Apple Creator Studio is a software package that makes its creative apps (Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro suites with Pixelmator Pro) and productivity apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynotes) available on Mac, iPad, and iPhone for a monthly or annual fee.
That rate is $12.99 / £12.99 / AU$19.99 per month or $129 / £129 / AU$199 per year, but if you qualify for the educational discount, it’s pretty unbeatable value at just $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$4.99 per month or $29.99 / £29.99 / AU$ 49.99 per year.
Pixelmator Pro is where that feeling clicks almost immediately. On Mac, the app is based on Apple’s Liquid Glass design language, but unlike some of Apple’s first-party apps, it doesn’t radically reshape the interface just to make a statement. Everything remains fast, operable and familiar: it’s a design that prioritizes editing over aesthetics.
On the iPad, Pixelmator Pro arguably shines brightest. The interface clearly translates to touch control, and the new ability to combine multiple layers with the Apple Pencil is really useful. It’s definitely more fun than resizing a crop.
I also especially like using the Pencil to navigate the app; it makes the experience feel straightforward and suitable for iPadOS, rather than looking like a Mac app that’s been clumsily ported for a touchscreen.
As with Mac, you can customize the tools that appear in the right sidebar by default. And if you look for ‘Super Resolution’, it’s under the three dots in the right corner and then under Picture Settings.
Compared to Photoshop, Pixelmator Pro is easier to use, but it doesn’t skimp on power. Its AI-powered imaging tools are front and center: ML Enhance intelligently balances saturation, contrast and color, super resolution enhances images impressively, and custom filters are easy to adjust without getting buried in menus.
Interestingly, those same machine learning models are used in other Apple apps: Keynote, for example, uses them to improve image quality. It shows that since acquiring Pixelmator Pro, its development team has been working closely with others at Apple.
If you’re looking for a capable, easy-to-use photo editor that avoids the cost and complexity of Adobe Creative Cloud, Pixelmator Pro alone makes a strong case for the package.
Here’s some good news: While Pixelmator Pro works on M1 or newer iPad models as expected, it also works on iPads with an A16 or A17 Pro chip. That’s a relief and makes sense, since iPadOS 26 supports many of the landmark features, such as multitasking, on iPads as old as the 9th generation.
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Logic Pro continues Apple’s more thoughtful approach to AI. The most notable addition here is a new EDM-focused Session Player, called Synth Player, which expands on an area that Apple has clearly been investing in for years with Logic Pro. Logic Pro treats AI as a collaborator here, acting as a virtual musician that helps you advance ideas, experiment with structures, and perform within a digital studio. You can even play it, in real time or after recording a track of your own.
I’m not a musician by trade, but Logic Pro’s AI tools, including Session Players and Stem Splitter, feel less like automation and more like creative assistance. You are still making decisions and software can simply help you get there faster. That distinction is important and plays directly to Apple’s creative roots.
And if you haven’t tried Stem Splitter, try it with a recording of one of your favorite songs. You can, in seconds, split the various elements of a track into separate tracks within Logic – it’s super functional.
Final Cut Pro’s biggest improvement in Apple Creator Studio is more subtle, but no less impactful. Its improved natural language search makes it much easier to find what you’re looking for when working with a large library of clips and assets. When you’re juggling a huge amount of footage, that reduction is significant and is something that video editors, both large and small, will appreciate.
Exclusive to Final Cut Pro for iPad with Creator Studio is a new Montage Maker that can automatically stitch together a set of clips. It’s essentially a more advanced version of the AI-powered editors you see in apps like CapCut or even TikTok, but with more adjustment levers that let you get the end result closer to what you want. And you can always take what you create and turn it into a full project.
The ‘AI’ here isn’t flashy: it does the practical work of identifying key moments in your clips, making it feel less like a gimmick and more like a useful starting point for an edit.
Taking a step back, Apple Creator Studio feels like a modern revamp of iLife and iWork: a package that makes sense as a whole, rather than a collection of disconnected apps. It also underlines Apple’s broader ambitions around services.
Now, given how storage-heavy these apps can be, it’s hard not to wish that Creator Studio was included with Apple One and additional iCloud storage, but the value proposition essentially remains the same without them.
Apple Creator Studio is available now for $12.99 / £12.99 / AU$19.99 per month, or $129 / £129 / AU$199 annually. Students and educators get a big discount, bringing the price down to $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$4.99 per month, or $29.99 / £29.99 / AU$49.99 per year – an especially attractive deal given the variety of apps included. It can also be shared with others through Apple Family Sharing.
Here’s what’s included with Apple Creator Studio:
Waterproof
- Final Cut Pro
- Professional logic
- Pixelmator Pro
- pages
- Fundamental
- Numbers
- free form
- Motion
- Compressor
- Main stage
iPad
- Final Cut Pro
- Professional logic
- Pixelmator Pro
- pages
- Fundamental
- Numbers
- free form
iPhone
- pages
- Fundamental
- Numbers
- free form
For students, Apple Creator Studio is a no-brainer. For creators, prosumers, or even everyday users looking to dabble, the subscription makes sense as long as you regularly use some of the included apps. More than anything, it feels purposeful – a reminder that when Apple leans into creativity and creating thoughtful packages, it still knows exactly what it’s doing.
Plus, if you don’t want to lock in a monthly or annual fee, Apple still sells Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, MainStage, Compressor, and Motion individually, and offers Pages, Keynote, and Numbers for free. You will only need to join Creator Studio to get additional features, mainly AI ones.
Plus, you can get one month of Creator Studio for free, while if you purchase an eligible Mac or iPad, you can get a three-month free trial.
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