[Feature Request] InDesign Availability on M4 iPad Pro

[azilis]

Hello!
Does anyone know if there are plans for Indesign to be made available for the M4 iPad Pro? I see that there are many discussions over the years for Indesign on an iPad. Adobe! This is a real need.

Hoping for something soon . . .

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Abhishek Rao · Accepted solution]

Hi @Azilis,

Thank you for reaching out, and I completely understand your desire to have InDesign available on the M4 iPad Pro. We’re sorry that it’s not available at this time.

To help us prioritize this request, I encourage you to upvote and add your comments on our UserVoice platform: InDesign on iPad – Adobe InDesign (https://adobe.ly/3YPPsbJ).

Doing so will make your voice heard and ensure you’re notified of any updates regarding this feature.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Thank you,
Abhishek Rao

[azilis]

Thanks for the quick response. I just commented on upvote.
Being able to use ID on my iPad to alter or make revisions to my layouts that I have created on my laptop would be a huge time saver when I am on the go.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

This is a real need.

Well, for the mobile-device generation, I suppose.

ID is already a bit constrained on modern (small) laptop screens. The limitations of working on an even smaller touch screen — with an app not really built around tap, drag and finger-painting — make me squirm to think about.

[BobLevine]

Agreed! Even with a touch enabled Windows device, I find it quite unnecessary and even a bit gimmicky.

With all the things that need to be addressed, I think I'd be a bit ticked off if this niche was filled before fixing all of the broken things.

[azilis]

Listen, I hear you! I love creating my layouts on the laptop. When I am on the go with only my iPad in hand, if I could alter or revise exisiting layouts I think it would be a great tool.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I'd suggest you work with ID on a touch-screen laptop or convertible, using only the touch screen, to see if you can do anything of much use, or even more efficiently than driving back to your office to use a desktop console. I think the few operations you might find "do-able" don't really give you much on-the-go functionality.

That's what laptops are for, IMHO.

[David Cochrane]

The whole point is to encourage a touch-first version of the UI to make working on iPad Pro productive. It's Apple's best display tech and is ridiculously fast. Affinity are going to keep improving Publisher and Adobe are doing nothing to meet them in the tablet space. 

[BobLevine]

As already pointed out, using ID on a touch interface is horribly unproductive. I've tried it on Windows touch devices and it's while it demoed quite nicely at MAX more than a decade ago it's not at all something I would want to see Adobe put its limited resources into.

[leo.r]

The whole point is to encourage a touch-first version of the UI to make working on iPad Pro productive.

By @David Cochrane

It's not only InDesign. Even some serious website-building tools - such as Elementor for WordPress - cannot be used on mobile devices but only on real computers (desktop/laptop). Touch interface is too limiting for layout production of any kind. 

[David Cochrane]

That's a fault of software design, not one that's inherent to the task.

[Jay26079195ii3f]

As a work around, if you have remote desktop software on the iPad, you can always launch InDesign on the main computer and connect to it via your iPad remotely and operate InDesign. Yes, its not native on the iPad but you get to use InDesign and you remain mobile. That way you get the Desktop CPU performance.

[Mike Witherell]

Based on my experience so far, opening big complicated InDesign files on a touch device is a bad idea.

I would recommend the biggest yet lightest laptop but not devices less powerful.

Maybe if the RAM, storage, and screen size of iPads moves closer to current laptops ... maybe. But the latency of cloud-based files (and you in-motion) seems risky. 

InDesign is careful, detailed work that requires concentration. Not advised when riding the 2-3 train in and out of Manhattan.

[David Cochrane]

Mike, I've been publishing on Macintosh since Pagemaker - and the files I work with are huge. They're also easily worked with on a 13" iPad Pro, as Affinity Publisher has very ably demonstrated. 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

I started with PageMaker on a Mac 512K and a 9 inch screen, so smaller than an iPad.

With no inside knowledge, I suspect it is being worked on but Adobe isn't going announce it too early in case they decide to drop the project. Everything is cost vs. benefit (to Adobe, not users). They would probably have to include it in the Creative Cloud subscription like the iPad Photoshop and Illustrator. So, the question is how many NEW customers will it bring in? And, is that enough to pay for the programming cost? 

There are probably some interface problems they need to overcome but If they can do it with Illustrator, they should be able to do it with InDesign--possibly with a feature-limited version. I remember Adobe Captivate had an iPad program called Captivate Draft where one could start the layout and transfer it to a computer for finishing. However, it disappeared. Probably wasn't popular enough to keep it updated and adding new features. 

Affinity is the new kid on the block and needs to set themselves apart from the competition, so they have to go the extra mile. But it's not unheard of for programs to just be dropped. Serif, Affinity's parent company, did that with a series of Windows-only programs before coming out with the Affinity line. With not upgrade options to existing users. (Canva bought Serif last year.) Time will tell if they can get a big enough market share with low cost software to maintain the programmers needed to keep all three platforms up to date (Windows, Mac, iPad). 

[Mike Witherell]

Current specs on 13" iPad Pro comes up equal to the horsepower in a macbook pro, so yeah... I get it.

But the one thing I find hard to get "on-the-go" is my concentration.