Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Apple
  4. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Apple has some ideas on how to spend your time in lockdown

Add as a preferred source on Google
 

In an apparent nod to the growing number of people around the world currently stuck at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, Apple has started offering free 90-day trials of its Final Cut Pro X video editing software, and also its Logic Pro X audio production suite.

Recommended Videos

So if you’re a Mac user twiddling your thumbs and wondering how you’re going to fill the umpteenth day, or even week, in home isolation, how about learning a new skill by shooting some video or creating some audio and running it through these powerful pieces of software?

Apple previously offered a 30-day free trial for its $299 Final Cut Pro X software, but that’s now been extended to 90 days for a limited period. And let’s be frank, the software is so full of features that you’ll probably need those extras days to get your head around all that it has to offer.

As for Logic Pro X, this is the first time for Apple to offer a free trial of the $199 software, so it’s a good opportunity for audio producers and other creatives to take it for a spin.

For sure, Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X require a decent chunk of time to properly learn, but immersing yourself during the lockdown is a good chance for some self-learning and should help you to momentarily forget that there’s a global pandemic going on out there.

To start your Final Cut Pro X free trial, head over to Apple’s product page for the software and you’ll find the “free trial” button at the top right of the page. At the time of writing, the button isn’t showing on the product page for Logic Pro X, but Apple is promising to launch the offer in the coming days — so it may already be showing.

Oh, and if you’re using a previous version of the Final Cut Pro trial, you’ll be able to use this version free for a further 90 days.

If you’re on the lookout for some alternatives to Final Cut Pro X that also work on other platforms, Digital Trends has some great suggestions for you. And here are some free alternatives to Logic Pro X, too.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
What’s the Right Laptop for a Student on a $1,000 Budget?
The best college laptop isn't the one with the longest spec sheet. It's the one that fits your budget and the way you'll actually use it.
Dell XPS 14 Review: Sticker

This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Dell

Buying a laptop for college isn't a decision made in isolation. Tuition, textbooks, housing, meal plans, transportation, and course materials all compete for the same budget, leaving most families with one question before the semester begins: how much is enough to spend on a laptop without paying for features that may never get used?

Read more
Siri is about to hear everything you say, but Apple’s privacy approach has me cautiously on board
Apple's new Audio Intelligence features want to hear almost everything you say. A privacy document released alongside them explains why I am mostly okay with that.
Apple Watch Audio Intelligence features

Apple used its September 2026 launch event to enter a feature category it has mostly avoided until now: ambient listening. Siri Recap, Live Rewind, Music Recognition with Shazam, and Sound Recognition all landed on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. All four depend on the watch microphone picking up sound around you far more often than any previous Apple product has.

Siri Recap listens for conversations throughout your day and turns them into short AI summaries you can check later. Live Rewind is smaller in scope but arguably more useful day-to-day. It transcribes the last 15 seconds of whatever was just said with a double-press of the crown. This is perfect for catching a name, a book title, or directions you missed the first time. Music Recognition uses Shazam to identify songs playing nearby without you lifting a finger, much like Now Playing on Google's Pixel devices. Sound Recognition is a useful accessibility feature that listens for sirens, doorbells, and alarms to alert users who have a hearing impairment.

Read more
Can You Turn a Mini PC Into a Local AI Agent?
Furniture, Table, Computer

This post is brought to you in paid partnership with MSI

Not every AI task needs the scale of the cloud. An employee searching company documents, a retail kiosk answering product questions, or a digital sign reacting to customer behavior all need fast responses, but they don't necessarily need to send every prompt to a remote data center. Running those workloads locally reduces latency, keeps sensitive information closer to where it's generated, and can lower the ongoing cost of AI deployments. As a result, many organizations are moving toward hybrid AI architectures that handle routine requests on-device while reserving cloud models for tasks that genuinely need more processing power.

Read more