Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
2021 IPAD PRO MAY BE JUST AS POWERFUL AS M1 MACS
The rumor: Apple is preparing a significant processing upgrade for this year’s iPad Pro, according to Mark Gurman (89.1% accurate).
Gurman describes this year’s chip as “on par with the M1 chip in the latest Macs”
Apple’s next iPad Pro is expected to launch as soon as March at a special event
.....
Our take: This could be the pivotal point for computing on iPad if the A14x/z is really as powerful as M1. Maybe I’m dreaming, but could this be the year that we finally see Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPadOS?
https://appletrack.org/2021-ipad-pro-may-be-just-as-powerful-as-m1-macs/
Comments
Yeah that also has been my feeling. Jon Prosser seemed very sure that we’ll see Logic and Final Cut within the next year. And he wrote that about a year ago. So it would make sense to see something in March. iPad Pro’s also haven’t seen major updates since 2018. So it’s definitely about time
I’m very curious about March and a possible shift for the iPad.
I see no problems for performance just right now but more things related to the GUI and other things not working on a multi-touch device. If they port it it might be a very light version or something else.
But maybe they found a good way. I would welcome this and Logic for iOS would be a real game changer for me personally. Maybe also a big boost for AUv3 makers but at the same time it would make almost 99% of my music apps obsolete and it would be the best bang for money for me, even for the same Mac price. But I guess if it happens it will be a Mac and iPad universal app maybe.
For sure it would be not a universal app this time.
But as many rumours, it might never happen or in a totally different way.
I have stopped believing in Logic and FCP on our iPads...
Even if iPads will be on pairs with the M1 Macs, Apple must have some advantages to keep manufacturing Macs, and that’s Pro software, for Macs...
But, for me Lumafusion video editing app for iPad is powerful enough, and, many great music creating software on iPad is really awesome and very powerful...
So, it ain’t be any Logic Pro on iPads in near future...
Errr, this all seems a bit backwards to me.
The M1 has basically taken iPad chip performance to the Mac. The M1 is an A14 class chip already.
The single core performance of the M1 is only a little bit higher than the A14 in the iPad Air. Extrapolate the performance of the A14 iPad Air chip into an A14Z and you've got an M1 without the extra bits that Mac OS needs. Apple just haven't put an A14 into the iPad Pros yet. It doesn't take too much detective work to realise Apple will make the next iPad Pros faster than the old ones. The Air has 6 cores, the A12Z iPad Pros have 8. Just like the M1.
As for Logic? Not a chance, not as it is. You don't have to dig very deep into Logic to see its Emagic 1990s heritage. You can't take that core and make it work on an iPad as a touch first platform.
If something Logic-like does come to the iPad it won't be the desktop Logic. and nor should it be. I very much doubt Apple will release any software on the iPad that isn't touch first and Logic is a million years from being useable as a touch only app.
However, there are signs that the new bits they're adding to Logic can be touch friendly. The new sampler and the individual drum instruments for example.
So bits of Logic can and probably will find their way into iOS. But not Logic as we know it on the Mac.
This is what I feel too, a bit more 'advanced' editing features in GarageBand for both audio, midi & instruments and that would about it and honestly it would go a long way to keep it a viable entry into Logic Pro on the desktop.
Logic on 13" laptop is/was a pita and it would likely be even worse on a 12.9" iPad...
Currently I'm hooked to a 28" 4K display and it's 'comfortable'.
If Apple drops 16" iPads at 'reasonable' prices (not crazy >$2000) with more I/O things could change...
The way I use my iPad Air 2 at the moment (a noodling-device, sound module & control-surface for Logic) I don't even feel the need to get a faster iPad. This might change when Apple drops iPadOS support for it and even then I'd just consider an iPad with a 3.5mm jack... (It was not 'courage' that made Apple remove the 3.5mm jack it was 'stupidity').
What ever iPad 8th gen successor will be it will most definitely retain the 3.5mm jack.
I can't see education going full on wireless for headphones, they will just point the middle finger at Apple...
So yeah, it's not just about CPU performance but also ergonomics.
Whether we’ll have Logic or FCPX on an iPad isn’t just a question of CPU power but also ram and touch screen user interface. The whole thing would have been completely rewritten with many corners cut to improve use ability. Those who have ever tried to edit audio or videos on an 8gb machines know that that the ceiling is not high enough for more serious editing at more serious resolutions/frame rates.
I would disagree, Logic on my 13" works just fine for me. So it is a matter of taste and workflow.
Not really, the M1 is so much more powerful than any iPad yet in real time performance. I also think M1 is quite different from the A series, especially in terms of RAM usage, connection to SSD and a few other things but I think it could be close maybe with a next generation. There is much more happening beside putting an iPad chip into a Mac.
But I am sure the next iPad will be the most powerful iPad Apple ever created
(as long as it will not be another iPad 3).
Talking of "computing on iPad", I'd be more concerned about things like, oh, a working file manager or so before we talk about more processing power 😁 (I know, I always spoil the fun...)
Not really, MacOS is more optimised for real time performance than iOS. CPU performance is similar, and the M1 Macs are using RAM techniques from the A series chips.
Macs have more power available in terms of Watts to burn so can use more performance more of the time. This won’t change when iPads get more powerful chips. Macs will generally be able to run full power for longer.
The base operating systems have different priorities. iPads are far more frugal by design and the OS priorities slow power consumption. MacOS doesn’t have the same frugal intentions.
Of course there are extra parts in the M1 system on a chip, but the extra bits are those that a desktop computer needs such as an extra thunderbolt bus. The main parts that make up the system are similar. The M chips just have some extras that MacOS can exploit.
However The performance differences will be more noticeable with the next generations of M class chips as the Mac will need much more GPU performance for iMacs than laptops have, and the more powerful Macs will need extra cores to compete with the most powerful Intel chips which are still faster.
The M1 is the least powerful most entry level chip Apple silicon powered Macs will ever get. And they’re not that much different to iPad chips. Most of the system is very similar.
I would expect future iPad Pro’s to have similar performance to the same era MacBook Airs, but future iMacs should be quite a bit more powerful than any iOS device.
I totally quote you
Maybe. At the end I do not care about theoretical performances and benchmarks etc. but judge what it does when I use it with the tools I like to use. Here indeed I am still amazed how well these entree Apple silicon chip handles things and especially I can use for the first time many things with a buffer of 32 if I want with demanding tools.
The big pro the iPads could have is that it will still take a while for many good optimised Mac apple silicon software while it should be already there on iOS. Especially all those AUv3 does not work great on Mac or just do not work art all as AUv3.
But yes, of course there is more like streaming samples from extern SSD´s and a proper file system I would like to see on iPads before it will be really usable as a full workstation.
I still think as much powerful as they might get, Apple treat them still more like a companion device. But that is of course also a matter of taste and workflow. I mean just an iPhone 4 with a 3.5" was all I needed in the past but now I could not imagine to work with this alone
Feeling hopeful this release will be my next upgrade from 2017 Pro.
I'd never use an ipad as my full workstation though, no matter how powerful they become, they're way too limited for my needs. But they make a great creative workflow tool for the studio.
If Apple drops a 16" iPad, I'm buying it as my next sheet music reader to replace my 2017 Pro. 😂
However you spin this, the main takeaway is that Apple are making some outstanding chips and the future for all of Apple’s hardware looks very promising indeed.
When iPadOS has a real file system then logic would be ok, without it I can’t ever see really working on it, at least not for projects that were for others and on deadlines. Also, keep in mind that a full install of logic is over 80gb.
By the time you add your audio interface, mouse, keyboard, probably lots of adapters, external drives, etc, it also becomes much less portable.
I do understand why people want fuller apps, so I’m only speaking for myself, but iOS has worked out to be much better as a part of my workflow rather than as the center of it. I don’t see that changing unless an iPad becomes a full computer.
...the headphone jack!
I don’t expect Apple to drop a desktop like Logic. Never did. It would be lazy and unusable. Nothing Apple would do. My feeling is that they formed a little Logic for iPad team that worked on a powerful Logic version for iPad for many years now. Nothing urgent as Apple needed time to improve iOS and iPad performance. But it might be powerful and developed enough now. For sure it won’t be as powerful as Logic for Mac but surely very useful and adorable.
And as I said before. They could just develop on top of the GarageBand for iOS code. So the foundation has been there for a long time now.
Yes it will be a cranked up GarageBand. We all knew that
Very sure sooner or later... the iPad is a worthy future Mac competitor.
Oh I’d like that 😄 that would replace my iMac 27 in seconds. Maybe even bigger ones for home use only. A real future Mac replacement.
Yes I agree. As long as Apple keeps the App Store only strategy and sandbox system it never will be a full desktop replacement.
I don’t really believe that Apple will change that any time soon but who knows.
I guess they rather wait until people get used to it and feel as comfortable with it as MacOS. Getting the next generation of creators used to it through iPhone and then advertising the iPad as a professional tool for them with Mac quietly disappearing in the background. Oh well...
Well the real future might be VR/AR. So the iPad is rather a nice in between device.
But surely there will be an iOS like OS on VR/AR devices to make sure Apple keeps earning through every app and service sale.
I suspect we will always have phones in our pockets but at one stage extend them with VR/AR glasses on our faces 🤓
edit - comment spree over - edit 😅
I really wish they would consider putting the headphone jack back in. Given the choice I’m sure most folk would prefer it.
This tiny USB-C audio device (96 kHz at 24 bits) for 20 EUR provides a TRRS jack and a USB-C PD port so you can charge your iPad while working. Unfortunately it does not allow connecting devices on this port, only power. Some guys measured the device and it was quite good, way better than most USB-C hubs or headphone dongles.
https://en.sharkoon.com/product//28283
https://www.musicradar.com/news/will-your-ios-music-making-apps-soon-run-as-auv3-plugins-in-your-m1-mac-daw?fbclid=IwAR2PHSOjMsuZsB4T8DGG6sT7SLYDym27DBj5hc_EOLiaJYenlObDT0ktjQo
Thanks for posting that article.
I'm very interested in how developers respond to the challenge/opportunities offered by the new generation of Apple kit. The reactions so far here run from hostile denialism to enthusiastic support. Make very nice gear but apple are seriously arrogant bastards though... not exactly partners are they?
I agree that the tiny market size for ios apps is the overwhelming constraint on income and sustainability for developers - essentially limits it to a hobby - but approached strategically the M1 offers a chance to see these excellent ios apps reach a much, much wider audience - in fact M1 and Ios interoperability could put these unique and clever apps at the centre of the entry level music industry world-wide. That's likely what the M1 will become. The standard.
Needs a careful commercial approach but developers above all know that it is a risky business to set yourself against history - let alone ignoring its possibilities. Be confident and think big. Maybe think about partnerships with established desktop brands or something less formal. But if necessary get some capital behind you, get serious and gear up. A makeor break opportunity.
Ios has the best - most intuitive - music making apps I've encountered ... more folks should encounter them... with a brave strategy you'll absolutely eat these tired heavy desktop DAWS and dated instruments.
@Sam23 : the thing that leapt out at me from that article was this:
“ Here’s a statistic that may shock you: you only have to sell about four copies of an app in 24 hours to have a Top 20 Paid iPad app in the ‘Music’ category in the UK right now. That’s right: Top 20 out of millions of apps. The very best-selling apps you see in the charts might only be making a few dollars a day after Apple’s cut and taxes. And, the majority of new iOS developers don’t even make enough to cover the $100 yearly fee Apple charges to allow apps to be published to the App Store. “
Puts things in perspective...
When you say tired heavy DAW’s though, for what purpose? I just did a 12 song mix project for a video series. With what I needed to do with templates, plugins, bouncing, rendering, etc, I could not have used auria for it and still finished on time. And I could not have used my uad plugins or interface, things like that.
Now I’m mixing another album where the engineer is sending me tracks to import and with what I need to do, again, auria is not going to work. I have mixed an album in auria, but it was mine and I didn’t have a deadline. I can’t struggle with moving files around the iOS system, I need a real file manager to do it.
I agree that there are some great apps on iOS (auria included), and they have their place. But until you can do all of the unexciting, underneath stuff that is needed to organize projects, work efficiently, and deliver in formats people need, I couldn’t make it my hub. If iOS ever allowed drivers to be written, have control panel apps running, use multiple desktops, etc., I’m all for it.
I have 2020 iPad Pro 12’9” and there is literally nothing I cannot play on it.
Agree entirely if you're putting the finishing touches on a meisterwerk you really need a proper DAW with all those subtle dark things going on underneath -especially with vocal tracks .... but sometimes I just wanna have a play ... get a few synths sharing some midi about and hurling some fx into the mix and see what turns up. AUM would be able to meet 90% of my needs really for such doodling. IF after a couple of hours I've got a couple of bars or melodies worth keeping that's easy enough to flick across to the daw.
All depends on what you're chasing doesn't it ... but for most of us I reckon professional level production and all that excruciating fine tuning is the last thing we reach, the height of the art - after we've been captured by the music.
I finally plunked down for an M1 Air when they hit the refurb store. Sad to say I really don't miss using the iPad at all. The bang for the buck on the M1s is just insanely good and a MacBook feels like such a more capable, flexible, and dare I say professional tool.