Reading time: 5 minutes

All products are carefully selected by our editors and experts. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission. learn more. For more information on how we test our products, please visit click here.

Apple announced apple creator studioa new subscription that bundles the most powerful creative apps into one plan. On the surface, it looks like a proper housework. Look a little deeper and you’ll see that this is clearly part of a larger effort to position Macs and iPads as primary creative tools, rather than just supporting devices.

Creator Studio integrates Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro, along with Motion, Compressor, and MainStage. On top of that, subscribers unlock new intelligent features and premium content across Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, and Freeform is set to follow.

Like Adobe Creative Cloud, its appeal extends beyond a single app. Video, audio, image editing, documents, and presentations are now under one subscription, designed to seamlessly move your work from idea to export. For those who already create on a Mac or iPad, this is less of a reinvention. apple It’s about formalizing how the tool is already being used.

Apple isn’t giving up on free productivity apps either. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers are still preinstalled on all Apple devices, but Creator Studio adds a new layer on top. Smarter tools, premium templates, and AI-assisted features aren’t just about looking good, they’re about saving you time. This is more of an evolution than a resurgence of iWork, with the familiar app quietly stepping into more professional territory when needed.

This change brings Apple closer to Microsoft Office than it would like to admit. AI-assisted writing, layout suggestions, and formula generation have been behind Microsoft 365 subscriptions for years. What’s unique about Apple is that while core apps remain free, more advanced and time-saving features are positioned as optional upgrades rather than the default experience.

Apple Creator Studio launches on Thursday, January 29, and pricing in Australia is confirmed to be AU$19.99 per month, including a one-month free trial, or AU$199 per year. For university students and educators, we also have deeply discounted education plans available at AU$4.99 per month or AU$49 per year, making it a truly accessible option for those studying or teaching in creative fields.

Apple also used this announcement to roll out new features across its creative apps. Final Cut Pro includes Beat Detection, which uses AI models to analyze your music, visually displaying beats in your timeline, and making it easy to cut rhythmically without repeatedly scrubbing tracks. With Logic Pro, Apple introduced Synth Player, a new AI session player designed to generate realistic synth and bass performances using Logic’s built-in instruments. Logic Pro also adds Chord ID, which lets you turn audio into ready-to-use chord progressions, and an expanded sound library on Mac that provides royalty-free loops and samples.

For those wary of subscription fatigue, Apple is also keeping the door open to buy once and move on. Mac versions of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage will continue to be available as one-time purchases from the App Store. If you buy the full set completely, it will cost you just over $1. The tradeoff is simple. The initial cost is high, but there are no ongoing fees.

Subscriptions lower the barrier to entry, add access to more tools, and allow creators to move seamlessly between devices. Based on current pricing, you’ll need to subscribe for about 6 years to match the cost of buying everything outright. For some, that flexibility will be worth it. For others, full ownership of the tool is the only way.

Where things start to add up is when Creator Studio counts alongside everything else Apple has to offer. When you combine Apple Music, TV+, Arcade, Fitness+, News+, iCloud storage, and Creator Studio, the subscription alone comes to about AU$1,080 per year.

Each service stands on its own. Together, it’s an expensive endeavor.

Apple Creator Studio does not force you into any subscriptions offered by Apple. Instead, it’s about making the Apple ecosystem the easiest place to create end-to-end. Whether you find that a welcome simplicity or just another item depends on how deep your subscription list is already.

Apple Creator Studio: Pricing and inclusions

Subscription price:
AUD$19.99 per month or
AUD 199 per year
Includes 1 month free trial

Pricing for educational institutions:
AUD$4.99 per month or
AUD 49.99 per year (students and educators)

Applications included:

• Final Cut Pro (Mac and iPad)
• Logic Pro (Mac and iPad)
• Pixelmator Pro (Mac and iPad)
• Motion (Mac)
• Compressor (Mac)
• Main stage (Mac)
• keynote
• page
• numbers
• Freeform (premium features coming in the future)