iPad App of the Year 'Affinity Photo' Updated With RAW Improvements and Limited-Time Free Add-On Brush Packs

Affinity Photo, which Apple named the iPad App of the Year for 2017, was today updated with a suite of "more powerful professional features," according to developer Serif. To celebrate the new update, users can also download three add-on brush and filter packs for free starting today.

Specifically, version 1.6.7 of Affinity Photo lets users shoot direct in RAW or HDR video from within the iPad app, and introduces upgrades for RAW processing so that the clarity of RAW images has improved. There's direct integration from the iOS Files app, enhancements to Drag and Drop, the ability to add personalized fonts, and much more, which you can glimpse in the Version History on the iOS App Store.

We've listed a few updates below:

- Save overwrites back to the same location, without needing to create a copy
- A new ‘Solo Layer View’ mode, allowing you to isolate individual layers instantly
- A new ‘Show Touches’ option to create more detailed screen captures – great for users who create tutorials
- Added ‘Average blur” filter from desktop
- Brand new shadows / highlights algorithm in Develop
- Brand new clarity algorithm in Develop
- New “Solo” layer option in layer properties panel
- New preferences option to show touches - good for screen recording
- Enhanced angle / tilt support for Apple Pencil
- Snapping candidates can be selected by hovering over them whilst in a drag

Starting today and lasting for the next two weeks (expiring March 8), Serif is also offering a trio of packs for free, available for Affinity Photo owners to download on the web. These include the Luminance Brush Pack (normally $9.99) with 13 light effect brushes, the Retouch Brush Pack ($9.99) with 20 retouch brushes, and Live Filters Macro Pack (already free) with 28 "non-destructive" live filter layers.

The base Affinity Photo for iPad app costs $19.99 on the iOS App Store [Direct Link] and is compatible with the 9.7-inch, 10.5-inch, and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad from 2017. For users with an iPad Pro, Serif notes that the app has been optimized for use with the Apple Pencil.

Tag: Affinity Photo

Top Rated Comments

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ErikGrim

10 months ago

Great app. We need more productivity apps like this on the iPad to ensure a vibrant platform.

As a Photoshop user since v1.0, this is truly the first app I would call a Photoshop replacement (sorry Pixelmator).

Rating: 3 Votes

macduke

10 months ago

I love this app. I recently bought their Mac apps when they were on sale but haven't used them much yet. I just got around to installing them on my work machine though so we'll see.

I'm looking forward to their Affinity Designer app coming out for the iPad. However, I think at this point they're saving it to show off on stage at WWDC alongside iPad improvements in iOS 12. I want them to take their time so they can put out a quality product like Affinity Photo, but I'm still really looking forward to using it!

Are there any Serif people here that can give an ETA on Affinity Designer for iPad? I think I've seen them around the forums at some point.

Rating: 2 Votes

fhall1

10 months ago

I used my iPad to go to my Affinity Store account page, then went to where it shows the three free product download links. Make sure the Affinity app isn’t open. Click on one of the download links. It should bring up a page that has links that say “open in iMovie” and “More”. Click the “More” and scroll to and select “Copy to Photo”. The Affinity app should open and a box will pop up saying it loaded the feature.

Close the Affinity app and repeat for the other two packages.

Rating: 1 Votes

Donka

10 months ago

You can also email the packs to yourself and do the same to copy to Affinity Photo or copy them to a cloud service and tap on them in the Files app and use the share icon to copy to AP.

Rating: 1 Votes