Premiere Pro 22.1.1 Released – Up to 5x Faster ProRes Transcoding on M1 Pro and M1 Max

Software Update

by Francesco AndreolaDecember 20^th, 2021

The latest version of Adobe Premiere Pro (version 22.1.1) brings hardware acceleration to Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. This offers enhanced speeds when working with high-resolution ProRes footage. Other major updates involve new text and graphics tools.

The December update of Adobe Premiere Pro (22.1.1) is here and it mostly centers around performance. In fact, it looks like Adobe is trying to leverage the most modern hardware to offer a faster and better editing experience on both Windows and Mac machines.

Moreover, the capabilities of the recently-introduced “Text” panel have been expanded. Graphics tend to have a more important role in today’s content creation. For this reason, it is critical for video editors to have a time-saving set of tools. Let’s take a quick look at these improvements.

Premiere Pro 22.1.1: 5x faster on M1 Pro and M1 Max

With the recent release of Apple’s new MacBook Pros, Adobe is putting in work to provide users with state-of-the-art software capable of exploiting the processing power of these little beasts.

In fact, Premiere Pro 22.1.1 introduces new hardware acceleration for the Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. According to Adobe, the software can now reach 5x faster playback and transcoding speeds when working with 4K and 8K ProRes footage compared to Intel-based 16” MacBook Pros with similar specs.

The latest version of Premiere Pro should also provide about 2x faster export speeds when dealing with high-resolution HEVC footage (compared to the 20.0.0 version).

Moreover, there’s good news for Windows users as well. In fact, playback performance improvements ranging from 5 to 40% are now possible on Windows systems with an integrated GPU.

A 30% increase in speed when performing a Color Match within the Lumetri Color panel represents an additional performance improvement. This should make color correction workflows faster and easier.

New text and graphics tools

Imagine having to manually correct a typo in a video containing hundreds of graphics. Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it?

Luckily the latest update of Premiere Pro offers a couple of new tools that can come in handy when trying to have such a painful situation solved in a short amount of time.

In fact, a “Search and Replace” function has been added to the “Text” panel: users can now search for specific words and edit them at once. Along with a new “Spell Checking” tool, these two simple, but smart improvements can save you hours of work.

Furthermore, creators who work with right-to-left scripts on a daily basis (like in the case of contents created for the Middle Eastern and South Asian audiences) can now rely on a new text engine and dedicated tools within the Essential Graphics panel.

Last but not least, editors have now the ability to add polygons to their graphics with precise controls for rounded corners adjustments.

Price and availability

If you already have an active Premiere Pro subscription, you can now download the latest release of the software (version 22.1.1) from the Beta section within the Adobe Creative Cloud app. On the other hand, if you haven’t subscribed yet, you can purchase a 1-Year Subscription Plan from B&H.

Featured image credit: photo by Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

Have you moved over to the new M1 Pro or M1 Max yet? Download the latest update today and let us know about your experience with these performance improvements in the comments below.