Apple Final Cut Pro 11 has arrived, not only ushering in the next generation of professional video editing for Apple, but also marking its refreshed and updated approach to creative professional software in general.
News from Cupertino is flowing at a breakneck pace these days. In addition to exciting hardware debuts, complete with the latest generation of Apple Silicon, Apple’s software news was also important.
In addition to the company launching Apple Intelligence, news recently emerged that Apple is acquiring Pixelmator, the company behind the image editing and design applications Pixelmator Pro and Photomator. Now Apple has unveiled Final Cut Pro 11, the first “numbered” update to Final Cut in more than a decade.
It took a long time. Apple released Final Cut Pro 10.8.1, released in August.
While the first major release in thirteen years is big news in itself, it’s just the latest in a series of major changes Apple has made in recent years, changes that not long ago felt like they would never come.
Final Cut Pro Leaving the doldrums took a while
Let’s take a step back to 2011, when Final Cut Pro reception was poor. Final Cut Pro was once a big player in video editing, but then Final Cut Pro X landed with a thud instead of a bang, with users complaining about the loss of many features. Rewriting a code base is a challenge, and in the case of Final Cut Pro X, it came with significant compromises.
Although features were added back in fits and starts, the damage was done and Final Cut Pro, once a dominant force in the video world, lost a lot of traction.
At this point, it seemed like Apple might be closing the book on its professional video editing software. Users even signed a petition asking Apple to sell Final Cut Pro to another developer.
However, Apple stayed the course and regularly released updates to reintroduce older features, introduce new features, and advance Final Cut Pro X. Some users left and of course never came back, but others did PetaPixel‘s Jordan Drake stuck around. His and others’ loyalty has been rewarded in recent years, with Apple developing a very good and functional Final Cut Pro for iPad, a Final Cut Camera app for iPhone and continuing to increase the frequency and amount of Final Cut Pro updates on the Mac increased.
And that brings us to today. Final Cut Pro 11 not only brings many new features, but also reflects Apple’s broader, growing software goals.
The resurgence of Final Cut Pro is a testament to Apple’s return to professionals
As a long-time Mac user, since I was a kid using Mac OS 8, I’ve seen Apple change in countless ways, some good, some not so much. The worst change, however, was Apple’s move from professional hardware and software development to the broader consumer market.
It’s hard to pinpoint the low point for Apple’s professional market, but I’d put it somewhere around the four-year period when Apple launched Final Cut Pro although the Touch Bar MacBook Pro gives it a run for its money), and then Apple killed Aperture.
However, we are (mostly) full circle. Thanks to Apple Silicon, the Mac range is as powerful and capable as ever before. Final Cut Pro is no longer a shell of its former self. In fact, even the iPhone (the device that diverted Apple’s attention from the Mac for too long) is now a professional imaging device.
Most importantly: it feels as if Apple is taking the professional user seriously again. The company’s marketing, the way it introduces and talks about its products, and the way it deploys development resources all point in a positive direction. No company can ever be everything to everyone, it’s an impossible goal that is a mistake to pursue. However, if Apple’s approach to Final Cut Pro 11 is any indication, the company not only cares about the professional market, but also wants to spend the time and money to offer it something of value.
Final Cut Pro 11 introduces a ton of exciting new features, including impressive AI-powered masking, and lives up to its “Pro” billing. There are plenty of great video editor options, including Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, but Mac users can safely count Final Cut Pro 11 among them.
While it remains unclear whether Final Cut Pro 11 will hold the same position of influence that Final Cut Pro 7 Studio did when it was replaced 13 years ago, it’s crystal clear that Apple is serious about professional software. Final Cut Pro 11 does say a lot about Apple’s software goals, but the company’s broader investment in professional software, a space that once looked abandoned, also speaks to Apple’s ambitions as a one-stop shop for creators in the general. Hardware, software, services, everything under one roof.
We’re a long way from Apple’s software being enough reason to make anyone switch from PC to Mac, but we’re not far from a world where a Mac owner, even a professional one, can create anything he or she wants. she needs with an application developed by Apple. Audio? Bill. Video? Naturally. Photography? Maybe. Very few companies can check all these software boxes – only one, really: Adobe – and none do so while also making the computers that run the software. Apple could. Whether that will be the case remains to be seen.
Image credits: The featured image contains an Apple image and an item licensed through Depositphotos.
