Is Blender 3D Only Available On Computer?

Blender has garnered a reputation for being openly available to millions of PC users worldwide due to its open-source licensing. But is blender 3D available on devices other than traditional PCs?

Blender 3D is a computer-only application, and it’s technically not available on other devices such as phones and tablets. This is partly because Blender has specific requirements for it to be used effectively, which are difficult for mobile devices to meet.

There are some exceptions to this rule, however. For example, Windows tablets use the Windows operating system and can run Blender because they are using Windows.

Why Is Blender Only Usable On Computers?

So even though Blender is one of the more accessible applications available to a global audience, it is still not available on phones and most tablets. But why is this the case?

This restriction is not only limited to Blender 3D, but pretty much all of the various 3D modeling suites are only accessible using actual computers or laptops. Alternatives such as Maya, 3DS Max, and SketchUp are all exclusive to computer usage.

When working with applications like Blender, you must consider just how hard it will be to run those applications on your chosen device. Most mobile phones, for example, simply do not have the cooling capacity or raw power to be able to create 3D modeling scenes from scratch.

That’s not to say that phones and tablets haven’t come a long way in the past 10 to 15 years. They are far more powerful now than they were a decade ago.

However, another key reason why Blender is only usable on actual computers is because of the scalability of the tasks performed by the software.

Depending on what you are using, Blender 4, not all computers may be able to run Blender successfully, and you will require at least a modern PC or laptop just to run the software.

Depending on your actual projects, that requirement may increase in terms of its specifications. For example, sculpting high-density models in Blender is going to require additional short-term memory or RAM.

Why You Should Not Bother Trying To Use Blender On Mobile

Besides the fact that your mobile phone will likely not be powerful enough to run the blender software, you also need to consider the size of the screen you are using. Like many other 3D modeling applications, Blender has a lot going on for its interface, and it would be very challenging to create an interface suitable for a mobile device whilst still having access to all of Blender’s available toolsets.

We have reached a point where you can download 3D Viewer apps, allowing you to view the 3D models you may have exported from Blender. These apps do not require complicated user interfaces as they are not focused on editing the 3D models but merely on the ability to view them.

Tablets may be a better alternative as they do have larger screens, allowing you to view the interface more easily. This does work in practice as there are certain tablets, in particular Windows tablets, which run the Windows operating systems and therefore are able to run the blender software.

It is unknown whether or not Blender will be made available to other tablets on the market, as many tablets would now be able to use Blender.

Can I Use A Laptop For 3D Modeling?

A laptop is effectively a mobile computer, so the answer to whether or not you can use a 3D modeling application such as Blender is yes; you can use blender on your laptop.

It should be noted that while you can do so without one, blender recommends using a 3D button mouse, which you may need to add as an additional peripheral for your laptop rather than using the traditional mouse pad.

Larger laptops can also be more effective as they are likely to have the number pad, which is used quite a lot in Blender, unlike many other applications that you may use.

Beyond that, the requirements for using Blender on a laptop are the same as using them on a traditional desktop computer. Simply ensure that you meet the specifications for using the software.

What Are The Specifications For Using Blender?

The simple ability to use Blender does not require the most powerful hardware. However, it is still recommended to have a relatively modern device to run the 3D modeling application. Below we have a list of the recommended settings for using Blender to complete basic tasks. These tasks can include the ability to create simple 3D objects and design basic scenes with materials and lighting.

  • 64-bit quad-core CPU with SSE2 support
  • 8 GB RAM
  • Full HD display
  • Mouse, trackpad or pen+tablet
  • Graphics card with 2 GB VRAM, OpenGL 4.3

These specifications are taken directly from the Blender Org website, which you can view using the link here.

It should be noted, however, that the above requirements are scalable depending on what you plan to use Blender for. If we were to use the software for sculpting as an example, then we would need to go beyond the minimum requirement. Otherwise, we could find that Blender begins to degrade in terms of its performance and even has the potential of crashing during our project.

As such, the next set of specifications is recommended if you want to be able to use Blender for any purpose.

  • 64-bit eight-core CPU
  • 32 GB RAM
  • 2560×1440 display
  • Three-button mouse or pen+tablet
  • Graphics card with 8 GB VRAM

Thanks For Reading Through The Article

We hope this article has answered your query on Blenders’ availability on certain devices. If you want to learn more about the Blender software, you can check out some of our other articles listed below.

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