Apple and third-party developers have slowly ramped up the professional-level software on iPads over the past few years, but one piece of the puzzle was missing: Apple’s own Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. That’s finally changing.
Apple announced today that its professional video and audio editors on the Mac, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, respectively, are now also available on the iPad. The mobile versions have an “all-new touch interface and intuitive tools,” as well as support for drawing on top of video content using the Apple Pencil. The core features seem to be close to the desktop applications, though.
Apple said in a press release, “Final Cut Pro for iPad introduces a powerful set of tools for video creators to record, edit, finish, and share, all from one portable device. Logic Pro for iPad puts the power of professional music creation in the hands of the creator — no matter where they are — with a complete collection of sophisticated tools for songwriting, beat making, recording, editing, and mixing.”
iMovie and GarageBand have been available on iPads for years, but Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are Apple’s professional-level editors with more features and a higher learning curve. They’re not for everyone, but it is exciting to see more feature-packed editing apps running on a tablet. DaVinci Resolve, another feature-packed video editor in the same category as Final Cut Pro, arrived on iPads in 2022. Apple even supports importing projects from the mobile versions of iMovie and GarageBand.
The main catch is that these apps have a required subscription, unlike the desktop Mac versions. You’ll have to pay $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year for each application, with a one-month free trial available. Final Cut Pro is available on Mac for a one-time purchase of $299.99, with Logic Pro coming in at $199.99. That subscription price isn’t terrible — it will take you six years of annual payments in the iPad version of Final Cut Pro to match the desktop application, and not everyone can drop $300 at once. Also, there’s limited compatibility with the desktop apps, as you (seemingly) can’t move Final Cut projects from a Mac to an iPad.
Final Cut Pro requires an iPad with an M1 chip or later, and Logic Pro requires an iPad with an A12 Bionic chipset or better.
Source: Apple