Apple Unleashes iPad Pro M4, Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad, and Final Cut Camera for “Live Multicam” Feature

Software News

by Reuben EvansMay 7^th, 2024

Apple introduced the new iPad Pro with the new M4 chip. Apple also presented a new version of Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 for iPad, as well as a Final Cut Camera app for iPhone and iPad that seems to compete with the Blackmagic Cam app. The new Apple Pencil Pro was also debuted.

The iPad always sits between a content creation and content consumption device. The question with new features is perenially, “But will I use this instead of my MacBook Pro?” How will the new iPads stack up for creative pros?

Event focused on new iPad hardware and software

After skipping a year of iPad updates last year, Apple just released new versions of iPad Air and iPad Pro. The devices have a host of new features and accessories, and a new 13 inch size for the iPad Air. Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 for iPad were also presented, and they announced a new Final Cut Camera app with a very interesting multicam integration.

The event was entirely shot on the iPhone, and “edited on Mac and iPad”.

Apple event video report coming soon

Our own Nino Leitner attended the Apple event at Battersea Power Station, Apple’s new European HQ in London, and is working on a video report to be released tomorrow.

New iPad Air

The new iPad Air comes in 11″ ($599) and a new 13″ ($799) size. The chip gets bumped up to the M2 chip and storage options have been expanded to include 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB. Apple announced that the iPad Air also supports the new “hover” function of the (also new) Apple Pencil Pro. This could prove quite helpful for apps like DaVinci Resolve on iPad.

New iPad Pro debuts Apple M4 chip and becomes “Apple’s thinnest ever product”

The big news is that iPad Pro (available in 11″ and 13″ sizes) came out of the gate with Apple’s new M4 chip (Apple claims it is 4x faster than M2). The new chip needs significantly less power, which enabled them to make the chassis even thinner – it is now even thinner than even the iPod Nano which was the previously thinnest Apple product. (We really didn’t expect the iPod to ever be mentioned again during an Apple Keynote!)

As Nino reports from his first hands-on on site at Apple, 100 grams less on the iPad Pro 13″ make a big difference in how it “feels” to hold the large version of the iPad Pro. He confirms that now it seems to be possible to hold it in one hand for extended periods of time while performing touch gestures with the other hand, for example editing in Final Cut Pro, without becoming exhausted quickly.

Nano-texture etching treatment for iPad Pro reduces glare

The iPad itself sports a new “Tandem OLED” display that fuses two OLED displays together to achieve 1000 nits of sustained and 1600 nits of peak brightness. Apple calls the new display Ultra Retina XDR.

Apple’s nano-texture etching treatment is available for the new iPad Pro. It reduces glare and helps the iPad to function better in tough ambient conditions. A new feature of iOS has “reference mode” has been added for color-sensitive workflows like color grading. Apple is calling it “the world’s most advanced display.” We are already looking forward to dispaly professionals putting this claim to the test.

Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad with “Live Multicam” and Final Cut Camera

Final Cut for iPad (as well as Logic Pro) has been updated to version 2, and according to Apple, “have been redeveloped from the ground up to support touch”. This is great to hear as there have been some frustrations about missing touch functionalities with the original Final Cut Pro for iPad.

The headline feature is “Live Multicam.” It integrates with up to 4 different iPhones and allows FCP to live cut between them. This integrates with the new, free, standalone app, “Final Cut Camera.” What’s even more interesting is that you can control the cameras and adjust focus, white balance, exposure, and more from the cameras. It will be interesting to see the limits of this technology in areas with a lot of Wi-Fi traffic. It live streams proxies that are used for the live cut, and then automatically transfers ProRes full quality versions in the background.

Final Cut Pro 2 also allows users to edit projects from an external drive as well. This was a huge omission from the original version, and now makes FCP on iPad a much more interesting proposition.

Accessories – Apple Pencil Pro and redesigned Magic Keyboard

Apple also announced a new Magic keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro. The Apple Pencil Pro gets the ability to register barrel rolls and squeezes as controls. This will help users to reduce their trips to the menus in their creative apps. The new keyboard looks more similar to a MacBook keyboard and gets a row of function keys as well.

Updated: Final Cut Pro for Mac 10.8

The latest update for Final Cut Pro for Mac includes new AI features and organizational tools. According to Apple, “Final Cut Pro 10.8 introduces Enhance Light and Color, offering the ability to improve color, color balance, contrast, and brightness in one simple step, and is optimized for SDR, HDR, RAW, and Log-encoded media.” This feature sounds like an auto adjustment for a primary color correction.

Final Cut Pro’s next new AI feature is “Smooth Slo-Mo.” This new slow-motion effect intelligently generates and blends frames together. It sounds like a machine-learning improvement on Optical Flow retiming. Optical flow allows a user to stretch a clip’s duration beyond its original length by creating new frames. Sometimes, Optical flow retiming can produce artifacts that make it unusable. If “Smooth Slo-Mo” is an improvement over Optical Flow, it will be a valuable addition.

Final Cut added the ability to rename color corrections and video effects and effects. You can now drag effects from the inspector to other clips in the timeline or viewer. This is a small, but helpful update when you want to differentiate between the purposes of applying multiple instances of the same effect.

The searching in the timeline index has been improved to include searching for missing media or effects. This comes in handy when you are trying to systematically find an effect that may be causing a problem. Apple also reported, “The text-based timeline search now includes important information like reel, scene, camera angle, and more.” The “and more” probably refers to metadata entered into the inspector or file browser. Metadata is one of Final Cut Pro’s key strengths, so it is good to see that the searching capabilities are continuing to expand.

Availability

The new iPad Air, iPad Pro, and the Apple Pencil Pro, are availaible for order now on Apple.com They ship on May 15th.

Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad, Final Cut Pro 10.8 for Mac, Final Cut Camera, and Logic Pro will be available “later this spring”.
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that Final Cut Pro 10.8 for Mac will be available “today” – this has been corrected.)

For more information visit Apple.com

What do you think about the new iPads as tools for filmmakers? Let us know in the comments below!