As expected, Apple today unveiled the next major version of Final Cut Pro, which comes with a host of new features that are sure to please video editors. Final Cut Pro 11 includes support for spatial video editing, transcription to subtitles, magnetic masking, and more.
Notably, Final Cut Pro 11 is the first release that isn’t a 10.x release since Apple dropped the “X” from its name back in 2020. Apple also released an update to Final Cut Pro for iPad, version 2.1, and an update to Final Cut Camera. These updates come on the heels of Logic Pro 11.1, which was also released today and includes several significant improvements for professional creatives.
Spatial Video Editing
One of the most notable improvements in Final Cut Pro 11 is a feature that was announced during WWDC this summer. Apple is finally bringing spatial import, editing, and delivery support to Final Cut Pro users, allowing them to import spatial video shot on an iPhone to a Mac, edit it, and then deliver it for viewing in Apple Vision Pro.
Spatial video can be shot with the Apple Vision Pro, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16-era device. There’s also a new Canon RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens, an APS-C lens that pairs well with the Canon R7.
Once captured, all that’s left to do is add spatial video to your Final Cut Pro project timeline, edit, and deliver. Editing spatial video is much like editing regular 2D video, but there are new export controls that make final delivery easier.
Spatial video clips can be captured directly with Apple Vision Pro or on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and the new Canon RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens paired with a Canon R7.
Users can export spatial content directly to their Photos app library, view it immediately on Vision Pro, or share it with others via the newly launched Vimeo app for Apple Vision Pro.
Blackmagic Design, maker of Final Cut Pro competitor DaVinci Resolve, recently released an update to its NLE that includes support for both spatial video encoding and spatial photo decoding. I found the process there to be simple and straightforward as well.
Transcribe to Captions
During the Mac mini video reveal, Apple hinted that it had integrated AI transcription directly into Final Cut Pro from the ground up. The new feature will take advantage of the company's new M4-era hardware, with speech-to-text processing up to 13 times faster than Intel Macs.
The new Transcribe to Subtitles option is found in the Color Correction and Audio Enhancement options, which looks like a little magic wand just below the preview window. Users simply select the audio source they want to extract subtitles from, click Transcribe to Subtitles, and Final Cut Pro will do the rest. Apple notes that it uses a large language model trained by Apple to transcribe spoken language. Needless to say, this new feature will be a boon for creators, especially those who have invested in short film content. As I mentioned in the previous post, subtitle transcription is far from a new feature, and several companies like MotionVFX offer excellent transcription solutions that work very well. The main difference here, of course, is that Apple's transcription feature is built into Final Cut Pro natively and is free for existing users via the version 11 update.
Magnetic Mask
Magnetic Mask was another AI feature unveiled during Apple’s Mac mini event, and it’s the one we knew the least about before today’s release. Apple didn’t actually mention Magnetic Mask during the event, but the feature was shown off during the Final Cut Pro portion of the video.
At the time, we assumed Magnetic Mask would make it much easier to deploy masks by snapping to high-contrast areas. In its press release today, Apple notes that Magnetic Mask will allow editors to easily isolate people and objects in clips without having to use a green screen or resort to more labor-intensive rotoscoping. Magnetic Mask can be combined with other color correction tools and effects to customize and precisely stylize footage.
Final Cut Pro is quickly becoming the centerpiece of Apple’s AI efforts on the Mac. The new Transcribe to Captions and Magnetic Mask join other AI-powered tools like Smart Conform, Enhance Light and Color, Smooth Slo-Mo, and Voice Isolation.
Final Cut Pro 11 Release Notes
Expand your creative freedom with the revolutionary AI-powered Magnetic Mask and isolate people, objects, and shapes in any footage without a green screen or time-consuming manual rotoscoping.
• Use Transcribe to Captions to automatically generate captions from spoken audio in the timeline using a powerful AI language model built for speed and accuracy. (Requires a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS Sequoia or later.)
• Import and edit spatial video clips from Apple Vision Pro or iPhone 15 Pro or later; add titles, color correction, and effects; and share immersive spatial projects that can be viewed on Apple Vision Pro. (Requires a Mac with Apple Silicon.)
• Reduce browser clutter by automatically hiding source clips when creating synced clips or multicam clips.
• Use Vertical Scale to Fit to scale the height of clips to fit the timeline.
• Speed up your creative process with new Picture-in-Picture and Callout effects.
• Create stunning visuals with new modular transitions.
• Increase efficiency with new keyboard shortcuts for common tasks in the browser and timeline.
• Install third-party media extensions to support playback and editing of more video formats. (Requires macOS Sequoia or later.)
Final Cut for iPad 2.1
Don’t forget that Apple also released the next version of Final Cut Pro for iPad, version 2.1. It includes several additions aimed at streamlining the editing process on iPad, including:
- Improved lighting and color.
- Haptic feedback for Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.
- A new vertical pinch gesture that can increase or decrease the height of a clip in the timeline.
- Dynamically adjust the size and position of the viewer in Picture in Picture mode.
- Timeline support for 90 fps, 100 fps, and 120 fps recordings on iPhone 16 Pro.
- New inks for Live Drawing: Watercolor, Pencil, Fountain Pen, and Monoline Pen.
- New modular transitions, color grading presets, and dynamic soundtracks.
- Easily highlight and layer visuals with Picture in Picture and Callout effects.
- New keyboard shortcuts!
Final Cut Camera has also received a major update, adding the ability to shoot Log-encoded HEVC video in standalone Live Multicam sessions—a huge workflow improvement! There’s also the ability to enable LUT previews while recording Log footage, and support for 4K120fps recording with the iPhone 16 Pro.
9to5Mac’s Take
Final Cut Pro 11 brings several key new features, with one of the most requested new features, Transcribe to Captions. Needless to say, it’s a pretty massive update across the board, and it certainly deserves its “11” badge. It’s available as a free update for existing users, while new users can purchase it for $299 or download a free 90-day trial to test it out.
What do you think of Final Cut Pro 11? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
