Apple has introduced new and enhanced versions of its popular video editing software, Final Cut Pro, for Mac and iPad users. The latest updates, Final Cut Pro 11 for Mac and Final Cut Pro 2.1 for iPad bring many advanced features to deliver a more efficient and creative editing experience. These updates, from AI-driven tools to immersive editing for Apple’s Vision Pro, mark a significant step forward in video editing technology.
Final Cut Pro 11: Cutting-edge features for Mac
With Final Cut Pro 11, Apple has optimised the software for its powerful M-series chips, introducing features that expand video editing possibilities. Here are some of the highlights:
Magnetic Mask: Leveraging AI technology, Magnetic Mask isolates people or objects in a scene without needing a green screen. This feature gives you more flexibility to customise backgrounds or add different environments to your video, making the editing process faster and more intuitive.
Transcribe to Captions: This tool, powered by an Apple-trained large language model, automatically converts spoken audio into closed captions. The transcription is accurate and helps ensure accessibility, saving you the time of manual captioning.
Spatial video editing for Apple Vision Pro: Final Cut Pro 11 supports spatial video editing, specifically designed for Apple’s Vision Pro headset. Users can now add effects, colour corrections, and titles in 3D space, adjusting the depth and position of elements in their projects. The Mac Virtual Display also lets you bring the editing process into the Vision Pro with an ultra-wide, private, and immersive view. An update later this year will also support a panoramic 32:9 display, similar to having two 5K monitors side by side.
Quantec Room Simulator plug-in: A new plug-in mimics the distinctive sound of the vintage Quantec Room Simulator reverb hardware, adding a professional touch to your audio tracks.
To enhance productivity, Apple has also streamlined workflow tools with these improvements:
Magnetic Timeline: This feature lets you add and rearrange clips seamlessly while keeping video and audio perfectly synchronised. It’s a core tool for smooth, efficient editing.
Multi-cam editing: You can now sync multiple camera angles in a project, switching between shots effortlessly during playback. New shortcuts also make it easier to adjust views in the timeline and reposition clips.
Optimised for Apple Silicon: With optimisations tailored for Apple Silicon, you can now play back more 4K and 8K video streams at full quality and apply playback effects quickly, significantly speeding up collaboration on projects.
Enhanced Proxy Tools: These tools help reduce file sizes and transfer times, allowing you to work more efficiently with large video files.
Other tools, like Compressor and Motion, offer broader format support and powerful visual effects to enhance 2D and 3D titles. Together, these new tools make Final Cut Pro 11 a compelling choice for Mac video editors regardless of their experience level.
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1: Enhanced tools for creativity on the go
Building on the launch of Final Cut Pro for iPad earlier this year, the new version, Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1, brings impressive editing tools to Apple’s mobile platform. Here’s a closer look at what’s new:
Enhance Light and Colour tool: This new tool allows you to adjust colour, balance, contrast, and brightness in video and images in a single step. It supports SDR, HDR, RAW, and Log-encoded media. This feature is designed to make the colour-grading process faster and more accessible, even for beginners.
Haptic feedback for Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard: Users will now feel a slight pulse when making adjustments, like trimming clips, moving media, or snapping clips in place on the timeline. This subtle feedback provides a more tactile editing experience.
Vertical pinch gesture: With this new one, you can quickly expand or minimise clip height on the timeline, making it easier to manage your editing space. The iPad version also supports high frame rates (90fps, 100fps, and 120fps) on iPhone 16 Pro footage, allowing for smoother slow-motion effects.
Living Drawing feature: Final Cut Pro for iPad now includes four additional drawing options – watercolour, crayon, fountain pen, and monoline pen – letting you add a personal touch to animations and overlays in your videos.
Availability and pricing
The Final Cut Pro 11 update is free for existing Mac users, and the Final Cut Pro 2.1 update is free for current iPad users. For those new to the software, Final Cut Pro 11 for Mac is available for purchase on the Mac App Store for S$399.98. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 can be subscribed to on the App Store for S$6.98 per month or S$69 annually.
With these updates, Apple has delivered tools that enhance the quality and efficiency of video editing across devices, appealing to beginners and professionals alike. Whether editing a project on the go with an iPad or taking full advantage of a Mac’s processing power, the new Final Cut Pro offers the best of both worlds.
