Apple launches Freeform for shared visual work

Apple released Freeform on 13 December. The shared visual workspace is free on devices supporting iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2 or macOS Ventura 13.1.

Sulat illustration. Apple is an Apple Inc. trademark; no endorsement or affiliation.

Boards hold drawings, photos, documents and links, with inline previews. Up to 100 people can work together, and iCloud keeps boards synchronized across devices. Users can export a board as a PDF. Images and PDFs can be locked in place so collaborators can annotate around or over them.

From preview to shared workspace

Apple previewed Freeform in June as part of its collaboration plans for iPadOS 16, promising it later in the year. The design centers on a flexible canvas rather than fixed pages, with Apple Pencil support on iPad and participants able to see one another’s edits.

That preview connected the canvas to FaceTime sessions and activity updates in Messages. It also described a broader change to collaboration: inviting a Messages group into shared work and keeping discussion beside the changing document. Freeform gives that approach a visual space for organizing ideas.

At launch, users can invite an entire Messages conversation by dragging in a board, then start a FaceTime call from inside Freeform.