Logic Pro 13.0 is Out--A Unified Browser With Splice Sounds, a Stem Splitter That Cuts Drums Into Six Kit Pieces, Touch on the PROLED MacBook Pro and Sidecar, a Play Surface, Liquid Glass, and an Assistant Beta That Only $12.99-a-Month Creator Studio Subscribers Get, Not the $199.99 Buyers

2026November 6, 2026Macs Only!Software
A space black MacBook Pro on a black background showing Logic Pro: the Browser on the left filtered to electronic drums with a long list of kits, four tracks named Trap Door, Pumping Acid Bass, Computations Topper and Remix Reverse Vocal FX beside purple, blue and green Live Loops cells, a step sequencer below with rows for Kick 1, Kick 2, Snare 1, Clap 1, Hi-Hat 1 and Hi-Hat 2, and on the right an Assistant panel holding a conversation about recording vocals above a field that reads Ask, create, or edit with a BETA label.
Photo: Apple · A space black MacBook Pro on a black background showing Logic Pro: the Browser on the left filtered to electronic drums with a long list of kits, four tracks named Trap Door, Pumping Acid Bass, Computations Topper and Remix Reverse Vocal FX beside purple, blue and green Live Loops cells, a step sequencer below with rows for Kick 1, Kick 2, Snare 1, Clap 1, Hi-Hat 1 and Hi-Hat 2, and on the right an Assistant panel holding a conversation about recording vocals above a field that reads Ask, create, or edit with a BETA label.

Logic Pro 13.0 is out for the Mac. The Mac App Store listing shows version 13.0, 2.5 GB, $199.99 as a one-time purchase, and "Requires macOS 26.1 or later." Apple's release notes, published November 5, list a unified Browser with Splice sounds, a Stem Splitter that cuts a drum part into six kit pieces, Touch on the PROLED MacBook Pro and on an iPad over Sidecar, a Play Surface, a Liquid Glass design, and an intelligent assistant in beta. The assistant is the one feature the $199.99 version does not get: it needs an Apple Creator Studio subscription at $12.99 a month.

The assistant is for subscribers, on macOS 27, and the models have three names

The notes' first footnote reads: "The intelligent assistant (beta) requires an Apple Creator Studio subscription, a Mac with Apple silicon, and macOS 27 or later." MacRumors' 9:51 a.m. Pacific report adds that the release notes for the one-time purchase version do not mention the assistant at all. The notes say it understands "requests in everyday language", with examples from "Create a track for recording acoustic guitar" to "Move the selected region to bar 31", and that "Your projects and the prompts you send to the Assistant are never used to train models." Which models is less settled. Apple's October 27 press release says "a combination of Apple-built and third-party models"; Macworld's October 27 report said "Apple worked with OpenAI" on it, and 9to5Mac's November 5 report quotes the press release as "Apple-built models and OpenAI"; but Apple's support document on the intelligence features, published November 5, says the assistant in Logic Pro for Mac is "powered by Google Gemini", in U.S. English only, with a monthly limit "impacted by the complexity of conversations you have with the assistant." TidBITS' November 4 report quotes Apple's Logic Pro FAQ as saying Logic Pro and MainStage "have all the same features whether they are subscription or one-time-purchase versions." The assistant is now the exception.

The Browser, the Stem Splitter and the Play Surface

"Press B to open or close the Browser. Pressing Y now toggles Smart Controls view," the notes say. It combines the Sound Library, your own samples, patches and plug-in presets in one place, finds sounds by a description or by their likeness to the one selected, analyzes any folder you add for tempo, key and tags, and shows a Splice Sounds location when the Splice app is installed and you have downloaded sounds. In the Stem Splitter, "Choose Individual Kit Pieces in Stem Splitter to split the drums into Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Toms, Cymbals, and Other stems," grouped in a summing Track Stack. The Play Surface opens from the Window menu or Command-K, with an onscreen keyboard and Chord Strips or a grid of drum pads, up to four at once.

Touch comes to Logic for the PROLED MacBook Pro and Sidecar

"Logic Pro now supports Touch on the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, and touch on an iPad used as a second display with Sidecar," the notes say. One finger scrolls, touch and hold opens the contextual menu, several Mixer faders move at once, and Live Loops cells launch with a tap. Apple's date for that MacBook Pro to begin arriving is Friday, November 6, as our October 29 report recorded with the prices.

What it needs, and what shipped with it

The App Store listing, Apple's About Apple Creator Studio page, published November 5, and the press release's footnotes all put the application on macOS 26.1 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon, with the support page adding that "Full Apple Creator Studio functionality is available with macOS 27, iPadOS 27, and iOS 27." Our October 5 report on Logic Pro 12.4 found three different floors on Apple's pages. MacRumors' 6:57 a.m. report says both the Creator Studio and standalone versions of Logic Pro were updated November 5 and the remaining app updates are due later in November. The press release prices Creator Studio at $12.99 a month or $129 a year, with a one-month trial. Our October 23 report has the same assistant arrangement in Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

Then and now

Our July 2, 2002 item on Apple buying Emagic put Logic at "over 200,000 musicians"; our October 1, 2004 item on Logic Pro 7 priced it at $999, or $299 to upgrade; our September 13, 2007 item on Logic Studio had Logic Pro 8 arrive inside a $499 suite. Now the application is $199.99 outright or $12.99 a month, and the one feature with a monthly meter is the one you cannot buy outright. We think a $199.99 buyer who wants the assistant is being asked to pay for the app twice, and we would take the one-month trial before deciding.

Sources

  1. Apple Support, “Logic Pro for Mac release notes - Apple Support” accessed Nov 6, 2026Published November 5, 2026, "New in Logic Pro for Mac 13.0": footnote 1, "The intelligent assistant (beta) requires an Apple Creator Studio subscription, a Mac with Apple silicon, and macOS 27 or later"; the assistant "understands requests in everyday language" with the example prompts "Create a track for recording acoustic guitar" and "Move the selected region to bar 31"; "Your projects and the prompts you send to the Assistant are never used to train models"; "Press B to open or close the Browser. Pressing Y now toggles Smart Controls view"; the Browser combines the Sound Library, your samples, patches and plug-in presets, searches by description and Find Similar, analyzes added folders for tempo, key and tags, and shows Splice Sounds when the Splice app is installed and sounds are downloaded; "Choose Individual Kit Pieces in Stem Splitter to split the drums into Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Toms, Cymbals, and Other stems" and "Individual drum stems are grouped in a summing Track Stack"; "Choose Window > Show Play Surface (or press Command-K) to open the Play Surface", keyboard with Chord Strips or drum pad grid, up to four Play Surface windows; Liquid Glass; "Logic Pro now supports Touch on the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, and touch on an iPad used as a second display with Sidecar", one-finger scroll, touch and hold for the contextual menu, multiple Mixer faders at once, Live Loops cells launched by tap. Accessed November 6, 2026.
  2. Apple, “Logic Pro App - App Store” accessed Nov 6, 2026The one-time purchase listing read November 6, 2026: Version 13.0, posted the previous day; $199.99; Size 2.5 GB; "Requires macOS 26.1 or later."
  3. MacRumors, “Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature - MacRumors” accessed Nov 6, 2026Joe Rossignol, Thursday November 5, 2026, 9:51 am PST: per Apple's release notes for Logic Pro for Mac 13.0, released that day, the Intelligent Assistant requires an Apple Creator Studio subscription at $12.99 per month or $129 per year and is not available in the $199.99 one-time purchase version; "the release notes for the one-time purchase version of Logic Pro for Mac version 13.0 do not mention Intelligent Assistant." Accessed November 6, 2026.
  4. Apple Newsroom, “Apple Creator Studio adds powerful new AI features and even more creative tools - Apple” accessed Nov 6, 2026Press release of October 27, 2026: "A new intelligent assistant powered by a combination of Apple-built and third-party models joins Logic Pro for Mac"; footnote 1, the assistant (beta) in Logic Pro for Mac requires macOS 27 Golden Gate or later on an Apple Intelligence-capable Mac and is available in U.S. English only; footnote 4, "Logic Pro for Mac requires macOS 26.1 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon"; updates "available on the App Store this November for free for existing subscribers"; "New subscribers pay $12.99 (U.S.) per month or $129 (U.S.) per year"; a one-month free trial for new subscribers; Logic Pro $199.99 (U.S.) as a one-time purchase; the article image of the assistant in Logic Pro for Mac used as the picture. Accessed November 6, 2026.
  5. Macworld, “Apple Creator Studio gets a major AI boost with latest update | Macworld” accessed Nov 6, 2026Roman Loyola, October 27, 2026: "Apple worked with OpenAI for a new intelligent assistant in Logic Pro for Mac." Accessed November 6, 2026.
  6. 9to5Mac, “Apple Creator Studio gets powerful new AI features using OpenAI models” accessed Nov 6, 2026Ben Lovejoy, November 5, 2026, 7:03 am PT, updated "Now available": quotes Apple's release as "A new intelligent assistant powered by a combination of Apple-built models and OpenAI joins Logic Pro for Mac." Accessed November 6, 2026.
  7. Apple Support, “About the intelligence features in Apple Creator Studio - Apple Support” accessed Nov 6, 2026Published November 5, 2026: "The assistant in Logic Pro for Mac, Generate Image, Generate Shape, and Generate Presenter Notes features are powered by Google Gemini"; footnote 1, "Powered by Google Gemini models"; "The assistant is available in U.S. English only"; "For the assistant in Logic Pro for Mac, your usage limit is impacted by the complexity of conversations you have with the assistant." Accessed November 6, 2026.
  8. TidBITS, “Apple Creator Studio Adds New Creation Tools and Intelligence Features - TidBITS” accessed Nov 6, 2026Agen Schmitz, November 4, 2026: Apple's Logic Pro product page FAQ is quoted as saying Logic Pro and MainStage "have all the same features whether they are subscription or one-time-purchase versions." Accessed November 6, 2026.
  9. Apple Support, “About Apple Creator Studio - Apple Support” accessed Nov 6, 2026Published November 5, 2026: "Full Apple Creator Studio functionality is available with macOS 27, iPadOS 27, and iOS 27."; "Logic Pro for Mac requires macOS 26.1 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon." Accessed November 6, 2026.
  10. MacRumors, “Apple Creator Studio App Updates Rolling Out, Starting With Logic Pro - MacRumors” accessed Nov 6, 2026Joe Rossignol, Thursday November 5, 2026, 6:57 am PST: Apple began rolling out the Creator Studio app updates announced in October; both the Creator Studio version and the standalone version of Logic Pro for Mac were updated that day; the remaining app updates are due later in November. Accessed November 6, 2026.

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