Along with new iPad hardware at its Let Loose event, Apple announced new versions of its professional media creation apps, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. The iPad versions are updated to version 2, while the Mac versions get AI enhancements.
Final Cut Pro for iPad and Mac
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 now has a new Live Multicam feature that allows users to connect and preview up to four cameras at once. Apple also announced Final Cut Camera, a new iPhone and iPad app that works with Live Multicam and provides adjustable settings such as white balance, manual focus, ISO, shutter speed, and zebra monitors and audio meters.
Final Cut for iPad 2 can now work on projects saved to an external drive, and those projects can be brought into Final Cut Pro on the Mac. Other features include 12 new color-grading presets, eight basic text titles, 20 new soundtracks, and the ability to add additional dynamic backgrounds to create effect overlays and title sequences.
The new Final Cut Pro 10.8 for Mac has new AI-based features. The new Enhance Light and Color feature offers one-step color improvement on SDR, HDR, RAW, and Log-encoded media. The new Smooth Slo-Mo feature blends frames together to create high-quality slow-motion effects. Other features include custom naming of color corrections and video effects, the ability to search clips with missing media or effects in the timeline, and text-based timeline search with information on reels, scenes, and camera angles.
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 is free to current users of the app. It’s free for a month to new users and then $4.99 per month. It’s also available for a $49 annual fee. Final Cut Camera will be available for free later this spring. The 10.8 update for Final Cut Pro for Mac is free to current users; new users can get a 90-day free trial, after which the app is $299.99 (one-time fee). Both the iPad and Mac apps will be available later this spring.
Logic Pro for iPad and Mac
Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for Mac 11 boasts new AI features to assist in the music-making process. The announced new features are in both the iPad and Mac versions.
The new Session Players feature uses AI to create a backing band that “responds directly to feedback,” according to Apple. It implements the current Drummer and adds a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player.
Stem Splitter allows the producer to take any audio file and separate it into four parts: Bass, Drums, Vocals, and Other Instruments. Then the producer can edit and apply effects to each track.
ChromaGlow uses AI to adjust the tone “with five different saturation styles to add ultrarealistic warmth, presence, and punch to any track.”
Logic Pro for iPad 2 is a free update to current users, while new users get a free trial for a month and then pay $4.99 monthly or $49 annually. Logic Pro for Mac 11 is free for current users, while new users get a free 90-day trial. After that, it’s a one-time purchase of $199.99. Both new versions of Logic Pro will be available on May 13.
Learn more about the products announced at Apple’s May 7 “Let Loose” event.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.