Hands On With Apple's Logic Pro for iPad

pcmag.com:

Apple has a new way for you to record and produce music—and it could change the way you work. Plenty of music creation and multitrack audio recording apps exist on the iPad. But Apple’s new Logic Pro for iPad ($4.99 per month or $49 annually, with a one-month free trial) comes the closest to replicating a complete digital audio workstation I’ve seen to date. It basically is Logic Pro on macOS, transformed for the iPad with a touch-friendly interface.

I had advance access to the app, and although the new subscription pricing gives me pause, my initial impressions are that Apple may be onto something here. Although Logic Pro for iPad doesn’t replicate every last feature of the macOS version—I’ll get to the differences below—in some ways, the new app even exceeds its desktop-bound brethren. It supports round-tripping for opening projects in progress in either app. More importantly, the iPad version is inspiring to use, thanks to its touch controls and the sheer number of fresh sounds, packs, producer kits, and other sonic material on board.

Logic Pro requires an iPad with an A12 or later SoC and the latest version of iPadOS. I tested the app on an M2-powered iPad Pro (12.9-inch) with a cellular modem and 2TB of storage running iPadOS 16.4.1. On first tap, the app will prompt you to download three packs: Studio Instrument Essentials, Electronic Essentials, and Hip Hop Essentials. Each is a roughly 600MB download.

If your iPad has a headphone jack, you can plug headphones straight in, just like with a desktop Mac. Otherwise, you’ll need to buy a Lightning or USB-C to 3.5mm adapter or hook up a genuine audio interface, as you won’t want to deal with the latency inherent in Bluetooth headsets when laying down drum beats or