Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro Have Finally Come to iPad
Apple has brought Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to iPad to allow both video and music creators to edit their content without needing a full-size computer.
The Cupertino tech giant says that the two apps weren’t just dropped onto the mobile platform but were curated with new touch interfaces that allow users to fully take advantage of an iPad workflow. Final Cut Pro for iPad introduces a powerful set of tools for video creators to record, edit, finish, and share while Logic Pro for iPad ships with a complete collection of “sophisticated” tools for songwriting, beat making, recording, editing, and mixing.
Final Cut Pro for iPad
Apple says that the new touch interface makes Final Cut easy and intuitive to use on the tablet workspace. It features a new job wheel which the company says enables users to interact with content “in completely new ways” and makes editing simple.
Using it, editors can navigate the Magnetic Timeline, move clips, and make fast frame-accurate edits with just the tap of a finger. Multi-Touch gestures are also supported.
The app also supports Live Drawing to allow editors to draw and write directly on top of video content using an Apple Pencil. Specifically on iPad Pro with M2, the Apple Pencil “hover” capability allows editors to quickly skim and preview footage without ever touching the screen. Editors can also speed up their workflows by adding a Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard Folio to utilize key commands.
Final Cut Pro for iPad supports HDR video and allows editors to properly grade footage using Reference Mode.
The Pro camera mode allows video editors to shoot high-quality video directly in Final Cut in portrait or landscape orientation, monitor audio and available recording time, and manually control settings like focus, exposure, and white balance.
“Creators can capture, edit, and publish from a single device while in the field, and on iPad Pro with M2, users can even record in ProRes,” Apple says. “With multicam video editing, clips can automatically be synchronized and edited together, and users can even switch angles in a multicam clip with just the touch of a finger.”
Apple says that the video editing app takes advantage of Apple silicon and machine learning to speed up some editing tasks. For example, with Scene Removal Mask, creators can quickly remove or replace the background behind a subject in a clip without using a green screen. Auto Crop adjusts footage for vertical, square, and other aspect ratios, and with Voice Isolation, background noise can easily be removed from audio captured in the field.
Final Cut for iPAd also ships with a large library of graphics, effects, and audio to assist editors on the move. Finally, editors can import media from Files or Photos and save it directly into a Final Cut project.
The app also supports the ability to import projects created in iMovie for iOS, and any project started on Final Cut for iPad can be exported to be finished in Final Cut on a Mac (this does require Final Cut 10.6.6 or later).
Logic Pro for iPad
Apple says Logic Pro for iPad allows music creators to have the same power of the desktop app in a mobile form factor.
“With Multi-Touch gestures, music creators can play software instruments and interact naturally with controls, as well as navigate complex projects with pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-scroll. Plug-in Tiles put the most useful controls at the creator’s fingertips, making it easy to shape sounds quickly. With the built-in mics on iPad, users can capture voice or instrument recordings, and with five studio-quality mics on iPad Pro, users can turn virtually any space into a recording studio,” Apple says.
“Creators can also make precision edits and draw detailed track automation with Apple Pencil, and connect a Smart Keyboard Folio or Magic Keyboard to utilize key commands that speed up production.”
Logic Pro for iPad supports a new Sound Browser which uses dynamic filtering to help editors find the exact sound they’re looking for. It displays all the available instrument patches, audio patches, plug‑in presets, samples, and loops in a single location, and Apple says users can tap to audition any sound before loading it into a project.
Logic Pro for iPad also ships with over 100 instruments and effects plug-ins such as vintage EQs, compressors, and reverbs. Overall, it comes with a huge collection of what Apple describes as realistic-sounding instruments and powerful synths. It also includes what is called Sample Alchemy, a new sample manipulation instrument that is designed to transform any audio sample.
The app also has serious beat making and production tools such as Beat Breaker, a new time and pitch-morphing plug-in that lets music creators swipe and pinch to reshape and shuffle sounds, Quick Sampler, which can chop and transform audio samples into entirely new playable instruments, and Step Sequencer, which lets users program drum patterns, bass lines, and melodies, and automate plug‑ins. Logic Pro for iPad has a full-featured pro-level mixer, too.
Logic Pro for iPad supports what Apple calls “roundtrip capabilities” which are designed to make it easy to move projects between Logic Pro for Mac and iPad. The app can also export finished songs in a variety of compressed and lossless audio formats as well as individual audio track stems. Music can also be exported directly into a Final Cut project.
Pricing and Availability
Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad will be available on the App Store as subscriptions starting Tuesday, May 23 for $4.99 per month or $49 per year with a one-month free trial. Final Cut Pro is compatible with M1 chip iPad models or later, and Logic Pro will be available on A12 Bionic chip iPad models or later. Both require iPadOS 16.4.
Image credits: Apple
