Tested: Final Cut Pro update's real-world speed boost to Mac Studio

Apple's update to Final Cut Pro on Tuesday included improvements to the app's performance on the Mac Studio that users will notice in the real world. Here's how much faster you can expect your exports to complete.

The update, version 10.6.2, brings optimized playback and graphical performance for M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips on the new Mac Studio. It was included in a batch of updates to Apple's video apps, including iMovie and Motion.

In AppleInsider testing, the optimizations do indeed have an effect on real world performance.

We tested a Final Cut Pro 4K video render on a Mac Studio equipped with an M1 Max, 32 GPU cores, and 64GB of Unified Memory before and after the update. The video itself was a nine-minute 4K 29.97 exported H.264 direct from Final Cut Pro.

Test results before and after update.

Prior to the update, the render took 3:30, while the same exact render took 3:10 after installing version 10.6.2 of Final Cut Pro.

There were other improvements we spotted after installing Tuesday's update. Overall, editing is smoother and there are fewer graphical inconsistencies when editing audio waveforms.

In addition, Compressor also opened much faster on our Mac Studio compared to a three- to four-minute startup time prior to the update.

We are continuing to test the update. Additionally, while not specifically noted, we are also running tests on the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro, to see if the update had any impact.

The update itself is a free download from the App Store for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor users.