Final Cut Pro X now has over 2 million users, Apple says
Final Cut Pro X -- once a controversial redesign of Apple's professional video editing suite -- has topped 2 million users, the company announced at this week's National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas.
It took significantly less time to jump from 1 million to 2 million than to reach that first milestone, an Apple representative said. Pro X has been on the market since June 2011.
At the time the software generated numerous complaints from editors, due to interface changes and missing features. The software was even spoofed by editors on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show, which normally steers clear of Apple's professional products. Apple kept Final Cut Studio on sale for a short time after launch.
Since then the company has made numerous updates to Pro X, addressing many of the original complaints. It has nevertheless had to fight to keep Final Cut relevant, faced with competition like Adobe's Premiere Pro CC.
When it released its first Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pros last fall, Apple made Final Cut support a centerpiece, highlighting it in a stage presentation and surrounding marketing.
Recently the company hired Tim Dashwood to the Final Cut team. The developer was previously responsible for a collection of 3D and 360-degree VR plugins, suggesting that Apple wants to improve or expand in those areas.
It took significantly less time to jump from 1 million to 2 million than to reach that first milestone, an Apple representative said. Pro X has been on the market since June 2011.
At the time the software generated numerous complaints from editors, due to interface changes and missing features. The software was even spoofed by editors on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show, which normally steers clear of Apple's professional products. Apple kept Final Cut Studio on sale for a short time after launch.
Since then the company has made numerous updates to Pro X, addressing many of the original complaints. It has nevertheless had to fight to keep Final Cut relevant, faced with competition like Adobe's Premiere Pro CC.
When it released its first Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pros last fall, Apple made Final Cut support a centerpiece, highlighting it in a stage presentation and surrounding marketing.
Recently the company hired Tim Dashwood to the Final Cut team. The developer was previously responsible for a collection of 3D and 360-degree VR plugins, suggesting that Apple wants to improve or expand in those areas.
Comments
It's not a huge discount you end up saving 100 bucks. Compared to PP you can save a lot more. The Adobe shareholders really love the subscription based software business of Adobe. Me as a customer not so much.
That said, Resolve 12 is okay and free but runs a bit choppy on my older mbp where fcpx is smooth. Debating getting Color Finale.
Resolve 14 I haven't played with yet. Nice that Resolve Studio is now $300.
Having said that, for $300, it is a freaking miracle. It wasn't all that long ago that an NLE system could easily cost $50,000.
I doubt that's why Apple did it. The purpose is more forward thinking than that. The apps people learn on and get used to using is what they want to use when they go pro. If a generation of students learns FCP, then it has the potential to later become more of a standard in the industry, especially for independent production.
Also, whether Apple realizes it or not, no one at NAB cares that FCP X has 2 million users. What they care about is whether Apple is truly committed to this market and will continue to support and enhance the pro product line. I believe very few trust Apple to do so. They know that Adobe and Avid aren't leaving the market and will continue to refine their products. I think Apple needs to make a big visible commitment to this market (and maybe the Pro announcement is the first step in that), but I don't think they're going to gain that much traction unless they also announce a new suite of products or major enhancements or make a major acquisition. One possibility is for Apple to buy a company like ATOMOS. Or Dolby. That would make true believers (and also scare the hell out of people).
I don't rent any software either, but I don't think pros care that much - companies are used to mass licensing of software from Microsoft, etc. And it's not usually more expensive if one bought every new release in the past (although I usually skipped releases). Personally, at home, I'm still sticking with Photoshop CS6 as long as I can, but for a pro user who earns decent money, $120 a year for just Photoshop and Lightroom or $600 a year for the entire CC, including Premiere Pro, isn't much. When it comes down to it, that's coffee money - about $2.55 per workday (and it's tax deductible). My NY Times weekday-only print subscription (with free online access) costs about $400 a year and the entire Creative Cloud suite costs $600? - sounds like a bargain to me, although as I said, I'm still sticking with Photoshop CS6 as long as I can, but I'm generally not working as a pro these days.
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2017/04/apple-has-interestingly-updated-their-mac-pro-trademark-to-cover-augmented-reality-displays-smartglasses-and-more.html
So here's the question:
Did Apple suddenly wake up this month and think, "We'd better do something about the Mac Pro."
Or have they been planning to use the new machine as an AR development for some time, but were keeping it quiet?
I'm also wondering if the reason we won't see a Mac Pro year this year is because the AR stuff won't be ready and Apple wants to release them both at the same time.
I agree, what Mac are you using? I have the 6 Core Mac Pro 2013 but wonder if FCPro X rocks as well without the extra dedicated GPU?