[Why the huge limitation in function?]

Wgphoto, Ulysses, thank you for adding your voices. So it does seem that Affinity Photo really was designed as a companion app to the desktop version. The way the import and export are limited, the one photo at a time workflow etc. Now that i think of it, it makes sense why none of these basic functions were ever implemented - functions that make or break a software as stand alone, “desktop” class. It was their goal all along. I still think it’s a shame on Serif and Serif alone for the false marketing. May they use my twenty bucks wisely. I sign off.

[Why the huge limitation in function?]

1 hour ago, Ulysses said:

Whenever there is a favorite function of the day that we don't receive in the latest update, it's all too easy to decry a piece of software as useless. 

I take a different viewpoint with Affinity Photo for iPad. This was the app that actually convinced me to upgrade to an iPad Pro so that I could take better advantage of its power. Because of the touch interface, there are a number of things that are different between it and the desktop version. However, the vast majority of the power of the desktop version is all there. The file compatibility between ALL of the Affinity apps — on desktop and on mobile — is an additional bonus. 

Saying that noise reduction is the only thing that got updated is a statement of clear frustration. However, it overlooks the numerous features that were updated or added, which a lot of us requested. I'm sure your requests are also being considered for a future update. 

There are a few things missing, and a few basic bugs that need to be cared for. But all of the major ones will be dealt with in time. But even now, we still have great apps for our desktops and iPads that have allowed me to completely do away with any connection with Adobe, which is another reason for a lot of us to be happy. No disappointment for me. 

Hi Ulysses,

my post was indeed one of frustration. Preserving metadata and being able to save presets when exporting images (e.g. same folder location, image compression parameters, etc) can hardly be called “favorite function of the day”. Without these basic functions, what do you have left? I gave noise reduction as an example of a systematic feature that gets more and more fine tuned with each update of the iPad app - just look in the history tab of the updates in itunes and you’ll see where the priorities of the developers lie.

My frustration with the Affinity for iPad is two-fold: that these basic features are missing from an app touted as “desktop class” and that the marketing machinery behind Affinity for iPad doesn’t care about it. I was fooled into buying the app thinking it offered the same functions as the desktop Affinity. I don’t care that i couldn’t get my money back but i care about the deceit behind it and the stubbornness of not fixing either of those things. I stopped using Affinity for iPad as soon as I saw how criticism is dealt with on this forum but i’ve still kept an eye out for updates hoping for these limitations would be fixed.

you say you were convinced to buy the iPad Pro just because of the Affinity app. Can you please tell me what your workflow is that makes it such a wonderful breeze for you? From your other posts on this thread, it seems that you first put your photos in the cloud from where you then pull into the Affinity Photo for iPad. The fact that you laud the “compatibility between ALL of the Affinity apps” makes me think that you do the bulk of your import and export (perhaps even the editing itself) on the desktop version, not the iPad. If that is so, then the Affinity Photo for iPad really is just a companion app and it then should be promoted as such on the App store and the Affinity website. 

[Why the huge limitation in function?]

3 hours ago, wgphoto said:

Just a note on filenames. If you bypass Photos, as I do, and import from cloud (Dropbox, in my case) filenames are retained. Give it a shot and see if that improves your workflow somewhat.

Thanks for the tip! That does sound like two extra steps only to be able to import the metadata into Affinity for iPad: 1) copy the pictures from Apple’s Photo app  (the only real way to put pictures from the sd card directly onto iPad) into a cloud storage and 2) delete those photos from the cloud once i’m done (even if i had 1 Tb of cloud storage, which i don’t, the storage would otherwise fill up after a couple of uses).

to my knowledge, one can only copy the photos from the SD card into iPad’s photos once inserted into the sd card reader. It’s the only app that ever pops up. Maybe iPadOS will change that but this route is still far from efficient and it would only cover one of the missing features of Affinity (provided not by Affinity itself, but Apple’s new operating system).

Basically, Affinity Photo for iPad is just one marketing gimmick app - the app is basically included in any marketing for the iPad as a computer. They improve noise reduction with almost every update but they dance around actual features that we need. So much editing power for really nothing. Well, one photo at a time. I will stick to my desktop for any real photo editing. I’ve been disappointed again, Affinity.

[Why the huge limitation in function?]

On 5/7/2019 at 9:54 AM, Dan C said:

Many thanks for your feedback, it is appreciated. I'll be certain to pass it through to our development team.

We're currently developing version 1.7 for iPad and we hope to bring batch processing and macro creation to the iPad in this version, we'll have more information available shortly.

Filename retention and export presets have been requested previously on our forums and our developers are currently looking into this, many thanks for your continued patience here!

Just letting the readers know that version 1.7 for Affinity Photo for iPad was released today.

However, none of the features requested in this post were included in the release, namely batch processing, transfering metadata when importing from Photos (for example) or export presets, to name a few. Here is hoping for version 1.8 in 2021!

(harsh post, i know, but i do wonder how the developers are prioritizing the features cried for by everyone on this forum).

[Why the huge limitation in function?]

On 8/1/2018 at 11:45 AM, Dan C said:

Hi Cucu,

Welcome to the forums.

I'm very sorry to hear you feel this way, could you expand on what functionality you feel is missing to Affinity Photo for iPad?

Due to its smaller screen size, lack of native physical keyboard and usually lesser hardware than a desktop, the UI was re-written specifically for the iPad and it's workflow usually funnels towards one image at a time, as this is best for the iPads hardware.
Of course however you can open multiple images and edit them all separately, swapping between projects from the home screen. 

The desktop and iOS apps are their own software, sold and advertised separately. The iPad version is retailed at £19.99, whereas the desktop version is retailed at £48.99 and functionality will vary slightly. 

At the very least, three things can be changed.   

First, please change the description of the app in the iTunes store to reflect the limitation: only one picture at at a time can be imported, opened, adjusted, exported etc.  I still can't believe how working with batch processing is considered such a trivial request.  iPad Pro IS more powerful than the computer requirements listed for the desktop version of the Affinity Photo app (which allows batch processing) on Affinity's website (https://affinity.help/designer/en-US.lproj/index.html?page=pages/Appendix/system_requirements.html?title=System%20requirements).  The insinuation that iPad Pro is limited in hardware power is ridiculous!

Second, please give the option to import a photo using the exact same filename as the original (expecting to keep the metadata is apparently blasphemous).  As of now, Affinity Photo imports a tabula rasa copy of the original file always with the name "Untitled".  This creates a huge headache when exporting the picture because one has to type in a name every ... single .... time! (since you brought up the lack of a native physical keyboard...)

Third, please give us the option to save presets that would support a) using the same adjustments made to one photo to be applied to the next photo and b) exporting a photo using the last settings, such file type (jpg, png, etc) and compression settings (low, medium, high etc).  Apart from typing in a new filename at every export, one also has to select the file type and compression settings... every...single...time...

[Why the huge limitation in function?]

Affinity Photo for iPad is a powerhouse for editing pictures from digital cameras... one at a time. This philosophy is embedded in every single aspect of the workflow, from importing and making adjustments all the way to exporting. 

I have created an account on this website precisely to be able to ask the developers or marketers of the app (if they ever read this) who and why they’ve decided to blatantly limit the functionality of the iPad version of the app compared to the desktop version.  The fact that this limitation in function is not mentioned anywhere in the description on iTunes Store or in any of the tutorials or promotionals videos is appalling and borders false advertising. But I guess the answer has been in the title all along...after all, it’s Affinity Photo not Affinity Photos...

Inquisitively and respectfully,

Mihai