More than ten years after the release of Final Cut Pro X, Apple’s video editing software is evolving with the introduction of Final Cut Pro 11. This update marks a return to numbering after dropping it in recent years and brings several new features, including AI-powered masking tools, the ability to generate captions directly in the timeline, spatial video editing capabilities, and various workflow enhancements. The update is free for existing users, while new users can purchase it for a one-time fee of $299. There are also updates to Final Cut Pro for iPad and Final Cut Camera.
I spent the past week testing these new features, and many of them are impressive. One standout is the Magnetic Mask feature for desktop users. With just one click, you can isolate a subject, such as a person, from the background and apply different color adjustments. I tested this feature on both static talking-head videos and fast-moving snowboarding footage, and Final Cut Pro did a great job isolating the subjects. However, it’s not always pixel-perfect, so I did have to make some minor adjustments. You can fine-tune the mask manually with a brush or add/remove tracking points for Final Cut Pro to analyze the footage. The speed of the process was impressive—each mask took less than a minute on my four-year-old 10-core M1 Pro MacBook Pro, which is much faster than the tedious rotoscoping process in After Effects.
One downside I noticed is that performance slowed when I started screen recording my process, but the feature still works on Intel-based Macs. While I’m an avid Premiere Pro user, features like this make me tempted to switch back to Final Cut Pro. Adobe has announced a similar feature for Premiere, and DaVinci Resolve already offers a comparable tool called Magic Mask.
Another significant update is the ability to auto-generate captions in your timeline, using an Apple-trained language model. The process is quick but not always accurate, with common words and proper nouns sometimes misspelled. Additionally, there’s no way to stylize captions for social media use, so for more customization, you’ll need third-party plugins. While the feature is a good addition, I wish Apple had taken it a step further with text-based editing—something that has been incredibly useful to me in Premiere Pro for editing longer pieces like documentaries and interviews.
Other new features include spatial video editing tools for Vision Pro, new keyboard shortcuts (like Option + Arrow Up/Down to move clips between layers), and workflow enhancements like resizing clip height in the timeline with a pinch gesture.
Final Cut Pro for iPad is also seeing updates, including the AI-powered “enhance light and color” tool from the Mac version, which helps improve color, contrast, and tonality of footage quickly. Apple has expanded the number of color presets and added new modular transitions and songs to its soundtrack library. If you’re editing with an Apple Pencil Pro, you can now access new brushes that take advantage of features like tilt recognition and haptic feedback, which enhances the tactile feel of editing.
Despite these improvements, there are still some features missing from the iPad version, including custom LUTs and better file management. While I’ve mostly switched to DaVinci Resolve for my iPad editing, which offers a similar experience to its desktop version, Final Cut Pro for iPad is progressing, but there’s more to be done for it to truly justify its $4.99 monthly subscription.
The update for Final Cut Camera also includes the ability to record HEVC files in Apple Log, reducing the need for storage-heavy ProRes files. You can also preview LUTs during recording, and the app now includes a level indicator with tilt, roll, and crosshair markers to help with framing.
These updates are important steps forward for Final Cut Pro, introducing AI features and workflow enhancements that appeal to content creators. However, there are still significant gaps, such as text-based editing, more robust color grading options, and improved captioning features, that need to be addressed for it to fully compete with DaVinci Resolve and Adobe’s offerings. Magnetic Mask alone could be enough to convince some users to make the switch.
