Final Cut Pro X 10.1: the features video pros want

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We know that Apple is working on an update to Final Cut Pro X – Apple's head of worldwide marketing Phil Shiller admitted as much in the WWDC keynote back in June - we just don't know what kind of update. There are some who expect that it will just be another point update, a free update to existing users. Others think that the next update could be FinalCut Pro 11. While others expect that the next update to Final Cut Pro will follow the same pattern as updates to OS X; this update being Final Cut Pro X 10.1, with a cost associated with it, as is the case with Mavericks. Perhaps, as with Mavericks, the upgrade cost will be small.

People are hoping for a significant upgrade, however.  With Final Cut Pro X at 10.0.9, it looks promising that the next upgrade will be a big one.

We asked contacts in the professional video world, and members of a Facebook group about Final Cut Pro to share their thoughts with us.

For more information read our regularly updated Final Cut Pro release date and rumour round up article. 

The problem with Final Cut Pro X

When Final Cut Pro X was launched by Apple back in June 2011 it was met with criticism.Apple's complete re-write of Final Cut Pro, which bought a number of new features wasn't appreciated by everyone. Message boards and Twitter filled up with complaints about the software, with many dismissively calling FCP X nothing more than iMovie Pro.

The creative pro who started the We want a new Mac Pro Facebook group, Lou Borella, explained to us why he thinks that the reaction to Final Cut Pro X was so devastating for Apple. "I don't think FCP X ever had a chance to succeed, " he said, admitting that he was one of those who didn't give it a chance. Borella added:  "I believe that the entire community was ready to jump ship. Apple had neglected the space for far too long up until that point. Updates to the Mac Pro were becoming further apart. All the talk from Apple at the time was iPhone and iOS. Final Cut Pro was basically six years old at the time of X's release and it was really showing its age. The expectations for the successor to 7 were reaching a fever pitch. Rightly so, or not, FCP X needed to be a product that rewarded the trust that the professional community had placed in Apple."

He continued: "Because of those expectations (and the fact that Apple had brazenly tried to change an entire industry with one piece of software that really didn't seem ready for prime time) FCP X failed in its introduction."

"FCP X was missing too many features. My clients wouldn't make the jump to X. Many of them had too much money invested in their hardware infrastructure and X seemed to ignore all of that," Borella said.

"I'm realizing now that X was ahead of its time. I've heard talk that Apple didn't want X to be the first product released under Tim Cook's reign. I've heard that Apple wanted to release X during Jobs' tenure so Cook wouldn't be blamed if the drastic change in approach wasn't widely accepted'" he added.

"It was obviously released before it was finished," concluded Borella.

Three years on and the debate is still raging, with critics and fans battling it out on message boards and in Facebook groups.

However, since it was launched there have been multiple updates to Final Cut Pro X, and over the various iterations Apple's video editing solution has improved. Video editor and Apple Certified Trainer Richard Taylor, who maintains an All Things Final Cut Pro X blog" admitted: "When Final Cut Pro X first launched it had missing features that professionals required. But Final Cut Pro X introduced unique forward-looking features like the magnetic timeline and live playhead skimming. And it has added many features since its initial release."