TOPIC:

It's been 6 months since a point release. It's the week before NAB and there wasn't any news.

Has the FCP train halted as we know it? I really hope not, but man, it's hard to speculate about anything else.

Why would Apple release anything a week before NAB?

That silence doesn't mean anything. relax and edit

Fcpx was announced at NAB. Typically, there’s been a spring release of fcpx that roughly coincides with NAB.
Apple has publicly stated that they are committed to fcpx and have “plans in place” to improve it for professional workflows. NAB is typically hosts a large contingent of professional media creators. Why would they not release anything?
I’m not saying they have to, but there’s has been near silence since the announcement that they are committed to the professional. I’m not suggesting that fcp is eol, I’m just asking questions as this is the second longest streak of zero updates in the 11 year history of this software.

Typically new product announcements are made when NAB opens, not before it opens. That said, Apple has been pretty completely removed from NAB even before the pandemic. The show is a dinosaur that's dying.

While Apple has very little marketing advantage to tie releases to NAB or any trade show not specific to Apple development, it is a reminder that we've not seen any significant development for some time.

Programs like Premiere Pro and Resolve are advancing rapidly. There's the growth and implementation of AI features while FCP stagnates. While I love the magnetic timeline, trackless nature and keyword collections, resting on those features alone is discouraging when you see features added to competitors that you would find helpful.

In fact, NLEs like CapCut are now adding features targeting the Social Media business market that FCP still can't touch. While I don't expect Apple to kill FCP, it is clearly languishing. CapCut has already announced the development of a collaborative workflow and a Pro (paid) version. That other companies even indicate a roadmap while Apple is silent, doesn't elicit confidence.

When a company's product development falls short of user expectations, refuses to communicate, or shows no interest in marketing as far as the Pro Apps are concerned one has to take that as a sign.

I don't expect anything timed to NAB and I don't even expect anything for WWDC except maybe some screenshots showing how well Resolve works with Apple's under-the-hood OS improvements.

Maybe Apple is listening and maybe we've already heard their answer.

Pretty sure NAB will be OK for a bit, but it still doesn’t account for the lack of updates after Apple’s public re-commitment ceremony that’s nearly a year old. The problem is, I really don’t want to use anything else so I’m hoping that there’s a chance it’s still being actively developed and not just kept current for each new OS.

No doubt it’s tough to keep the faith - drop us a bone Apple!

This NAB, or the last hope will be Apple event in June. If they don't come up with a big update of FCP X, with the rumored Mac Pro, then it will be the end of it.

and then Blackmagic drop 18.5....... Apple is FCP EOL?

And with Resolve 18.5 Public Beta, FCP is really looking like it's just in maintenance mode. Noting that here will make no difference since Apple has shown they really don't care about the user base or the market especially since Resolves works well on Apple Silicon.

At the very most Apple will add some "also ran" features already implemented in competitors. Apple has no interest in innovating.

Since FCP and ProApps are such a small part of Apple's revenue and apparently aren't even needed to sell Apple hardware one would hope they'd have the courtesy to announce it's in maintenance mode. At least the honesty would count for something. Or otherwise, tease with "great things are coming" without details to reassure their base if that has any meaning to them.

Their silence coupled with the lack of development speaks poorly of them as a company as it's a business model that's damaging in this market.

If only Resolve could get around Apple's patents and implement an option for a magnetic trackless timeline.

And I'm even recommending CapCut to a client with social media video needs because of its collaborative workflow in beta.

Like it's in ICU on life support. If Apple's going to keep ignoring it find a bugler to blow Taps over it then pull the plug so I only have to remember one set of key commands alternating between it and Resolve.

so Day 1 and nothing... not even a 'stay tuned for exciting things'... from Apple... each new project I start I think I'll do it in FCP because I love its workflow, but I finish in Resolve more and more, and now with the text to edit I think I'll go all in with Resolve...

FCP loyalist here. Hard to be a true believer these days. The lack of updates does not instill confidence Apple will continue to support FCP. I will believe Apples “plans in place” to improve FCP when I see it. FCP is lagging behind and seems left for dead. Resolve 18.5 coming out with some great features. Apple should have added these by now with their M1/2 chips. I’m going to have to start learning Resolve. Have to face the inevitable truth. Not going to wait for Apple to yank the rug from under me.

I too have started to move over to Resolve and am completing my feature documentary project with it. I still live in some hope that they won't abandon FCP.. but its definitely not a way to plan for the future, particularly when talking about long term projects like documentary which can take many years to finish.

its also very telling that when you goto the apple website there is almost no way to navigate from the home page to the ProApps without doing a search for the specific app. It's almost like they don't want people to know about it..... I also use Logic Pro, which is amazing and has been updated much more regularly, but there is almost no advertising / marketing for it. Its bizarre.

To Be Honest , I can't tell if y'all are being serious or just posting to have an argument . FCP is not dead , I feel like only customers in the USA say that , & many updates doesn't really show improvement , it could just mean the company its rushing the releases & not taking their time with the rollouts & just patching up along the way , If you use the Final Cut ecosystem , you'll find out FCP is has all you need. & the Ecosystem providers all the time savers that you won't . When I hear folks complain about is FCP dead , it's kind gives me the feels of your not editing enough , or you think the grass in greener on the other side , FCP is probably the fast NLE , it saves you time , sit back & realize how much time you actually save using it . FCP is not dead , the other products are just hyping their engagement & folks are believing the hype , you could say ohh davinci has better color option , buy color finale , then it's the same without leaving FCP

It seems to me that we have seen this topic before
is FCP dead? to this day it's still available and updated to last MacOS version and compatible both intel&Silicon. It's true that the competition is updating very quickly and especially Premiere and Resolve, but I think it's related to capturing market between them. It would be necessary to assess what is the impact of so much innovation in ordinary work and if they improve what we already have

FCP does not have all I need. I need to spend significantly on plugins to match features in other NLEs.
FCP's only feature updates have been to add features already in existence in other NLEs and have often been in those NLEs for some time.

That we've had this discussion before is a testament to how many years Apple has been behind other NLEs in implementing features.

Being available and having issue-fix updates only shows it's in maintenance mode. Considering what happened to Aperture and several other products which were available for some time after development stopped, it is quite possible that feature development has stopped. Features such as speech-to-text which are now in every major and many consumer/social media focused NLEs but not in FCP is but one example. AI-based masking is another example. Collaborative workflow is still another.

I wonder if they're planning to announce something at WWDC and tie it into a release of a new Mac Pro or Mac Studio.