What’s the Future of Apple Final Cut Pro?

[NOTE: This commentary was written before WWDC 2023. Maybe something will happen there that changes my opinion.

Update: It didn’t.]

“Underwhelming” was the word Joe A. used to describe the 10.6.6 update to Final Cut Pro on the Mac. I think that’s precisely the right word.

After all of Apple’s talk about listening to users and their pride in the future roadmap of Final Cut, the best they could do was Color Conform?

Personally, I don’t think Apple knows what to do with Final Cut. Nor does it know what to do with the high-end video market or the video creatives that work there.

In the past, Apple used Final Cut Pro to drive high-end hardware sales. But, with the release of Apple silicon systems – and their embedded Media Engine – even entry-level systems handle video editing with ease. The problem is that Apple does not have a history of developing high-end software unless it also supports sales of high-end hardware.

To Apple’s credit, engineering has continued to support the software. Bugs get fixed. New operating systems get supported. The occasional new feature gets released.

But implementing long-standing user requests or fixing age-old bugs? Not so much. When you compare the feature evolution of Final Cut to either Adobe Premiere Pro or Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut is left behind in the dust.

Now, it may be that Apple has great plans for the future, but, since Apple doesn’t publicly discuss its roadmap, all we can judge of the future is what’s happened in the past. And, for the last three years, that isn’t a lot.

I think part of the problem is that Apple views the market differently from the traditional user of Final Cut. Apple looks at the market, I think, and says: “Where can our hardware and software benefit the most people today?” Clearly, in media, that’s the world of social media, influencers, mobile devices and simple, yet capable, tools.

Long-time users of Final Cut, though, work in more traditional, more demanding, media tasks like feature films, broadcast television, documentaries, streaming – industries with tighter standards, higher budgets and larger teams than social media.

NOTE: It surprises me that, with the growth of stellar productions on Apple TV, Apple hasn’t added more professional features to FCP to support those high-end productions. The power of saying “This popular show was edited in Final Cut.” would be significant. Equally, it is significant that Apple says nothing about this.

It’s easy for “old-timers” to dismiss the rise of social media as amateurs and neophytes. I am guilty of this in the past. But, the audiences in social media are vast and, often, larger than traditional media. Their work is skilled, entertaining, and just as deadline driven as any network broadcast. They have different needs, require easier to use software because their teams may not be as well-trained, but they, too, like telling stories.

Being different doesn’t make them less.

Apple, I think, realizes that this new social media cohort needs different tools. The iPad version of FCP is an example of that. And that’s OK. It’s just that, at the same time, it feels like Apple is abandoning an older tool that was very successful for a long time. It feels like there is no one with the power to effect change inside Apple that really believes in Final Cut Pro for the Mac.

UPDATE: To me, this is the most important point. There is no driving force at Apple that wants to make Final Cut better on the Mac. Apple trots out FCP when it wants to brag about how many 8K streams of video a new piece of hardware supports. But, otherwise, FCP feels adrift. Adding features to the Mac version that support the more limited form of FCP on the iPad is not the same as improving the Mac version.

So, what’s the future of Final Cut? I have no inside knowledge. I’ve talked to no one inside Apple. I just look at what’s been said and done in the past. FCP isn’t going to die. Apple will continue to support and extend it. Bug fixes and new features will continue to be released, albeit more slowly.

UPDATE: A reader pointed this out: When Apple introduced the new M2 Mac Studio, they showed a photo of Saturday Night Live editing on a Mac Studio. What software were they using? Premiere Pro.

Should you give up on Final Cut? That depends. It’s still the fastest editing platform available on the Mac. It’s fully supported by Apple. And, for what it does, it works great. But, compared to the competition, what it does is not that impressive anymore.

Apple says they listen to the user community. But, when we look back over the last three years, Apple may be listening, but they aren’t doing anything with what they’re being told. Three or four major features over three years is not a sign of committment.

Given the vast potential of what Final Cut could do, Apple’s disinterest speaks loudly by saying nothing.

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