It’s not often that Apple launches a brand-new app, but you’ll see a brand new icon in your library when you upgrade on iOS as well as iPadOS 16.2 and macOS 13.1. The day before, Apple released the Freeform application, which its press release declares as “an unlimited canvas” to facilitate “creative collaborative brainstorming, collaboration and.” In a nutshell it’s a virtual whiteboard which you can use with your colleagues. We test it out to see how it performed in this regard.
Apple has announced Freeform in the WWDC keynote earlier in the year, showcasing the capability to upload files, photos sketches, images, links notes, etc. in a digital canvas whether by yourself or in collaboration with others. Of of course, Freeform also integrates with other Apple apps . For instance, the application has buttons that allow you to launch an open discussion about the project you’re working on alongside other collaborators using iMessage and FaceTime.
I’m pleased to report that Freeform provided me with a excellent first impression. Changes were generally synced between accounts and devices nearly in real time even when I was on the phone and that’s a vital aspect to consider for an app that is focused on collaboration. I was also pleasantly surprised by the frequency with which I was able to find what I was looking for. I was able to shift images I’d inserted into the back layer, where handwritten text would be displayed on above them. I was able to add descriptive words to objects that VoiceOver could read aloud. You can also copy and paste styles into the text boxes, or create pre-made shapes and even lock objects that you do not want to accidentally shift around.
There were a few signs that this software was released just a few days ago. For the two platforms, macOS and iPadOS I was required to go to the settings and manually enable the iCloud syncing feature with Freeform (something it was able to help me do, even though one of the errors was a bit unclear). It also took a few minutes until the program would appear within my iPhone after updating it; I had to run it from the App Store several times before it was visible on My App Library and Spotlight. It’s not meant to denigrate it, but I do like the Freeform user experience for the iPhone as it’s certainly designed to be a big-screen device-friendly experience but the handheld version may be able to get by in the event of a crisis.
I also managed to get all my gadgets out of sync that took a time to work out as well as the collaboration tools occasionally told me that no one is using the board, there was a person who was. It’s important to note that these issues popped up in a shared document by two individuals -and Apple claims that you can host more than 100 users in the same document, and will be quite chaotic.
It’s too early to tell if Freeform will be a key component of workflows, similar to Notes or if it’ll become more similar to those Apple apps that nobody recalls, such as Clips and iTunes Movie Trailers. It’s true that I can’t imagine myself ever collaborating with anyone who is creating incredibly detailed artworks like the ones Apple showcases in its press photos However, I’d be thinking about using Freeform as a notebook virtual when I had an iPad as well as an Apple Pencil of my own. It’s certainly more than what I could say about other apps designed to encourage real-time collaboration.
