the Accessibility story of Apple Creator Studio
This week, Apple announced a software bundle called Apple Creator Studio. The subscription-based service, priced at $12.99 per month or $129 per year, is touted by Apple as “an inspiring collection of the most powerful creative apps.” Apple Creator Studio includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage, alongside the iWork trio of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. The latter of which is slated to receive “new AI features and premium content,” according to Apple.
Apple Creator Studio launches Wednesday, January 28 on the App Store.
“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,” Apple wrote in its press release published on Tuesday. “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.”
I’m neither a video editor nor a music/podcast producer, and I’m years removed from using Keynote for giving presentations. I’m decidedly not amongst the target demographic for Apple Creator Studio. For a more generalized take on this week’s news, I recommend reading Jason Snell’s story on what makes sense—and what doesn’t. For my purview, however, it’s notable from an accessibility perspective that Apple has embraced the subscription bundle once more. To wit, it strikes me that paying $13/month for professional apps like Final Cut and Logic Pro—the former costs $300 while the latter is $200 individually—is eminently more accessible than paying wholesale upfront. If you’re a content creator with disabilities, living on a shoestring budget, Apple Creator Studio could be a revelation because suddenly Final Cut Pro, for example, is attainable to you as a budding YouTuber. Even if you only use one or two apps in the present, Apple Creator Studio’s value proposition remains high because you essentially get the others “for free” should you wish to explore them at some point in the future. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, the vast majority of those in the disability community must pinch their pennies; that people now are able to pay month-to-month for what well may be mission-critical software like Final Cut makes the subscription model a de-facto accessibility feature. Apple hardware is premium and undoubtedly expensive, but Apple Creator Studio has the potential to be a sweet chaser after swallowing such a bitter pill, particularly in the long run. I’m focusing on economics, but it’s also true a tool like Final Cut may be preferred by a disabled person because of its tight integration with, to name just one example, VoiceOver on macOS.
Apple services boss Eddy Cue alluded to Apple Creator Studio’s accessibleness in a statement included in the company’s announcement (emphasis mine).
“Apple Creator Studio is a great value that enables creators of all types to pursue their craft and grow their skills by providing easy access to the most powerful and intuitive tools for video editing, music making, creative imaging, and visual productivity—all leveled up with advanced intelligent tools to augment and accelerate workflows,” he said. “There’s never been a more flexible and accessible way to get started with such a powerful collection of creative apps for professionals, emerging artists, entrepreneurs, students, and educators to do their best work and explore their creative interests from start to finish.”
There are legions of disabled people who are creating every single day, so accessibility’s strong link to Apple Creator Studio should thus be unsurprising.
