Apple is bringing Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to iPad on May 23rd

Apple finally has professional creative software to match the iPad Pro. The company is releasing both Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad on May 23rd. The two tablet apps now feature a touch-friendly interface and other iPad-specific improvements, such as Pencil and Magic Keyboard support (more on those in a moment). At the same time, Apple wants to reassure producers that these are full-featured apps that won’t leave Mac users feeling lost.

Final Cut Pro adds a jog wheel (similar to a physical video controller) to help you quickly navigate and make certain edits. Other touch input makes it easy to reorder and edit clips, Apple claims. Things get better if you have an Apple Pencil. You can draw directly on your content, and hover over the timeline (on iPad Pro M2 models) to skim footage. You can edit HDR video on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and there’s even a pro camera mode that lets you adjust elements like white balance and (on M2 iPads) record in the ProRes format.

At the same time, Apple wants to reassure creators that Final Cut Pro for iPad can fit into a familiar workflow. It supports multi-camera video editing as well as customizable graphics and auto-adjusting soundtracks. You can easily remove background images or noises, and automatically crop to fit common video aspect ratios. Projects created on the iPad can be sent to a Mac (and vice versa), and you can bring in video from iMovie for iOS.

The apps also represent a change in Apple’s pricing strategy. Where Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for Mac are one-time purchases, you’ll have to subscribe to the iPad versions for either $5 per month or $49 per year. There’s a one-month free trial. The move isn’t surprising given Apple’s increasing reliance on services for revenue, but it may be disappointing if you were hoping to avoid the industry’s subscription trend.

Developing…

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Apple finally has professional creative software to match the iPad Pro. The company is releasing both Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad on May 23rd. The two tablet apps now feature a touch-friendly interface and other iPad-specific improvements, such as Pencil and Magic Keyboard support (more on those in a moment). At the same time, Apple wants to reassure producers that these are full-featured apps that won’t leave Mac users feeling lost.

Final Cut Pro adds a jog wheel (similar to a physical video controller) to help you quickly navigate and make certain edits. Other touch input makes it easy to reorder and edit clips, Apple claims. Things get better if you have an Apple Pencil. You can draw directly on your content, and hover over the timeline (on iPad Pro M2 models) to skim footage. You can edit HDR video on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and there’s even a pro camera mode that lets you adjust elements like white balance and (on M2 iPads) record in the ProRes format.

At the same time, Apple wants to reassure creators that Final Cut Pro for iPad can fit into a familiar workflow. It supports multi-camera video editing as well as customizable graphics and auto-adjusting soundtracks. You can easily remove background images or noises, and automatically crop to fit common video aspect ratios. Projects created on the iPad can be sent to a Mac (and vice versa), and you can bring in video from iMovie for iOS.

The apps also represent a change in Apple’s pricing strategy. Where Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for Mac are one-time purchases, you’ll have to subscribe to the iPad versions for either $5 per month or $49 per year. There’s a one-month free trial. The move isn’t surprising given Apple’s increasing reliance on services for revenue, but it may be disappointing if you were hoping to avoid the industry’s subscription trend.

Developing…

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.