The iPad Pro (12.9-inch) is an exceptionally large tablet that has a display almost as large as some laptops’. It includes 4 speakers, 3 microphones and the ability to be used as a laptop. The Apple Pencil is used to write on a tablet instead of just tapping and swiping. Both of these are amazing tools for the creative soul or business person but it can be hard to figure out which apps to purchase first. Here are 15 of the best apps that you should consider when looking at the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Ipad Pro With Pencil
- Nebo: Take notes
Nebo: take notes iPad Pro app
(Image credit: Nebo)
Requirements: iOS 13.0 or later
Double-tap support: Yes
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Download Nebo: Take Notes from the App Store
Nebo is the go-to app for digital note-taking as it’s praised highly for its handwriting recognition. Nebo has the ability to understand a whopping 66 languages and can even translate your handwritten notes into a format that can be sent as an email – how nifty is that? Using your Apple pencil, you can also create a range of shapes and sketches, making your digital notes feel just like the real thing.
On Nebo, you can also insert images and diagrams, and also annotate external media. Then once you’ve finished all your hard work, you can save/export your notes as HTML, PDF and text formats that are compatible with Microsoft or Powerpoint and iCloud. This means that you have so much flexibility with the Nebo app, but if you ever find yourself stuck or need some guidance, there’s a whole community of Nebo users ready to help you over on the Nebo tips and tricks videos.
- Noteshelf
Best iPad Pro apps: Noteshelf
Noteshelf is a great notetaking app that’s improved on its original functionality
Requirements: iOS 13.0 or later
Double-tap support: Yes
Price: $9.99/£8.99
Download Noteshelf from the App Store
Noteshelf is jam-packed with features like pressure sensitivity, double-tap support and integrated Siri to make sure it’s the best note-taking app it can be. With Noteshelf, you can record audio notes, mark up PDFs or images as well as accurate handwriting recognition and autoshapes.
- Notability
Best iPad Pro app: Notability
Notability is so good you might want to ditch the Moleskine
Requirements: iOS 14.0 or later
Double-tap support: Yes
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Download Notability from the App Store
Notability is so much more than a note-taking app with its combination of handwriting, photos, typing and drawing tools. Meaning that you don’t have to hop to a totally separate app to get your sketch on. One of the coolest features of the Notability app is the palm rejection feature. This means you can rest your hand on the screen without having to worry about it affecting your work. Notability will also straighten any lines you’d like to be ruled, so all your notes will look as neat as neat can be.
- Evernote
Best iPad Pro apps: Evernote
Evernote is a rich, capable iPad Pro app
Requirements: iOS 13.2 or later
Double-tap support: Yes
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Download Evernote from the App Store
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Evernote is a notetaking iPad Pro app but it’s a little like marmite because some people love it and others, well, not so much. It’s a great app for collecting sketches, notes, to-do lists and websites, but some users find it a little difficult to navigate.
One of the cool things about Evernote is that you can record audio while sketching, meaning that you can work as you listen. But the fun doesn’t stop there, the Evernote app also offers automatic palm rejection, as well as pressure sensitivity, meaning that you can really fill your notes with expressive lines strokes.
- LiquidText
Best iPad Pro apps: LiquidText for iPad
This PDF document reader enables you to annotate and excerpt texts
Requirements: iOS 14.1 or later
Double-tap support: Yes
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Download LiquidText from the App Store
LiquidText is the perfect app for reading and annotating. The app allows users to annotate PDFs, Word or Powerpoint documents and even web pages. LiquidText prides itself on its ability to support active reading, which means that you can highlight sections of what you’re reading to come back to later, or collapse parts and sections of the document so you can refer to different parts at once.
Again, having the Apple Pencil will benefit you greatly when it comes to using these iPad Pro apps. The Apple Pencil will make it faster to use the app with its pressure and tilt sensitivity features, making LiquidText feel similar to the real thing. And if you’ve bagged yourself the Apple Pencil 2 then you can also use LiquidText’s adjustable double-tap compatibility.
Best apps for apple pencil drawing
Procreate
Procreate Screenshot
Source: Savage Interactive Party Ltd.
If you’re looking for the best drawing app for iPad to rule them all, you can’t go wrong with Procreate. It’s one of the most powerful sketching, painting, and illustration apps that you can buy for your iPad, and it’s built for professionals and works flawlessly with Apple Pencil.
With Procreate, you’re getting access to exclusive tools, such as the dual-texture brushes and immediately responsive smudging tools to create the perfect masterpiece. And if you can’t find a tool in Procreate to fit your needs, you can just create your own tools. Procreate also has incredibly high-resolution canvases that allow you to print out your work in massive sizes, without ever skipping a beat. All of your work in Procreate can come out as PSD, native .procreate, TIFF, transparent PNG, multi-page PDF, or even web-ready JPEG file formats. Procreate also supports time-lapse replays, so you can send it directly to your favorite streaming service.
If the thought of Procreate intimidates you, make sure to check out our tutorial on getting started with Procreate for some helpful advice.
Procreate Icon
Procreate
Procreate gives you powerful and exclusive tools for sketching, drawing, and painting. You can even create your own custom tools.
$10 at App Store
Linea Sketch
linea sketch
Source: The Iconfactory
For those who are overwhelmed by Procreate’s powerful feature-set, Linea Sketch is a better option that’s much more approachable, especially for those who don’t always draw.
Linea Sketch features a simple and intuitive interface while providing users with a variety of powerful tools that work great with Apple Pencil. Plus, it easily helps you make perfect circles and shapes to create the best drawings. It also shows you colors that complement your selected hue perfectly, so you don’t need to figure that out yourself. It can also do layers, split screen, and much more. Linea Sketch exports your projects as PSD, JPG, or PNG files so that they can be easily accessed from other devices, like your Mac.
Linea Sketch Icon
Linea Sketch
Linea Sketch is a simple and intuitive drawing app for amateurs and professionals alike.
Free with in-app purchases at App Store
Paper by WeTransfer
paper by wetransfer
Source: WeTrasnfer BV
Paper by WeTransfer is a good option if you want something that’s free and accessible. With Paper, you can create numerous journals designed to capture your sketches and even notes. There is a nice variety of tools offered in Paper, and it’s very intuitive to use.
In Paper, you’ll get six basic tools that are great for drawing, outlining, and even writing. If you opt for the optional Pro subscription, which is $8 for six months or $12 for a year, you’ll get access to more tools like diagrams, collages, and cut-and-fill. There is also plenty of room for creativity in Paper, as you’re able to add multiple photos to a journal and cut, stick, and fix without the need for complicated layers. Paper also lets you customize your sketch journals as you’d like, and your work gets synced across devices, as long as you have a Pro subscription.
While you’ll need a Pro subscription to get the most out of Paper, you do get the basics for free, so it’s a good idea to give them a try before committing. Or if you can live with the basic feature set, then you won’t need to pay a dime.
Paper By Wetransfer Icon
Paper by WeTransfer
Create journals to draw and sketch in to your heart’s content.
Free with in-app purchases at App Store
Affinity Designer
affinity designer
Source: Serif Labs
For those who need to work with vector graphics, Affinity Designer is simply one of the best options available on the iPad. Think of it as the desktop app, but converted into the perfect mobile experience.
Affinity Designer is designed to take advantage of Metal, so it’ll give you blazing fast performance. When you pan the canvas or zoom in or out, everything is at a smooth 120fps, which is amazing. It also works flawlessly with the Apple Pencil, taking advantage of pressure, tilt, and angle sensitivity. You’ll also have the best pen, pencil, corner, curve editing, geometry operations, and smart shape tools available at your disposal, and the Apple Pencil means incredible accuracy.
If you need to deal with vector graphics for marketing materials, websites, icons, UI design, or concept art, then Affinity Designer is a must-have.
Affinity Designer Icon
Affinity Designer for iPad
Affinity Designer works great for vector graphics, and is one of the best apps to get the job done on the iPad.
$22 at App Store
Adobe Illustrator Draw
adobe illustrator draw
Source: Adobe Inc.
While we highly recommend Affinity Designer, we get it — it’s still quite expensive. If you’re on a budget, or just prefer the Adobe Creative Cloud, then Adobe Illustrator Draw is another option to consider for best drawing apps on iPad.
In Adobe Illustrator Draw, you have customizable brushes that you can use for drawing, designing, and stylizing. There are even a ton of basic shape stencils for your perfect circles, squares, French curves, polygons, and speech bubbles for epic comics. Adobe even allows you to mix photos in with your vector drawings, which can result in some amazing effects. All of the canvases in Adobe Illustrator Draw can go up to 8K resolution, meaning you can get large prints of your work as well, in case you want to show it off.
All work can be stored in the Adobe Creative Cloud, which does have a free tier option. However, you can get another 20GB of storage space in Creative Cloud for just $2 a month, which is not too shabby. You’ll be able to access your work from any other device, including Macs, that have Adobe Illustrator on them, thanks to Adobe Creative Cloud.
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