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jeannek8953474
Participant
May 14, 2026
Answered

Can LR Classic be installed on iPad

  • May 14, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 50 views

I do a lot of my photo editing on my iPhone because we are always going. I am considering getting an iPad to make editing easier but would like to know if Lightroom Classic can be installed on an iPad. Also what are some pros/cons of using an iPad for editing?

    Correct answer JohanElzenga

    Lightroom Classic cannot be installed on an iPad, but there is Lightroom for iPad. That app looks a lot like the one for the iPhone.

    3 replies

    Bob Somrak
    Bob Somrak
    Legend
    May 15, 2026

    ​@Conrad_C said

    ”. If you want to edit in Lightroom on iPad, you’ll work from images stored only in your Lightroom cloud storage. ”

     

    You DO NOT need to have photos in Lightroom Cloud Storage to edit photos on the Ipad using Lightroom Mobile.  I import files from the camera card directly into Lightroom Mobile and edit them when in the field. No cloud involved.  As I avoid sync I have a method to send the RAW files (Canon) and DNG with the edits and keywords to my computer from the IPad when I return to my computer using airdrop and then copy the edits/metadata using a plugin called Syncomatic as I just want RAW files.  Not for everyone but works great for me.

    M4 Pro Mac Mini. 48GB
    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 15, 2026

    Bob’s answer does work, I’ve done it on occasion too. Just keep in mind that Lightroom is not designed to work that way naturally, so if you don’t want the images to upload from the iPad to the cloud and back down to Lightroom Classic later, you must pay attention to all of the steps he mentioned that avoid the cloud such as:

    • Remember to export the edited images out of Lightroom for later transfer to the computer and Lightroom Classic, keeping in mind that for nondestructive edits to be preserved for Lightroom Classic, the images must be exported as DNG, not the original unedited raw files.
    • Remember to delete the imported images not only from All Photos, but also from the Deleted album. If you don’t, the next time Lightroom has Internet access it will upload all Deleted album images to the cloud. (This is a normally a good thing it does just to be on the safe side, in case you wanted to recover deleted images before the 30-day grace period runs out).
    • Remember to pause Lightroom sync until all above steps are complete. You don’t have to disable Internet access for the iPad, just enable Pause Syncing in Lightroom alone.

     

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 14, 2026

    To be more precise, the version of Lightroom available for iPad is consistent with all of the other Lightroom apps that use the cloud for storage of originals: Cloud (not Classic) Lightroom for macOS/Windows, Lightroom for iOS/Android, and Lightroom for web browsers.

     

    In other words, Lightroom Classic is available for macOS/Windows, but no other platforms.

     

    Also what are some pros/cons of using an iPad for editing?

     

    Lightroom is one of the best photo editors on iPad OS. However, like the other cloud Lightroom apps, it is missing many features in Lightroom Classic, while also offering a few features Lightroom Classic doesn't have. If you want to edit in Lightroom on iPad, you’ll work from images stored only in your Lightroom cloud storage. Because there is no Lightroom Classic for iPad OS, you cannot directly edit files in the normal iPad OS file system (the Files app), which also means you cannot directly edit files on external storage connected to the iPad (such as a USB SSD). Any images you want to edit in non-classic Lightroom must be imported for cloud upload. This is fine as long as you always have enough fast Internet upload speed.

     

    If you normally use Lightroom Classic and you want to edit photos on the iPad, you first must enable one catalog for Lightroom cloud sync, then enable specific images or collections to be synced from that one catalog, and those will be the images available on the iPad. But, Lightroom Classic syncs only Smart Previews to the cloud, so what you see on the iPad will not be full resolution.

     

    One nice thing about Lightroom on iPad is that if you import images into it, because they always upload to Lightroom cloud storage, the next time you open Lightroom Classic all those full resolution originals will sync down to your computer, and will be cataloged and available in Lightroom Classic.

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    May 14, 2026

    Lightroom Classic cannot be installed on an iPad, but there is Lightroom for iPad. That app looks a lot like the one for the iPhone.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
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