DaVinci Resolve is now available for iPads
Blackmagic Design has released Davinci Resolve for iPads. The professional color correction and video editing suite for Apple's tablets is free to use.
Davinci Resolve for iPads
The interface of the iPad version looks similar to the DaVinci Resolve desktop app, that's quite convenient if you already know how to use the program. The good news is that the tablet app supports DRP and DRA project files, so you can use it with projects started on the desktop app. Users can collaborate on a single project's timeline with the Blackmagic Cloud service, though this is an optional feature. The video editor supports various file formats including Apple ProRES, Blackmagic RAW, H.264, H.265, etc.
Image courtesy: Blackmagic Design.
If you are not a fan of the touch controls, you may use the Apple Pencil to work on your video editing projects in DaVinci Resolve for iPad. It also supports the Magic Keyboard, Studio and PRO XDR Displays.
Having used the desktop version on Windows and Mac (for basic editing), I wanted to try it on my iPad, but unfortunately the App Store wouldn't let me download it, saying that the app is not compatible with my device. My iPad 2017 has an A10X Fusion chipset, and according to the store listing, DaVinci Resolve requires an iPad with an A12 Bionic processor. This is where it gets a little confusing, based on the requirements it should work on iPad 8th gen (2020) and newer devices. But the app's description states that it has been optimized for iPad Pro with M1 and M2 chip, and that while it may work with older models there are some limitations with regard to features, and HD resolution support. The app is a bit chunky, as it requires about 2GB of free space to download and install.
Early user reviews seem to suggest that the app's touch controls are not responsive enough, I'm assuming they are comparing it to a mouse (click, drag and drop), in which case it will be a tad difficult to use.
And now for the best part, DaVinci Resolve for iPad is free to download and use. There are no ads or other strings attached to it whatsoever. There is a single in-app purchase to unlock DaVinci Resolve Studio. This isn't cheap, it costs a whopping $94.99. That said, it is completely optional, the extra features that come with the Studio version aren't necessary for basic editing purposes.
Note: Apparently the IAP isn't showing up directly in the app, but if you try to use a Studio feature, (one of the effects), DaVinci Resolve will prompt you whether you'd like to unlock the Studio version for a fee. This is a strange way to sell the Pro version, but the desktop app does something similar too.
Download DaVinci Resolve for iPad from the App Store. If you want the desktop version, you can get it for Window, Mac or Linux from the official website.
And to top it all, the app's listing says that the app does not collect any user data, why can't more developers be like this?
I don’t really get these ports to iPad – are Apple giving developers backhanders to port to iPad or something. DaVinci Resolve is already too cramped on a 24″ monitor, what kind of psychopath would want to use it on an iPad, rather than on a Mac connected to an external monitor(s).
I swear the smartphone generation has made everyone stupid. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
I can’t agree more and have been saying this since this insane idea to use an iPad for any photo editing.
It appears like we are regressing. The application itself is becoming so simplistic and dumbed down that it is utterly useless as a tool.
Well, That’s the problem with BMD, they are so into Apple BS, first thing they did when they acquired Fusion was to port it to Apple, and they have done almost nothing with it, Fusion used to be an amazing program with so much potential, but 3D render engine is not great compared to what you can achieve in Nuke where you can have Vray, while Fusion’s one can’t even have PBR workflow on it.
So that shows the poor mentality of BMD, because while resolve is nice and all, and everything is integrated and no subscriptions, it is still nonsense to bring it to iPad, but they will surely push it as if people are going to use it professionally. But this is to aim at tiktok or youtube crap, not professional work.
It’s like when people think VR has a room in professional 3D sculpting and think it is the ultimate greatest thing to bring to a 3D software like Zbrush or 3DCoat, because “Adobe modeler is amazing for having it”.
They have to pander the dumb masses by wasting time and resources bringing it to iPad, I am sure they are getting paid by Apple to push this bunch of stuff, while not improving some really important aspects of software like Fusion, which they made it worst by unifying the UI theme.
It is still cheap and no subscription, and better deal than what you would get in other programs since I like nodes workflow, but in so many years they haven’t really improved Fusion so much, which is annoying since all they did was to port it to OSX and tiny little improvements since then.