iPad owners can snap up three premium creativity apps for free – until new iPad Pro arrives, at least

Apple's iPad is an exceptional tool for a number of things. It's great for watching movies, note taking. and if you're someone with a creative flare, it's fantastic for drawing and editing photos on once you find your flow.

There are a number of apps you can use to take advantage of the latter, such as Adobe Photoshop, which is optimised for the larger display and touchscreen. There's also the likes of the Canva-owned Affinity suite, which if you have ever considered buying but haven't quite taken the leap yet, now is your time.

Should you buy Affinity Photo 2, Publisher 2 and Designer 2?

As spotted by 9to5Google, Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2 and Affinity Designer 2 are all currently free on iPad. Previously, you've been able to try them out for a 7-day trial, after which they cost $18.49 (or the local equivalent) per app to buy.

But once downloaded, the purchase price is now $0.00 (or £0.00, for example). You just have to sign up for the 7-day trial, then hit the "Buy Now" button in your account settings.

Unlike some apps, this is a full purchase not just a subscription fee.

It's worth noting however, that while the three apps are currently still available on the App Store for iPad, you can no longer get them on the Mac App Store so it's possible they might vanish soon for iPad too. Affinity is also promoting an event on its website for 30 October, where it's possible a new suite of apps could launch.

The website says: "Creative freedom is coming. Sign up to be the first to know. True creative freedom is just around the corner. 30 October. See the future first."

There's no mention of new apps here, but the wording does suggest they could be on their way.

The timing is also slightly suspicious. Apple hasn't announced an October event yet, but it was only yesterday we wrote about the possibility of new iPad Pro models and new MacBook Pro models launching this month, so there's a chance Affinity is planning to introduce new apps to coincide with those devices.

Still, with Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2 and Affinity Designer 2 all free rather than just discounted, do you really have anything to lose by downloading them and giving them a go ahead of any new announcements? In our eyes you don't, but we would advise you do it quickly before they vanish.