Pro-level video editing and VFX at your finger tips
Free; unlock Studio version for £94.99 FROM blackmagicdesign.com NEEDS iPadOS 16 or later; A12 Bionic chip or later
The app is equal parts video editor and colourgrading suite
Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve has been a staple of the TV- and movieediting industries for some years and now the company has brought it to the iPad. You’ll need an iPad with an A12 Bionic chip or later but this does cover models as far back as the first 11-inch iPad Pro, thirdgeneration iPad Air and also the fifth-generation iPad mini.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the app has been optimised for the much more powerful M1- and M2-chip models, and on pre-M series iPads you will face certain limitations such as topping out at HD resolution rather than Ultra HD. Due to memory constraints, older models might also struggle with larger projects. That said, on a 2018 iPad Pro, performance was excellent and didn’t feel like it was struggling to keep up. Renders often happened in real time and, when they didn’t, they were swift to complete.
The app is equal parts video editor and colour-grading suite and though it has an impressive feature set it shouldn’t be too daunting for less experienced users willing to invest a little time. You can import footage from various sources like USB sticks and the cloud, and use Blackmagic’s own new cloud service to collaborate on projects with others. Files are interoperable with the desktop app and the functionality of the free iPad app is very impressive indeed.
APP TIPS
Despite the power on offer here, importing and editing footage as well as adding effects, LUTs, titles and colour grading are remarkably straightforward and the app feels slick and well designed. The Cut page provides familiar non-linear editing with video an
