In the end, Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional have arrived for the iPad Professional (and some different fashions with M1 and A12 chips, however they’re clearly meant to be Professional apps). The timing is curious–lower than a month earlier than WWDC and a few eight years after the iPad went Professional–nevertheless it’s a welcome announcement that lastly places the iPad Professional on par with the Mac on the subject of skilled audio/video work.
However they received’t come low-cost. For the primary time, Apple is introducing a subscription mannequin for Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional, which is able to run $4.99 a month or $49 a yr apiece after a one-month free trial. You possibly can’t purchase it outright even for those who needed to and it’s uncertain Apple will ever supply a “lite” model for a flat payment. Because the Mandalorian would say, “That is the best way.”
After all, this isn’t the primary time Apple has supplied a subscription to one in every of its merchandise. It sells quite a lot of providers (TV+, Music, iCloud+, and so forth.) in addition to the Apple One bundles. However it has lengthy been rumored to be exploring {hardware} and software program subscriptions to spice up recurring gross sales. A Ultimate Lower Professional subscription was referenced in a years in the past, and a {hardware} subscription service for the iPhone and different gadgets has been reportedly within the works for greater than a yr. So this was inevitable if not apparent.
Whereas the Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional subscriptions make excellent sense on the iPad Professional, the place individuals are much less prepared to spend a whole bunch of {dollars} upfront on a single app, it’s laborious to not see the transfer as an indication of issues to return.
Et tu, Mac?
In the meanwhile, the Mac model will keep as a one-time cost. Because it stands, the Mac model of remains to be out there for $299.99 whereas prices $199.99, however these costs appear unlikely to final. The final main replace to Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional got here in October 2021, so that they’re due for updates, very presumably to model 11 later this yr or early subsequent. And I don’t assume anybody can be shocked if Apple switches to a subscription mannequin.
Ultimate Lower Professional on the iPad can be Apple’s first app that requires a subscription—nevertheless it received’t be the final.
Apple
Based mostly on the present costs, a subscription mannequin for Ultimate Lower Professional on the Mac will seemingly price $9.99 a month or $99 a yr, whereas Logic Professional will in all probability be a little bit cheaper, perhaps $6.99 a month/$69.99 a yr. Which may not sound like horrible pricing, however take into account that it’s been 10 years since Apple has supplied a paid replace to both app. Based mostly on the subscription phrases above, somebody who began utilizing Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional in 2011 would by now have paid round $1,700 for a similar software program that in actuality price $498.98 to purchase outright.
Granted, these phrases are nonetheless cheaper and friendlier than the comparable Adobe apps, Premiere Professional and Audition, which every price $31.49 a month with no dedication, $20.99 a month on an annual foundation (with a cancellation payment equal to 50 p.c of the remaining steadiness), or $239.88 per yr. By comparability, Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional appear to be bargains, costing about 15 cents a day to make use of with the power to cancel at any time.
However who’s to say Apple’s subscription mannequin will solely apply to those apps? Apple additionally sells MainStage ($29.99), Movement ($49.99), Compressor ($49.99), and Distant Desktop ($79.99), and beforehand supplied in-app purchases for GarageBand. Then there’s the iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote), iMovie, Clips, Shazam, and even macOS itself. It wasn’t all that way back when Apple charged for all of these issues. With low subscription charges, Apple might hold us paying endlessly if we would like the perfect out of our gadgets. As an alternative of a $1,199 up-front price, a future MacBook Air might price $149.99 a month with Apple One and Ultimate Lower Professional. Why else do you assume Apple is stepping into monetary providers?
Let’s face it: Ultimate Lower Professional and Logic Professional are trial balloons. If individuals balk on the prices, it’s a comparatively low-risk endeavor, particularly since customers have been making do with out these apps on their tablets for years. But when they subscribe in droves—and I’m fairly sure they’ll—it received’t be lengthy in the beginning Apple sells, from the iPhone to the apps that run on it, can be a service.
