Apple Debuts An Infinite Whiteboard—Its First App In Ages—For Endless Creativity
Image via Apple
Apple looks to be making paper—and even whiteboards—obsolete with ‘Freeform’, its first new app in years. The tool is an infinite canvas that supports myriad creative possibilities, from jotting down an idea during a lightbulb moment to embarking on in-depth collaboration.
Freeform is designed to work across devices, and it can be accessed from iPhones, iPads, and Macs updated to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS Venture 13.1 or newer. Projects are saved on iCloud, allowing you to pull them from any Apple gadget when the moment strikes. Its nature, of course, makes Freeform most suited for tablets, since it acts as a portable whiteboard you can scribble into with an Apple stylus on your lap. However, you can also use it with your finger on your iPhone or with your mouse on the desktop.
Freeform boasts numerous brushes and colors, in addition to over 700 built-in creativity options to adjust the size and shade of shapes, as well as add text to them. The app is more powerful than simply enabling endless illustrations, though—users can also drag rich assets like photos, videos, documents, PDFs, audio, sticky notes, hyperlinks, and map locations and drop them into the digital whiteboard.
Collaboration is baked into this infinite board. The app allows up to 100 friends or colleagues to work on a canvas at any one time. With that being said, you have free rein to utilize the tool as a personal mood board, or even a travel inspiration board, as Travel + Leisure suggests.
“Freeform opens up endless possibilities for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users to visually collaborate,” describes Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With an infinite canvas, support for uploading a wide range of files, iCloud integration, and collaboration capabilities, Freeform creates a shared space for brainstorming that users can take anywhere.”
Collaborators can either brainstorm over the built-in FaceTime feature, where they’ll be able to discuss directly on Freeform; or chat on the Messages app, which will also alert others whenever an update is made.
To zoom out and view all of your work at once, simply double-tap the canvas.
A neat touch is the ability to lock layers, allowing you to sketch over existing images or PDF files. Apple also recommends using Freeform to plan home renovations by dragging and dropping your floor plan, locking it, and drawing over it.
The app also comes with alignment grids for those who prefer putting the organized in organized mess. All in all, it’s remarkably thought-through.
You can install Freeform right here.
[via PhoneArena and Travel + Leisure, images via Apple]
