Roger Fingas
Final Cut Pro X — once a controversial redesign of Apple's professional video editing suite — has topped 2 million users, the company announced at this week's National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas.
It took significantly less time to jump from 1 million to 2 million than to reach that first milestone, an Apple representative said. Pro X has been on the market since June 2011.
At the time the software generated numerous complaints from editors, due to interface changes and missing features. The software was even spoofed by editors on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show, which normally steers clear of Apple's professional products. Apple kept Final Cut Studio on sale for a short time after launch.
Since then the company has made numerous updates to Pro X, addressing many of the original complaints. It has nevertheless had to fight to keep Final Cut relevant, faced with competition like Adobe's Premiere Pro CC.
When it released its first Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pros last fall, Apple made Final Cut support a centerpiece, highlighting it in a stage presentation and surrounding marketing.
Recently the company hired Tim Dashwood to the Final Cut team. The developer was previously responsible for a collection of 3D and 360-degree VR plugins, suggesting that Apple wants to improve or expand in those areas.
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22 Comments
But....but I thought FCP X was a disaster and everyone hated it? In all seriousness, I'm glad to see users like this software and I hope this keeps Apple on its toes.
Mmm, interesting that just a few weeks ago Apple offered its entire "pro" suite to students and educational entities for a deeply discounted $199. Don't get me wrong, I think it is enviable of Apple to want their professional programs available to as wide an audience as possible - after all that is what Apple is all about, empowering people to be creative. But I suspect the increased sales numbers helped push Apple's goal of 2MM seats.
If I were looking to use a product like that, I'd choose FCP X simply because I eschew the subscription model for software. Any other fringe benefits of that decision would just be a bonus for me.
FCPX is less buggy and more efficient than PP in my opinion. For RAW workflows, it simply rocks ... not to mention it's Metadata power. Certainly worth a look... I'm loving it.