# Apple Creator Studio Announced [Apple introduces Apple Creator Studio, an inspiring collection of the most powerful creative apps](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/01/introducing-apple-creator-studio-an-inspiring-collection-of-creative-apps/) > "The apps included with Apple Creator Studio for video editing, music making, creative imaging, and visual productivity give modern creators the features and capabilities they need to experience the joy of editing and tailoring their content while realizing their artistic vision. Exciting new intelligent features and premium content build on familiar experiences of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and later Freeform to make Apple Creator Studio an exciting subscription suite to empower creators of all disciplines while protecting their privacy." This has been a long time coming. As services revenue continues to [climb](https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/charts-apple-caps-off-best-fiscal-year-with-q4-record/), Eddy Cue and crew are always on the hunt for more. Apple Creator Studio will cost $12.99 per month or $129 per year and is available for purchase (subscribing?) on January 28. Last year, when [[Apple Buys Pixelmator|Apple bought my beloved Pixelmator]], I had this to say; > "I *really* don't want another software subscription. Pixelmator Pro freed me from the death grip of Adobe. Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro have done the same with their one time purchases. The world of software is practically unrecognizable from those days of one-time purchase, buy the upgrade software days though. Development takes longer. Sustainment is critical. Recurring subscriptions keep the lights on in a more consistent, reliable manner—not that Apple *truly* needs that, but they also have the fiduciary responsibility to make more and more money. > > Unlike Dark Sky, Pixelmator Pro won't stop working (presumably). I am curious to see what comes of all this in the years to come. Pixelmator definitely has my vote over Adobe though. " Thankfully, I do not need to sign up for Apple Creator Studio as a Mac user—at least, for now. Apple is keeping the one-time purchase options available on the Mac. > "Alternatively, users can also choose to purchase the Mac versions of Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Logic Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage individually as a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store." I do wonder if a day may come when the [courage](https://youtu.be/NS0txu_Kzl8?si=gUB5j2W2diEnrh7n&t=4932) of Apple fails, when they forsake one-time purchases and break all bonds of pro users, but [it is not this day](https://youtube.com/shorts/agFJy-HkBtA?si=TJGR0tgI-_db_U_8). [Gruber](https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/01/13/apple-creator-studio) points out that all of the apps on Mac do not feature Liquid Glass design and speculates versioning might be the reason behind this rather than pros rejecting macOS Tahoe. > "My hope is that the UI shown today for Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Motion, and MainStage is a flat-out rejection of Liquid Glass for 'serious' apps. My fear is that it’s only a result of their continued support for MacOS 15 Sequoia. (But I think they need to continue supporting MacOS 15 Sequoia because so many pro users are rejecting MacOS 26 Tahoe.)" I sure hope that Gruber's hope is correct. I can't imagine a world where Liquid Glass-ifying Final Cut Pro would go well at all. Pro apps need all the dials, knobs, and buttons they can have. I need clearly divided panes and sections. I can see all the content I need in the dedicated viewer window. When looking at the brand spanking new iPadOS version of Pixelmator Pro, I can't believe they even chose this image to showcase Apple Pencil features. How many menus/tool bars do *you* see? ![image](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/2026/01/introducing-apple-creator-studio-an-inspiring-collection-of-creative-apps/article/Apple-Creator-Studio-Pixelmator-with-Apple-Pencil_big.jpg.large_2x.jpg) I would have said two, but I caught the existence of the right-hand side tool bar at the last moment before posting. Squinting may help. More egregious than potential Liquid Glass-ification are the new icons on display. ![image](https://512pixels.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Apple-Creator-Studio-suite.jpg) Stephen Hackett [loves](https://512pixels.net/2026/01/apple-creator-studio-announced/) them. I can't help but feel like Don Corleone—[look how they massacred my boy](https://youtu.be/Agih0mGuScg?si=Z6H4olpNcwBQIBQj&t=241). Comparison courteous of [Basic Apple Guy](https://bsky.app/profile/basicappleguy.com/post/3mcd2r2v47226). ![[Basic Apple Guy Pro App Icons History.jpg]] Pixelmator Pro has been murdered beyond recognition. Final Cut Pro is devoid of life. The free apps of Freeform, Numbers, Pages, and Keynote are logical redesigns given the current era of Apple's icon design. Motion, MainStage, and even Logic Pro fall into that categorization. Compressor is the only one with any personality in this new set. I do quite like that one. Mark Gurman may be *technically* right in [saying](https://x.com/markgurman/status/2011203659233968150?s=20) 99.9% of Apple's users do not care, but that's irrelevant. Apple should care and it is clear they do not. In the end, at it's announcement, I am glad I don't have to pay for this. I am also glad it is cheaper than Adobe Creative Cloud—6.5x cheaper.