015. Using the iPad app itself is an immediately comfortable experience. There is no interface learning curve: the interface fits whatever shortcuts work for your app, seeking to stay as out of the way as possible. Between the ability to customize keyboard interactions, smoothly manipulate the iPad UI, pair with some of the latest pressure-sensitive iPad styluses, and have the desktop app leave a minimal interface footprint, Astropad is one of the most thoroughly thought-through initial stable offerings I've encountered. If you already have an iPad, the price of the iPad app is a negligible investment when you consider what other immersive graphics tablets cost. If you don't, this might be the app that gets you investing in one. A Retina MacBook Pro and an iPad Air 2, the complete design hardware powerhouse. Who knew? Everyone all along, after all.
JamesHarrisPhoto
JamesHarrisPhoto
Apr 22 2015
1.1
0.0
Apr 22 2015
0.0
Version: 1.1
Free Mac app, but worthless without the $25 iPad app.
The-Wall
The-Wall
Sep 7 2016
5.0
Sep 7 2016
5.0
Version: null
Richys-Mu
Richys-Mu
Sep 4 2016
5.0
Sep 4 2016
5.0
Version: null
Mindplay
Mindplay
Aug 3 2016
5.0
Aug 3 2016
5.0
Version: null
Dimensions-of-Mac
Dimensions-of-Mac
May 26 2015
5.0
May 26 2015
5.0
Version: null
beta-user
beta-user
May 21 2015
4.0
May 21 2015
4.0
Version: null
Free
Absolutely Free
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