Final Cut Pro is coming to the iPad — but there's a catch

Final Cut Pro is coming to the iPad — but there’s a catch

It’s happening. After years of and years of begging Apple to do so, the company is finally bringing its popular Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro editing apps to the iPad.

Apple made the announcement in a press release on May 9, saying that both apps will be available for the iPad beginning May 23. Final Cut Pro will be compatible with any iPad with an M1 chip or newer, while Logic Pro will work with iPads running the A12 Bionic Chip or later.

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro running on iPads. — Apple

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro have long been the go-to video and audio editing apps for Mac computers. And as iPads have gradually become more and more powerful, lots of people have been waiting for the day when they could use those apps on their iPad along with their Mac. For casual and professional creatives alike, this is big news.

These new iPad apps are largely the same as their Mac counterparts, though Apple’s made a few key improvements to take advantage of the iPad’s touch-based interface. For example, Final Cut Pro gets a new jog wheel that will allow users to easily move video clips, make quick edits, and navigate through their video timeline using the iPad’s touchscreen. Furthermore, the new Live Drawing feature enables users with the Apple Pencil to “draw and write directly on top of video content .”

Someone using Final Cut Pro on an iPad. — Apple

As exciting as today’s announcement is, it does come with a bit of a catch — and that’s the price. Both apps are available as subscriptions, costing $5/month or $50/year If you were to buy the Mac versions of the apps, Final Cut Pro retails for a one-time payment of $300, while Logic Pro costs $200.

While the upfront price of admission is cheaper, switching to a subscription model instead of a single payment will likely turn some folks away. It could work out better if you only need to use the apps for a few months or a couple of years, but if you plan on using them for a long time to come, that’s eventually going to add up.

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