You can open Final Cut Pro projects from iPad on the Mac, but not vice versa. Unfortunately, if you had plans to start editing a Final Cut project on your Mac and then move it to the iPad, you are going to be disappointed. One-way project compatibility You must export Final Cut Pro projects from the iPad before you can use them on your Mac. This includes using J/K/L to control media playing, and I/O for jumping to the start and endpoints of your video. On the bright side, popular shortcuts, and those you are more likely to use frequently, are supported in the iPad version of Final Cut Pro. Similarly, you cannot bring up the Export menu using the Cmd-E shortcut. Although keyboard shortcuts are supported on Final Cut for iPad, some are missing.įor example, pressing V to enable/disable a clip does not work. They greatly help in speeding up your editing workflow. If you are heavily into video editing, you know how useful Final Cut Pro’s keyboard shortcuts are. You cannot set the timeline to appear on your iPad, with other components being visible on the connected screen. The app will mirror your iPad’s display to the external screen.

While M1 and newer iPads support external displays, Final Cut Pro for iPadOS is lacking in this department.

On Final Cut Pro for Mac, you can make full use of a multi-monitor setup. So, if the log profile you shoot in is missing, editing videos on the iPad is a no-go for you. While support for several LUTs is built-in, you cannot use third-party plugins to add support for more. This is a problem if you shoot using a particular log profile. What’s worse is there’s no support for custom lookup tables. So, you cannot use your favorite Final Cut Pro plugins while using your iPad to edit videos.ĭepending on your editing workflow, this could be a bummer, especially if you heavily rely on third-party effects, titles and transitions in your videos. Unfortunately, the iPad version does not support plugins. One of the best parts about Final Cut Pro for the Mac is its vast library of third-party plugins. Final Cut Pro for iPad lacks plugin support However, this only works for the built-in soundtracks. Plus, when you add music to the timeline, it is automatically trimmed to fit the video’s length. On the flip side, Final Cut Pro for iPad provides all the handy audio editing tools, like fade in/out, loudness boost, noise removal and voice isolation. This is a significant limitation and could affect your editing workflow. You can expand or trim the audio track, but detaching it from the video file is not possible. But this is not possible on the app’s iPad version. On Final Cut Pro for Mac, you can detach the audio track from a video with just a few clicks. So, good luck if you are trying to edit large videos on your iPad with 128GB or 256GB of storage.

The ability to analyze a video or audio during import is also missing.Īny media file you import is automatically copied into the project bundle - you can’t leave them in place. While this approach is simpler, it is not an ideal solution when managing lots of video clips.Īlso, while you can import media from external storage drives on Final Cut Pro for iPad, the app offers no support for keywords or roles. Then you can drag them to the main timeline for editing. Similar to iMovie, you create a project, and then import your clips into it. On the iPad, though, there’s no media library per se. Every Final Cut library on a Mac can consist of multiple projects and events, which makes organizing your media library easier. This is an area where Final Cut Pro for iPad vastly differs from its Mac counterpart. Library management is vital when editing videos, as it ensures you can find the clips you are looking for easily. Library management Media management on Final Cut on iPad is similar to iMovie. Apple likely will address many of the below-mentioned limitations with future releases. Note: This is only the first build of Final Cut Pro for the iPad.

Conclusion: Final Cut Pro for iPad vs.

How iPad and Mac versions of Final Cut Pro differ: However, due to differences between iPadOS and macOS, some weird limitations affect the app’s iPad version. On the iPad, the editing tool utilizes a touch-first interface, although Apple tried to retain a sense of familiarity for Mac users. With the new version of Final Cut Pro for iPad, Apple offers video editors a new, portable solution that it calls “the ultimate mobile studio” (alongside an iPad version of music editing software Logic Pro).ĭespite the two versions of Final Cut Pro sharing a name, the experience of using Final Cut Pro on the iPad is not the same as the Mac version. They both deliver advanced nonlinear video editing and other features that make them the software of choice for professional film editors. Final Cut Pro: iPad and Mac versions comparedįinal Cut Pro competes with Adobe Premiere Pro.

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