John Voorhees, in his review of Apple Creator Studio, writing for MacStories:

The case for Creator Studio is especially strong for iPad-first users. They don’t have a choice, but they also never had one since Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad were always subscription apps. Add in the new subscription-only features and access to the Mac apps, and the bundle is a no-brainer for iPad-first users who use more than a couple of the bundle’s apps.

The case is a little harder for light users of the Mac apps who already bought them years ago and can continue to use them. However, even they may be attracted to Creator Studio thanks to the iPad apps and enhancements to Apple’s productivity suite.

The case for Creator Studio is not just hard for Mac users; it’s overly complicated. After subscribing to a three-month free trial and downloading some of the apps, I think I’ve understood the situation well enough to explain it. Creator Studio apps can be placed into three extremely confusing categories.

  • Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Compressor, and MainStage: The one-time-purchase versions of these apps are still available and will continue to be updated. For instance, the latest version of the paid-upfront Final Cut Pro is Version 12, and so is the Creator Studio version. People can have both versions of the apps installed on their Mac, and the Creator Studio versions will have new icons and “Creator Studio” appended to the file name. If you have already paid for these apps and only want to retain access to up-to-date versions, I wouldn’t recommend subscribing to Creator Studio.

  • The iWork apps, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (and soon, probably Freeform): Existing Macs on macOS 26 Tahoe ship with Version 14 of these apps, which have not been updated for Liquid Glass. Version 14 will presumably no longer be updated after Version 14.5, which was released earlier this week as a final update for backwards compatibility. Version 15 is — confusingly — available as a separate download from the Mac App Store, meaning that if someone has the iWork apps installed on macOS Tahoe, they will not automatically update to the new Liquid Glass versions. Version 14.5 includes a dialog box to download Version 15, but that’s it. Version 15 of the iWork apps is freemium — most features are free, but some artificial intelligence-powered ones are available exclusively to Creator Studio subscribers. People can have both Version 14 and Version 15 installed simultaneously, and Version 15 has new app icons. Unless you care about these exclusive features, I recommend just updating to Version 15 and not subscribing to Creator Studio.

  • Pixelmator Pro: This app is in a category of its own because its upgrade structure is nonsensical. The non-subscription version of Pixelmator Pro is still available on the Mac App Store for purchase, but it will no longer be updated. Pixelmator Pro Version 4 is exclusive to Creator Studio subscribers and macOS Tahoe and includes some new tools and a Liquid Glass design. If I had to guess, the paid-upfront version only exists for people who aren’t on macOS Tahoe, as Version 4 is not backwards compatible with macOS 15 Sequoia. For frequent users of Pixelmator Pro who want to continue receiving updates and who are already on macOS Tahoe, I would recommend subscribing to Creator Studio. For everyone else — or for people who dislike Liquid Glass — the one-time-purchase version still works. People can have both versions installed on the same Mac, and the Creator Studio version has a new app icon and updated file name.

This is all very confusing, and I have no clue how Apple expects any normal person to understand it. There isn’t even a guide on Apple’s website, hence why I’m writing this article. And, as Voorhees notes, people who want access to the iPad versions of these apps must subscribe to Creator Studio. There’s also no word on Photomator, the Lightroom competitor Apple acquired alongside Pixelmator Pro. It received an update alongside Creator Studio’s launch earlier this week, but that update just includes bug fixes. Again, very convoluted!

As a newly-converted Creator Studio subscriber, I’m holding onto the paid-upfront versions of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Compressor I already have because I severely dislike the Creator Studio app icons. I do, however, have the new iWork apps on my Mac, as well as the new version of Pixelmator Pro. I think Pixelmator Pro looks gorgeous in Liquid Glass — I think it’s one of the best redesigns yet on the Mac. For those worried about the new design, the only bad part is the new icon. Otherwise, it’s top-notch software as always.

I also think this confusion could mostly be resolved by changes to the App Store’s inflexibility relating to updates and merging bundle identifiers. Apple merged the identifiers of the Mac and iOS versions of the iWork apps for internal simplicity, but this comes at the cost of user convenience. It can no longer update the old, Mac-only versions of the apps (Version 14). This is fine for Creator Studio subscribers, but it results in people having two versions of the apps and versions that will never receive updates, unbeknownst to them. And the Pixelmator Pro situation is just upsetting — why couldn’t Apple support one-time-purchase users, similar to Final Cut Pro? I don’t think even Apple has the answer to this.