Apple’s Creator Studio Just Got Its First Big Tune-Up
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Apple has just rolled out its first major update for Creator Studio, the subscription-based app suite it unveiled earlier this year, and while some features remain exclusive to paying subscribers, Apple hasn’t left the standalone versions of its apps out in the cold.
To recap, Creator Studio is essentially Apple’s answer to Adobe’s Creative Cloud, bundling its longtime Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro apps with the recently-acquired Pixelmator Pro into a single monthly or annual subscription that also includes enhanced versions of the otherwise-free “iWork” apps — Pages, Numbers, and Keynote — plus a “Content Hub” library of professionally designed templates, photos, graphics, and illustrations.
This all comes at a price of $12.99/month or $129 for a full year, but that can also be shared with up to five other family members. There’s also an educational package for $2.99/month or $29.99/year, which can’t be shared.
However, Apple couldn’t realistically bundle all of its apps into Creator Studio without acknowledging the folks who had already paid hundreds of dollars for the Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro Mac apps. Even Pixelmator Pro was sold as a $50 one-time purchase on the App Store. Creator Studio is a hard sell for anyone who already owns these apps, as it really only adds access to the iPad versions. Thankfully Apple has chosen not to force the issue (at least not yet), and is therefore continuing to update the standalone versions with the same features. Mostly.
Although the Creator Studio versions of the “Pro” apps exist as separate downloads with distinct icons, the old one-time purchase versions are still being maintained and updated. In January, Apple released Final Cut Pro 12.0 and Logic Pro 12.0 with the same features that came to the Creator Studio versions, including things like AI-powered Transcript Search and Visual Search in FCP, plus an all-new Synth Player and Chord ID in Logic Pro.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Pixelmator Pro. For whatever reason, Apple chose to bring a new Warp tool exclusively to the Creator Studio version, and left the standalone version without any updates — not even a minor maintenance tweak. That left many folks to wonder if Apple planned to abandon it entirely, forcing users to move to Creator Studio if they wanted to continue using the pro photo-editing app.
The good news is that the one-time purchased version of Pixelmator Pro is getting some love in today’s updates, although it appears the Creator Studio version will still retain the Warp Tool as an exclusive feature. Today’s updates add the same new features to both versions, but they don’t catch the standalone one up to the January’s Creator Studio update.
What’s New in the Creator Studio Apps
The two biggest beneficiaries of today’s updates are Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro. The digital audio workstation adds Dolby Atmos spatial audio mix previews and a new Step Reflex Pack to help with mixing 90s-style gritty, bass-heavy, or EDM tracks, while Pixelmator Pro significantly expands RAW image support.
Specifically, Pixelmator Pro now includes compressed RAW support for the Sony Alpha ILCE-7M5, FUJIFILM GFX 100S I, and FUJIFILM GFX 100RF cameras, plus High Efficiency (HE) and High Efficiency Star RAW images from
Nikon Z5 II and Nikon Z50 II cameras, and High Resolution RAW images from the Panasonic LUMIX DC-S1R M2.
Apple has also updated the templates and categories with new styles of App Screenshots, Bento Grids, and iPhone 17 device mockups — handy additions for developers or anyone else who needs to show off app screenshots in style.
Meanwhile, Final Cut Pro gets only “stability improvements and bug fixes,” as do the companion apps like Motion, Compressor, MainStage, and Final Cut Camera (for iPhone) and the “iWork” suite of Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Freeform (which has also been moved under the Creator Studio umbrella).
However, unlike Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro, Apple is no longer maintaining the legacy versions of the iWork apps, so users will need to update to the Creator Studio versions to get the latest features. These remain free for non-subscribers, but because they were already free to begin with, Apple likely saw no reason to maintain separate versions. Creator Studio subscribers can access some Apple Intelligence tools and a stock content library, but all the other capabilities remain available to everyone.
