Apple has squeezed its creative apps into one subscription for Mac, iPad and iPhone

Apple has introduced Apple Creator Studio, a long-awaited subscription bundle that brings together its creative apps across Mac, iPad, and iPhone and positions itself as a serious alternative to tools from Adobe.

The Creator Studio is available for Mac, iPad and iPhone and features nine well-known Apple apps, including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, Motion, Compressor and MainStage. Additionally, a tenth app, Freeform, will be added later.

At the same time, Final Cut Pro for Mac and iPad receives a range of updates aimed at making everyday editing easier.

The highlight of the update is a new Transcript Search, which lets editors find spoken dialogue by typing text, while Visual Search helps locate clips based on objects or actions in the footage.

Additional intelligent features are designed to speed up common tasks, and on iPad a new Montage Maker can automatically create a starting edit by analysing footage and selecting key moments.

Pixelmator Pro is arriving on iPad for the first time, with a touch focused interface and full Apple Pencil support.

The app offers layered editing, smart selection tools, and Apple silicon-powered features such as Super Resolution and Auto Crop. Projects can be shared between Mac and iPad for a flexible workflow.

Apple Creator Studio also adds new capabilities to Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform. A new Content Hub provides access to curated images, graphics, and templates, while intelligent tools help with tasks such as image creation, layout suggestions, and presentation setup.

Fortunately for those not keen to commit to (another) subscription, one-time purchase options for the Mac versions of all the creative apps will remain available, for now at least.

Apple Creator Studio will be available from January 29, priced at $19.99 per month, or $199 a year, with a one-month free trial.

That's a fair bit cheaper than Adobe's Creative Cloud Pro subscription, which starts at $56.73 a month for individuals ($1,191.60/yr).

Fortunately, free versions of Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform will continue to be available for all users and will keep receiving updates alongside the new subscription.

You can find out more about the new package here.