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Last week, a rumor surfaced claiming that Apple had "decimated" its pro audio group, calling into question the future of Logic and other audio-focused software from the company. The rumor was, however, quickly dismissed by Jim Dalrymple and his impeccable sources at Apple, with Dalrymple noting that there was "no truth" to the rumor that Apple had slashed its pro audio team.
MacRumors reader Nicholas wanted to hear confirmation straight from Apple and emailed CEO Tim Cook to ask about the future of Logic. His email was passed along to Apple's music product marketing chief, Xander Soren, who provided a distinct rebuttal to the original rumor.
Nicholas, thanks for your email. As the lead for our music creation apps, I always want to hear what our users are thinking. I want to assure you the team is still in place and hard at work on the next version of Logic Pro.
-xander
The last major update of Logic came in mid-2009 with Logic Pro 9, although the company has made several improvements including adding 64-bit compatibility since that time. Following September 2011 rumors of Apple finishing up work on Logic X, the company did move Logic Pro 9 and MainStage 2 to the Mac App Store but otherwise did not make enhancements to the software.
Update: Russ Hughes of Pro Tools Expert contacted us to make clear that his original report said nothing about Apple's development work on Logic and addressed only the specialist team that assists professional users with using the software tools.
The EMEA [Europe, Middle East, and Africa] team responsible for nurturing and supporting the pro studios, post facilities and TV has gone from 12-2 in a matter of months, so we don't think the use of the term 'decimated' (even though a quote from our source) was off the scale. However as Apple has confirmed in their note to you, the pro coders are still [there], both in the USA and Germany - the team is around 60 strong.
Our question remains (which is not answered by the Apple statement) - are they willing to either deny or confirm that the team has been reduced from 12-2 in EMEA and if (as we know is the case) it is the truth, what does that say about Apple's commitment to pro users?
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It would definitely put at ease people who think their favorite product is no longer being supported. In my particular case, I'd love to hear an update on how the development of the next Mac Pro is going, if it's even going at all.
Too much secrecy can be bad too. There needs to be a balance somewhere between complete silence and telling all.
Who cares if they get the team together and build something again how great it may be. Its so freakin late. Once it gets out who knows how long its going to take to see an update etc. In the meantime we're still stuck with overpriced Mac Pro's and other macs which get harder and harder to upgrade and/or repair.
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Bitter party of 1. ;)
Relax guys..this negative attitude will seep into your music. Remember this little factoid. The tools you have today are unimaginably more powerful than Bach, Beethoven or Mozart had at their disposal. These tools allow you to create music despite not having as much talent (presumably) than the aforementioned composers.
Even if Logic Pro X doesn't come until 2014 you still have more power than anyone had even just a decade ago. Stop letting your tools be the reason why you cannot make great things.
So were Final Cut Pro users... and Mac Pro users... and look how they were treated.
FCP X was updated and lacked several must-have features for pros, including multiple-camera support and the ability to open files from older versions of FCP. Oh, and you couldn't buy the old FCP anymore, so if you were a shop that needed to add a seat, that person could never open any projects anyone else was working on - you'd have to move everyone over to the new software, and then NO ONE could open any old projects.
Then the Mac Pro was updated to cutting-edge, top-of-the-line mid-2011 processors... in mid-2012.
It's pretty clear that Apple either has completely lost interest in the Pro market or has no idea what they need. Either way, if I were a pro user, I'd be seriously looking at Windows solutions now. Platform loyalty is all well and good, but pros have to take into account the bottom line both now and down the road.
I really hope Logic has a better fate and Apple gets their Pro act together, though.
FCPX has had more upgrades in its short lifetime than the previous version had in 3-4 years. Apple gaffed in that they stopped selling previous versions immediately but it was clear that it was beyond time to move off of archaic Quicktime and towards the future in AV Foundation. Apple should have just employed a dual strategy by putting FCP 7 in maintenance mode and continuing to improve FCPX rapidly as they have.
Apple hasn't lost interest in the Pro apps, it's just so much of their bottom line is mobile devices but they continue to move forward. I'm excited about seeing how they integrate the assets acquired from Redmatica and AV Foundation continues to improve and power exceptional updates to FCPX.
The future still looks bright. I don't need Apple to tell me their roadmap although it would be nice.