Apple invites select creators to event in Los Angeles

[Robert Brown (RLBrown)]

Hello SVMUG members and friends,

At our meeting (actually the pre-meeting) last Monday, the forthcoming Apple Creator Studio software suite was mentioned, and we speculated that an event would be held to announce it. That event was actually already announced, but apparently, only to a select group of creators.  Each invitee had to confirm or decline their invitation by January 9. I have not seen any live streaming announcements. The event is a three-day show in Los Angeles, January 27 - 29. 

As the software provided in the Creator Studio subscription is not a new release, I can understand that a full public announcement is not warranted. They will focus on creators who may need the full suite and the AI tools that will be added to it. The steep discount provided to educational institutions is in line with this. 

So we will be on the watch for press releases on Tuesday relating to the new subscription offering, the full set of video, audio, and live stage software.

Here are some thoughts on the offering.

The suite contains

Final Cut Pro on macOS, iPadOS

Logic Pro on macOS, iPadOS

Pixelmator Pro on macOS, iPadOS

Keynote on macOS, iPadOS, iOS

Pages on macOS, iPadOS, iOS

Numbers on macOS, iPadOS, iOS

Freeform

Motion on macOS

Compressor on macOS

MainStage on macOS

It will cost $129 per year for the standard subscription, and with steep discount for educational institutions and students.

A standard Apple Creator Studio subscription can be shared with up to five other family members using Family Sharing.

The subscription versions of the applications will have enhanced capabilities, in particular using A.I.

Here are the one-time prices for each.

Final Cut Pro ~$299.99 macOS 

(iPad version not available as a standalone purchase — iPad access is subscription-only) 

Motion ~$49.99  macOS 

Compressor ~$49.99  macOS 

Logic Pro ~$199.99 macOS 

(no standalone iPad purchase; iPad access via subscription) 

MainStage ~$29.99  macOS 

Pixelmator Pro ~$49.99 macOS 

(iPad version comes with Apple Creator Studio; no standalone iPad buy)

Keynote, Numbers, Pages, and Freeform are all free and are on both macOS and iPadOS.

Adding these together, you can see that a five-year subscription is the same cost as buying all of the standalone versions, except that with the subscription, you also get the iPad versions of Final Cut Pro, and for Pixelmator Pro  , the subscription also unlocks some advanced features, but details are vague at this time. 

What about the Adobe Creative Suite? In my opinion, at this time, Adobe has no worries over this. The Apple Creator Suite is oriented toward audio, video, and stage. The Adobe Creative Suite is oriented toward document preparation and publishing. Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign have publishing, pre-flighting, and packaging features that are industry standards. The Substance applications (Sampler, Designer, and Painter) are essential for preparing assets for 3D. For now, Apple has no match for these. 

Similarly, Autodesk is a wholly different application market. So I think these will be the big three for some time to come.

Apple for audio, video, and live media,

Adobe for professional document preparation and publishing.

Autodesk for 3D animation and assets, engineering applications.

Robert Lawson Brown mail