May 10, 2023
Yesterday Apple announced a major new update for its Pro Video/Audio Apps.
Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are coming to the iPad this year, this very month on May 23rd.
Read more via Apple Newsroom.
More Questions Than Answers
This announcement leaves pro users with more questions than answers.
Will Annual Subscription fees be the the new path forward for Apple, and it’s Pro Apps Bundle?
Will the subscription model make its way to the Mac Versions of the app?
Is a revamp of to the pricing structure of the long standing Pro Apps Bundle imminent?
Prepare to possibly see one or both of these changes announced at WWDC 2023.
I predict that the next major revision/release of Logic Pro, “Logic Pro 11” if you will, will be a subscription product and require MacOS Ventura or higher possibly the upcoming MacOS 14 release to run it. Will an Apple Silicon device be a requirement as well? If so this will have major implications for Mac Pro (2019) 7,1 power users. Only time will tell.
Apple’s latest revenue/earnings call hints that services revenue is the way forward for the company as hardware sales slump in a post Covid-19 economy.
“We are pleased to report an all-time record in Services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
Source: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/05/apple-reports-second-quarter-results/
Shifting back to Logic Pro for iPad a New Plugin can be spotted, in the video linked below, Beat Breaker.
Per Apple with Beat Breaker, “Producers can chop and flip samples, program beats and bass lines, and craft custom drum kits with a set of beat making and production tools. Beat Breaker, a new time and pitch-morphing plug-in, lets music creators swipe and pinch to radically reshape and shuffle sounds.”
Other features announced are already long standing components of the current Logic 10.7.7 software stack for MacOS, tools such as;
“Quick Sampler can chop and transform audio samples into entirely new playable instruments, and Step Sequencer lets users program drum patterns, bass lines, and melodies, and even automate plug‑ins with just a few taps.”
“Drum Machine Designer enables the creation of custom drum kits by applying samples and unique plug‑ins to any drum pad.”
“Live Loops, users can capture inspiration and quickly build arrangements by mixing and matching musical loops.”
Will the Beat Breaker plugin be exclusive to iPad version of the app? Will this plugin make its way to the Mac Version of the App in a future update? Will the future Logic Pro for Mac update be free or paid? My money is on paid yearly or monthly subscription? Price TBD. Maybe something along the lines of $9.99 per month or $99 a year. Still a steal compared to many other Digital Audio Workstations, like Pro Tools Ultimate which will run you $599.00 per year.
Apple’s current announcement hints at parity between MacOS and iPad OS systems; “Logic Pro for iPad supports roundtrip capabilities, making it easy to move projects between Logic Pro for Mac and iPad.”
However, this seems like an oversimplification. MacOS and iPadOS file systems operate quite differently. I don’t know anyone who runs their active Logic Pro projects via iCloud Drive. Also the question of Third Party plugin support could inhibit this advertised ease of use. For example if one was to use Waves V14 plugins within a Logic Pro project on a Mac, how will the iPad version of Logic handle these missing plugins?
One again this announcement leaves power users with more questions than answers.
Many questions abound about 3rd Party Plugin support. Per Apple, users can “Tap into compatible third-party instruments and effects right in your Logic Pro projects. Download apps from top developers like Eventide, FabFilter, and Moog Music on the App Store.
Companies such as Audio Modeling and FabFilter already develop and sell suites of iOS based plugins. Will this become the new normal? Will software developers be required to develop iOS versions of all of their creative tools moving forward to stay competitive, relevant and in use by the next generation of music producers who learn to produce music via mobile devices such as iPads and iPhones?
How much work will be required of popular third party software developers, specifically sample library/virtual instrument companies (Cinesamples, Spitfire Audio, Orchestral Tools) to port over and recode their existing catalog of plugins as iPadOS compliant.
Perhaps some of the proprietary samplers like Spitfire Audio’s “Dedicated Plugin” and Orchestral Tools SINE will be the first to embrace this new music making platform on iOS.
At this time I do not think that Kontakt 7 or any of its predecessors will be rewritten for iPad. But I could be wrong, once again only time will tell.
I’m curious to see how the RAM utilization works on iPad. Currently the highest end iPad Pro M2 only offers a maximum configuration of 2TB SSD with 16 Gigs of RAM. You must buy the 1TB model or higher of any M1 or M2 iPad Pro to have 16GB of RAM included. I suspect most iPad users do not have 1 or 2 TB iPad Pros. Which can cost as much or more than similarly spec’d MacBook Pro’s and Air’s when the additional costs of the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Gen 2 are added in.
Reflection on my own experience with RAM usage in Logic Pro on Mac, I often work in Logic session that use 30 – 110 or more gigabytes of RAM.
Will third party plugins have to be repurchased for iPad Specific versions if users have already purchased Mac versions of those plugins?
Kudos to apple for supporting A12 and newer iPads with these app releases. Your compatibility with these new apps will be guaranteed if you have the following iPad models or newer;
Logic Pro iPad Compatibility
- Works with iPads that have an A12 Bionic chip or newer:
- iPad mini 5th gen and later
- iPad 7th gen and later
- iPad Air 3rd gen and later
- 11-inch iPad Pro 1st gen (2018) and later
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro 3rd gen (2018) and later
- Requires iPadOS 16.4
In Conclusion
Will you be upgrading your Logic Pro version this year?
Do you see yourself leaving the Mac version of Logic for the iPad Version?
If you are plugin developer for Logic Pro, will you be supporting the new release of Logic Pro for iPad?