System requirements and other restrictions
Apple outlines detailed system requirements for each app on its support page here. For most Mac apps, all you need is a Mac running macOS 15.6 Sequoia or later; The only Mac app that requires macOS 26 Tahoe is Pixelmator Pro. Most apps will also run on Intel or Apple silicon Macs, although Mainstage is Apple silicon-exclusive, and “some features” in Compressor may also require Apple silicon.
The requirements for iPad apps are a bit more restrictive; You typically need to be running iPadOS 18.6 or iPadOS 26, and both Final Cut Pro and Pixelmator Pro need either an Apple M1, Apple A16, or Apple A17 Pro (in other words, it’ll work on every iPad Apple currently sells, but older iPad hardware is more hit or miss).
Apple also outlines several usage restrictions for generic AI features that rely on external services. Apple says that, “at a minimum,” users will be able to create up to 50 images, 50 presentations of between 8 to 10 slides, and presenter notes in Keynote for up to 700 slides. Higher usage may be possible, but it depends on “complexity of queries, server availability and network availability”.
All of these AI features are based on OpenAI technology, but do not require users to have their own OpenAI or ChatGPT account (on the flip side, if you already pay for ChatGPT, it won’t do you any good here). Apple also says that the content you use to create drawings, presentations, or notes “will never be used to train intelligence models.”
Which apps are not getting new versions?
There are three major creative apps offered by Apple that aren’t bundled in Creator Studio, and they haven’t received any major new updates: iMovie, GarageBand, and Photomator.
There are extenuating circumstances that explain why these three apps haven’t been given a Creator Studio-style overhaul. The iMovie and GarageBand apps have always been positioned as “lite” free-to-use versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, while Photomator is a recently acquired app that overlaps somewhat with the built-in Photos app.
Apple has nothing to share about the future of any of the three apps. iMovie and Photomator both received minor updates today, presumably related to maintaining compatibility with Creator Studio apps, and GarageBand was last updated a month ago. Expect them to remain in their current form for at least some time.
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