Apple Announces Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad With Subscription Models

[rjjacobson]

Subscriptions, we are moving towards a world where you will own nothing. I don’t think this is right direction to move towards.

Well looking at Ventura license I see we still do not really own it it is clearly owned by apple and licensed to us for use on official apple hardware we do own. So its part of the hardware and apple can change things including making changes, killing/stopping features and so on…..

https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macOSVentura.pdf

”APPLE INC.
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR macOS Ventura
For use on Apple-branded Systems
PLEASE READ THIS SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT (“LICENSE”) CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE APPLE SOFTWARE. BY USING THE APPLE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, DO NOT INSTALL AND/OR USE THE APPLE SOFTWARE AND, IF PRESENTED WITH THE OPTION TO “AGREE” OR “DISAGREE” TO THE TERMS, CLICK “DISAGREE”. IF YOU ACQUIRED THE APPLE SOFTWARE AS PART OF AN APPLE HARDWARE PURCHASE AND IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, YOU MAY RETURN THE ENTIRE APPLE HARDWARE/ SOFTWARE PACKAGE WITHIN THE RETURN PERIOD TO THE APPLE STORE OR AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT FOR A REFUND, SUBJECT TO APPLE’S RETURN POLICY FOUND AT https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/. YOU MUST RETURN THE ENTIRE HARDWARE/SOFTWARE PACKAGE IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A REFUND……

…….1. General.
A. The Apple software (including Boot ROM code), any third party software, documentation, interfaces, content, fonts and any data accompanying this License (“Original Apple Software”), as may be updated or replaced by feature enhancements, software updates, security responses, system files, or system restore software provided by Apple for your Apple-branded computer or supported peripheral device (“Apple Software Changes”), whether preinstalled on Apple-branded hardware, on internal storage, on removable media, on disk, in read only memory, on any other media or in any other form (the Original Apple Software and Apple Software Changes are collectively referred to as the “Apple Software”), are licensed, not sold, to you by Apple Inc. (“Apple”) for use only under the terms of this License. Apple and/ or Apple’s licensors retain ownership of the Apple Software itself and reserve all rights not expressly granted to you. You agree that the terms of this License will apply to any Apple-branded application software product that may be preinstalled on your Apple-branded hardware, unless such product is accompanied by a separate license, in which case you agree that the terms of that license will govern your use of that product…..

…….C. Title and intellectual property rights in and to any content displayed by or accessed through the Apple Software belongs to the respective content owner. Such content may be protected by copyright or other intellectual property laws and treaties, and may be subject to terms of use of the third party providing such content. Except as otherwise provided herein, this License does not grant you any rights to use such content nor does it guarantee that such content will continue to be available to you. You are prohibited from republishing, retransmitting or reproducing any images accessed through News or Maps as a stand-alone file……

……6. Apple reserves the right to stop making Apple Eligible Content available for caching on your Caching Enabled Mac (e.g., some content that you may have previously cached may not be available for subsequent caching) and to remove any cached Apple Eligible Content from your Caching Enabled Macs at any time in its sole discretion, and Apple shall have no liability to you in such event. You understand that such caching of Apple Eligible Content may not be available in all countries or regions. You may remove the cached Apple Eligible Content and disable the Content Caching Features at any time…..

….. Transfer.
A. If you obtained the Apple Software preinstalled on Apple-branded hardware or if you obtained your license to the Apple Software from the Mac App Store or through a software update, you may make a one-time permanent transfer of all of your license rights to the Apple Software (in its original form as provided by Apple) to another party, provided that: (i) the Apple Software is transferred together with your Apple-branded hardware; (ii) the transfer must include all of the Apple Software, including all its component parts and this License; (iii) you do not retain any copies of the Apple Software, full or partial, including copies stored on a computer or other storage device; and (iv) the party receiving the Apple Software reads and agrees to accept the terms and conditions of this License. For purposes of this License, if Apple provides an update (e.g., version 10.14 to 10.14.1) to the Apple Software, the update is considered part of the Apple Software and may not be transferred separately from the pre-update version of the Apple Software…..

 

[RevTEG]

It's a sophisticated app, not a wallpaper. If the choice is a one-time purchase that only gets updated once/year or rarely gets new features added, I'd prefer the subscription with regular updates.

Devs don't work for free.

Agreed, but have you read anything from Apple that says they WILL be providing regular updates after the move to subscription model or are you/we just assuming they will?

 

[Steve121178]

Don’t be shocked when the subscription model suddenly appears for Mac too.

It's coming. Timmy wants that Services growth.

 

[StellarVixen]

Do you think mine and many other’s $300 10 years ago is still paying the devs well?

It's not mine nor anyone else's fault that your bread and butter is something that you made 10 years ago without putting in any further effort in trying to make your product more appealing for new customers (Logic for Mac has been pretty stagnant for years).


Tech industry was built on single time purchases and then someone suddenly decided "it's not good enough anymore"? Yeah, right. What's wrong with Microsoft's Office model (they offer both subscription and one time purchase models)?

 

[gank41]

Looks like I'll be taking a couple Blue Yeti Pro's out with me and my iPad to the forest or park, maybe to the Lake.. Super cool that I won't need to have Power for my Focusrite. I've done that a couple times with my MBP, but the iPad would make it even more portable.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Wait a minute...

What if Apple introduces Calculator App for the iPads With a Subscription-Based model?

 

[Sharewaredemon]

They’re probably doing subscriptions because the App Store doesn’t support paid upgrades.

If only the FCP and LP teams had some influence at the company that runs the App Store.

There hasn't been a single paid upgrade for FCP X since it came out. They are doing subscription because it makes more money over time.

 

[theluggage]

It’s much more reasonable to sell a 300$ software on Mac that on an iPad (a device that cost less than half compared to a MacBook Pro). Also, 49$ per year is much more affordable than Adobe, so i don’t think that it is all that bad

I'm not a great fan of subscriptions, but $50/year is reasonable value for Logic c.f. the "total cost of ownership" of competitors like Ableton and Bitwig that cost $200-$500+ up front plus paid updates for ~50% of that (which will probably be required every 2 years or so).

(Also, whenever I've paid for a bit of iOS/iPad software it has been killed by an iOS update within a few years, so it's not like a 'lifetime' license on an iPad is forever...)

However, compared to Logic and FCP on Mac which have enjoyed perpertual, free lifetime upgrades - its a bit of a letdown.

For most software producers, I'd say that the perpetual free updates model is unsustainable (unless they charge a fortune up front) and iPad doesn't really offer a paid update version (which is silly) so subscriptions it is. OTOH, Apple are making money hand over fist by selling Macs and iPads, so a bit of subsidy isn't unrealistic....

 

[BeatCrazy]

Agreed, but have you read anything from Apple that says they WILL be providing regular updates after the move to subscription model or are you/we just assuming they will?

All of Apple's other first party apps get regular updates, why would this be any different?

 

[woolypants]

I think for pro tools a subscription model is not that bad. Especially for this price and the high quality software you get.

Exactly. The people in this forum complaining about $4.99 a month aren't those that these apps are aimed at. For staff at an AV studio or semi-pro musicians, this cost doesn't even deserve thinking about. It could easily be 10x as high and they'd still pay it without blinking.

 

[rubaxter]

On the one hand, HATE SUBSCRIPTION!

BUT ...

If you really use this software continually on an iPad, it seems a reasonable price to pay AS LONG AS Apple keeps it current and supports the iPad adaptations at the same time as improving with the rest of the line.

The real issue is being able to reasonably audition the software to see if it fits your needs and fits in well with REAL OS features like transparent file management across REAL OS hardware and networking protocols.

 

[RevTEG]

Oops. Sorry, meant video. Though, LumaFusion would probably be better since it's a onetime purchase and has a similar set of features I've heard...

I’m certainly not a pro, but I do edit weekly. I’ve moved all my editing, including video and audio, to LumaFusion on my iPad and MBP. For me, it works well.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

LOL, 15 minutes ago…

Tim Cook just tweeted about Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. He's ready to take your money, every month!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655955752077651970

 

[Steve121178]

Wait a minute...

What if Apple introduces Calculator App for the iPads With a Subscription-Based model?

Just buy PCalc which is the best calculator app on iOS/iPadOS by a mile.

 

[Gherkin]

Kind of expected. But OS is still too walled and restricted for such pro work.

You can’t even eject a removable SSD on an iPad. How can they expect people to be using a “pro” level app for their business if you have to gamble every time you remove the drive you are editing from? Seems crazy this isn’t in iPadOS yet.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

I’ve never gone from “hooray” to “oh no” so fast in my life

$4.99 is basically nothing and I’m sure whoever is doing work with these can afford it, but it just kills me to see Apple jump on the subscription bandwagon…
I’d rather them find a way to implement paid upgrades on the App Store, I don’t want every piece of software I use to be a subscription.

I’m sympathetic to devs needing a constant revenue flow to support development, I really do, but I cannot justify subscribing to every single app I use and I’m afraid that’s where the market is going

 

[Onimusha370]

I've waited for this moment for literally 10 years - feels like a dream.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING WITH SUBSCRIPTION ONLY THOUGH?!?!?!

I'd gladly pay a few hundred for full features apps like this. Was also hoping that Mac users who've dished out $600 on both apps might be able to download the iPad versions for free? Nope.

Man - such a shame.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

It's not mine nor anyone else's fault that your bread and butter is something that you made 10 years ago without putting in any further effort in trying to make your product more appealing for new customers (Logic for Mac has been pretty stagnant for years).


Tech industry was built on single time purchases and then someone suddenly decided "it's not good enough anymore"? Yeah, right. What's wrong with Microsoft's Office model (they offer both subscription and one time purchase models)?

This is just incorrect, Finalcut used to be a service from which you had to purchase an update every time they released one.
Going from FinalCut Pro 5 to FinalCut Pro 6? That wasn’t free.
Same with going from FinalCut Pro 6 to FinalCut Pro 7.
Then in 2011, they released FinalCut Pro X… and killed paid upgrades with it, along with frequent updates.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Apple today announced that Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are coming to the iPad later this month via subscription models.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

Apple says that Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro feature all-new touch interfaces that take advantage of multi-touch on the iPad:

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad will each be available for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, with a one-month free trial. Final Cut Pro requires an iPad with an M1 chip or newer, while Logic Pro requires an A12 Bionic iPad or newer. The apps will be available on the App Store starting on Tuesday, May 23.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro includes a digital jog wheel to navigate the Magnetic Timeline, move clips, and make frame-accurate edits. Live drawing allows users to draw and write directly on top of video content with the Apple Pencil, with support for Apple Pencil hover to skim and preview footage. Key commands are enabled when using an external keyboard. Final Cut Pro on iPad also supports the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's Reference Mode for color accurate editing.

Machine learning features include Scene Removal Mask to quickly remove or replace backgrounds without using a green screen, Auto Crop for adjusting footage for vertical, square, and other aspect ratios, and Voice Isolation to remove background noise easily.

The app includes a library of graphics, effects, and audio, including HDR backgrounds, animated patterns, and soundtracks that automatically adjust to the duration of a video.

Pro camera mode allows creators to shoot video in Final Cut Pro in landscape or portrait, monitor audio and recording time, and manually control settings like exposure, white balance, and focus. Multicam video editing automatically synchronizes clips for editing together, making it possible to switch angles with a single touch.

Media can be imported from Files or Photos and saved directly inside a Final Cut Pro project. The app also supports import of projects created in iMovie, and users can export Final Cut Pro projects made on iPad to the Mac.

Logic Pro

Logic Pro for the iPad uses a range of multi-touch gestures to play software instruments and and navigate projects. The Apple Pencil facilitates precision edits and detailed drawn track automation. Like Final Cut Pro, key commands are supported when using an external keyboard. Using the iPad's built-in microphones, users can also capture audio directly in the app.

The app has a full-featured mixer with channel strips, volume faders, pan controls, plug‑ins, sends, and precise automation. Multi-touch lets creators move and mix multiple faders at once, and the mixer meter bridge lets them navigate an overview of track levels.

An all-new sound browser with dynamic filtering helps creators explore all available instrument patches, audio patches, plug‑in presets, samples, and loops in one location. Users can simply tap to listen to any sound before adding it to a project.

The app includes over 100 instruments and effect plug-ins, with plug-in tiles for the most important controls. Production tools enable users to chop and flip samples, program beats and bass lines, and create custom drum kits.

A new time and pitch-morphing plug-in called Beat Breaker allows creators to swipe and pinch to reshape and shuffle sounds. The Quick Sampler can chop and transform samples into new playable instruments, while Step Sequencer lets users program drum patterns, bass lines, and melodies, and automate plug‑ins. Drum Machine Designer offers the ability to create custom drum kits by applying samples and plug‑ins to any drum pad. Using Live Loops, users can quickly build arrangements.

Logic Pro for the iPad supports roundtrip capabilities to move projects between Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad. iPad users can export completed... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Apple Announces Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad With Subscription Models

Pass

If I was going to go with a video editor right now Davinci Resolve is the move. Mac/PC and iPad versions.

Logic Pro on iPad is nice because there aren't a lot of DAW but how long before Ableton, Presonus or Universal Audio jump into the fray?

Frankly unless you're already immersed in a FCP or Logic Pro workflow i'd avoid Apple creative apps they're not committed to this space and now they want 50 dollars a year.

Nah

 

[RevTEG]

All of Apple's other first party apps get regular updates, why would this be any different?

Really? Well, I guess my idea of “regular updates” that include more than stability updates or very few minor additions must be different than yours. take for example…. All of Apples productivity apps… As a daily user, I can tell not much has changed. But again, we’re assuming unless Apple states otherwise.

 

[StellarVixen]

This is just incorrect, Finalcut used to be a service from which you had to purchase an update every time they released one.
Going from FinalCut Pro 5 to FinalCut Pro 6? That wasn’t free.
Same with going from FinalCut Pro 6 to FinalCut Pro 7.
Then in 2011, they released FinalCut Pro X… and killed paid upgrades with it, along with frequent updates.

I said 10 years ago, and yes, that is still wrong, it's actually 12, it's 2023 now and Logic Pro X came out in 2011, not 2013.

I know which model Apple used for Logic before that.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Apple didn't charge before tho. Applications like these used to be free from Apple but I guess those days are long gone.

Applications “like these” were never free, though. They once even sold for $999.

 

[ipedro]

I stand by my statement that Both Final Cut Pro and Logic are and will be the greatest apps on iPad and will convert many MacBook owners to iPad Only users.

I tried making iPad Pro my only computer and it worked well for the photography part of my work – I prefer Lightroom and Photoshop on iPad Pro with Pencil and multitouch gestures miles ahead of working on my Mac.

But I was missing Final Cut Pro so I ended up getting a MacBook Pro M1 Max. Now this dropping on a random Tuesday just blew my mind. I'm going to be looking at converting to iPad Pro as my primary machine again.

 

[ElectricPotato]

People paying monthly for something means the app needs regular upgrades and fixes or the subscriptions will be canceled.

When canceled, you lose access to the app. That is the biggest hook. There is nothing in the subscription/rental/you-own-nothing model that requires vendors to improve their product.

You might hope that they do. Maybe they will. It would be a competitive advantage IF they did. But the big hammer is access to the app, even if neglected for years. Given Apple's history of letting some products rot for years between updates, a rental fee is a hard sell.

 

[vjpulp]

You can’t even eject a removable SSD on an iPad. How can they expect people to be using a “pro” level app for their business if you have to gamble every time you remove the drive you are editing from? Seems crazy this isn’t in iPadOS yet.

I'm not even sure you're gonna be able to edit from an external drive. It sais "Media can be imported from Files or Photos and saved directly inside a Final Cut Pro project."