Level 1 (0 points)

Cannot edit RAW photos in iPad Photos app

I would like to edit RAW Photos on my iPad. I import JPEG+RAW files from my camera. Photos indicates that it has both photo formats with the “JPEG+RAW” badge on the image but I can’t seem to use the RAW as the original in Photos on the iPad. Eventually I’d like to build a photo editing flow that looks like camera import -> Photos app -> Pixelmator all on the iPad.

Posted on Oct 10, 2026 4:16 AM

2 replies

LotusPilot

Level 10 (334,506 points)

Oct 10, 2026 5:25 AM in response to stevegio

The native iPad Photo App is quite limited in its capabilities. Are you aware that Pixelmator Classic and Pixelmator Pro are both available Apps for iPad?

Pixelmator (Classic):

https://apps.apple.com/app/pixelmator-classic-ios/id924695435

Pixelmator Pro:

https://apps.apple.com/app/pixelmator-pro-edit-images/id6746662575

Pixelmator Pro is also a component of Apple's Creator Studio suite:

https://apps.apple.com/app-bundle/apple-creator-studio/id1868448255?mt=12

In addition to Pixelmator, for advanced RAW editing/processing you might instead consider other third-party advanced photo editing Apps. One of the best (and currently free to download and use) is Affinity Photo 2:

https://apps.apple.com/app/affinity-photo-2-for-ipad/id1616823773

stevegio Author

Level 1 (0 points)

Oct 11, 2026 4:00 AM in response to LotusPilot

Yes, I actually have Pixelmator Pro. I just would like to edit the RAW files that are in Photos. The Mac has the “use RAW as original” option in Photos. I wanted to know if Photos for iPad had some way to do the same thing.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256373605