IS APPLE DELAYING A NEW FINAL CUT STUDIO?

Back in May at his No Film School blog, Koo asked, “Is Apple Dumbing Down Final Cut Studio?”, wondering whether the “pro” elements of the Mac editing platform would be diminished (or, perhaps, not updated) in favor of features of interest to the less-pro “prosumer” crowd. Well, today, according to Hardmac.com, a next version of FCS could indeed be delayed. The site reports:

A few months ago we told you that Apple were hoping to release a new version of their Final Cut Studio suite in 2010. It now seems likely that this target has been missed according to one of our sources. The development of this software suite has suffered significant setbacks and it will be necessary to wait until 2011 to see its release; furthermore, the scope of the project has been reduced.

The idea of having a unified interface has been abandoned for the time being because of difficulties in reaching a satisfactory compromise among not only the various applications but above all between different development teams, those working on Shake and those working on Motion. Some fundamental differences of opinion about the ideal interface have hamstrung this part of the project which has now been deferred to the next version, in 2013.

The report goes on to claim that some of the delay has resulted from focusing some of Apple’s most talented engineers on the iOS platforms. Rumors of a more consumer focus in the Final Cut Division surfaced last May, and in a response on CNET, Apple issued a statement:

“Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors, and we’ve never been more excited about its future,” Apple spokesman Bill Evans told CNET. “The next version of Final Cut is going to be awesome, and our pro customers are going to love it.”

Although Apple never issued a release date for Final Cut Studio, if Hardmac is correct, we’ll all be waiting just a little longer for that loving.