Paper: Just as good as a pencil and notebook
Paper, free
There are no shortage of writing and painting apps on the iPad, but FiftyThree’s Paper is the one to get first. This app enables you to sketch, and draw, with a variety of different pens, pencils and brushes, and the scissors act like cut-and-paste but for your scribbles. There’s also a neat Pen and Ruler tool that you can use to draw arrows, squares, triangles and other shapes (it makes for an effective flowchart too).
When it comes to picking the best apps for iPad, we chose Paper hands-down to be number one in our list. No other app recreates the experience of working with a physical medium quite as well. Like its name suggests, its paper for your iPad.
MyScript Calculator: sketch out your sums
MyScript Calculator, free
Debate rages fiercely as to which calculator app is the best for the iPad Pro. MyScript Calculator is slightly different from the rest, in that you sketch out sums as if you were drawing them on paper (rather than tapping buttons).
As you sketch numbers, and symbols they are analysed and the sum is calculated. It’s like magic paper that performs calculations for you. In many ways MyScript Calculator is more intuitive than other calculators, and we love being able to sketch out sums while we study.
Above all, MyScript Calculator is one of those apps that feels tailor-made for the iPad Pro.
Pixelmator: professional level photo editing
Pixelmator, £3.99
No top-ten list of iPad Pro apps would be complete without Pixelmator. While we agree that Pixelmator isn’t the most leftfield choice for a “best iPad Pro apps” feature, it’s still got to be on the list.
Pixelmator is the most powerful image-editing app on the App Store, and it’s a testament as to what App Store developers can achieve. With full Apple Pencil integration it’s an absolute must-have for anybody who works with images. And at just £3.99 it’s shockingly good value for money.
OmniGraffle 2: best diagram app for iPad Pro
OmniGraffle 2, £39.99
Sooner or later you need to make a diagram, chart, or a flowchart on your iPad Pro and you’ll wonder what the best diagram-making app is: wonder no more, it’s OmniGraffle 2.
At £39.99 OmniGraffle isn’t a cheap app (although it’s reasonable in the world of full-priced commercial software), but this isn’t like other apps. OmniGraffle 2 for the iPad Pro is every bit as powerful as its desktop counterpart, which is used by designers worldwide.
With the Apple Pencil you can drag and drop elements from the extensive library onto the page, and mark them up with the Smart Keyboard. You can design everything from app interfaces to knitting patterns, from government charts to warning signs.
It really is a powerful app, and well worth every penny.
Chunky: the best comic book reader for iPad Pro
Chunky, Free
Reading comics and graphic novels on your iPad Pro may seem a little frivolous, but reading comics on the iPad Pro is an exceptional experience.
Most comic books are larger than the old iPad’s window, but they fit neatly to the iPad Pro’s 12.9-inch display. And the vibrancy and colour of the iPad Pro display is incredible when looking at digitally drawn comic books.
Chunky is our pick for the best comic book reading app on the iPad, and it has integrated support for all the major cloud services. So if you have some comic book files around, upload them to Chunky and see how glorious they look on an iPad Pro’s display.
Assembly: illustration for the rest of us
Assembly, Free
There are lots of great illustration apps for the iPad Pro, but the one that’s stolen our heart is Assembly.
Rather than ask you to draw everything from scratch, it offers a range of shapes that click together to build objects. It’s easy to slot together different types of blocks, and we find it easier to make things with Assembly than any other illustration app.
While seasoned illustration pros may blanch at Assembly, we think it’s great for compositing together an idea, and some of the illustrations look amazing.
Assembly has also got great support for sharing your creations, and using creations made by other people.
Procreate: sketch like a professional
Procreate, £4.49
Procreate is another app that we really couldn’t leave off this list. Procreate is the best pure painting and drawing app for the iPad.
With the Apple Pencil, Procreate has really come to life, and it’s now in its element. With a huge array of brushes to choose from, you can ink, paint and airbrush just about any creation. It works wonderfully with the Apple pencil too. If any app can kickstart your creative streak, it’s Procreate.
1Password: remember all your passwords on iPad Pro
1Password, Free
The iPad Pro is a much more powerful device than you’d imagine, and it often serves as a laptop replacement. it can’t do everything; but some things it does much better than a MacBook. So we often find ourselves bouncing between a MacBook and iPad Pro, and these days we need to remember hundreds of passwords.
1Password eliminates a lot of the hassle of getting online, by remembering all your passwords and filling them out as you go. It also works across PC and other computers, and you can sync everything securely. We find 1Password to be an app we really don’t want to live without.
LiquidText: the best PDF reader for iPad Pro
LiquidText, free
The iPad Pro’s larger screen makes it ideal for reading PDF documents (much more so than the regular iPad). There are a lot of good options around for PDF reading, but we’ve warmed to LiquidText.
As well as being great to look at, its standout feature is you can drag text snippets to a holding area to create bookmarks. You then use a pinch gesture to cram the text into one screen, displaying just your bookmarks. Sounds odd? We find it really works when working through a document and taking notes.
Photoshop Fix: easy fixes for images
Photoshop Fix, free
Adobe hasn’t brought the full version of Photoshop to the iPad, instead it’s split up all its features into different apps.
Photoshop Fix is the one most people will love, and it offers a quick range of fixes for your shots.
We’re particularly fond of the Liquify > Face option, which automatically detects face points and enables you change frowns into smiles (or vice versa), as well as enlarge or reduce facial features.
Read next:
iPad Pro Smart Keyboard review