Astropad's 'Project Blue' Beta Turns an iPad Into a Drawing Tablet for a PC

Astropad today announced the launch of "Project Blue," a new public beta initiative that introduces cross-platform support for connecting an iPad to a PC. With the beta, ‌iPad‌ artists can use an ‌iPad‌ as a wireless drawing tablet for a PC by mirroring their Windows desktop to their iPads.


Prior to today, the Astropad software could turn an ‌iPad‌ into a drawing device able to be used with a Mac, but the functionality is now available for ‌iPad‌ owners who want to use a PC instead of a Mac.

Project Blue is optimized for drawing with the Apple Pencil, and the ‌iPad‌'s touch gestures can be customized to access tools and shortcuts in Windows apps. An ‌iPad‌ can be paired with a Windows PC over WiFi or using a USB connection.

astropad project blue 1
Project Blue requires a PC laptop or desktop running Windows 10 64-bit build 1809 or later and an ‌iPad‌ running iOS 9.1 or later.

For the time being, Project Blue is available for free, and later this year, it will be folded into the full suite of Astropad products. Those who want to test out Project Blue can sign up on Astropad's website.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google made waves yesterday by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...

Top Rated Comments

jayducharme Avatar
55 months ago
But wasn't Justin Long just telling me that the great thing about PCs is that they're already both a tablet and a desktop?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freeangel1 Avatar
55 months ago
wow. The Clan of Mac strikes again.
The M1 chip is ok for great battery life and laptops.

But for Pro users who need the Raw power of the AMD Threadripper Chip PC is the way to GO.
Big Sur is a mess on some older Macs
Windows 10 runs on anything you throw at it. The most compatible OS there is.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iBungie Avatar
55 months ago
Poor Astropad - no one wants to comment on you - only use your thread to post comments on other threads

This looks a useful tool for graphic artists on either platform
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tonny3k Avatar
55 months ago

But for Pro users who need the Raw power of the AMD Threadripper Chip PC is the way to GO.
Intel should include that in their ads.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robertcoogan Avatar
55 months ago
I like this! This solves a big problem for me. I am looking at buying a Windows laptop as my next laptop (yep). Partly this is due to the lack of self-repair options, but also due to the fact that I am heavily dependent on Windows for certain software. I also like the self-repair options that come with Windows PCs. Being able to use my iPad as a drawing tablet would be really helpful.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nc_sketchy Avatar
55 months ago
I love Luna Display/Astropad. Its so much more stable than sidecar. Im glad it finally made its way to windows.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)