Overstretched Apple delays Final Cut upgrade to 2011

It seems not all is well with the Final Cut Studio development team, with a report claiming release of the next version of the insanely widely-used professional video-editing solution has been set back until 2011.

We had originally been expecting Final Cut Studio would ship this year, but development has suffered “significant setbacks”, a French report explains. This has also led the Apple team to scale back the scope of the release.

One of the pulled-back features relates to an attempt to develop a unified user interface across Apple’s range of pro-video products. As explained by Hardmac this is because of difficulties:

“Reaching a satisfactory compromise among not only the various applications but above all between different development teams, those working on Shake and those working on Motion. Some fundamental differences of opinion about the ideal interface have hamstrung this part of the project which has now been deferred to the next version, in 2013.”

The delay also reflects a brain drain, with Apple reassigning some of its best engineers to develop iOS technologies at the expense of other projects, namely those related to Mac OS X and its applications.

(Perhaps it is a signal of this product’s relative maturity that Final Cut Studio is currently available at a near $200 discount via Amazon)

Internal politics also appear rife. “we’re taking this claim with a pinch of salt, we’ve been told that this situation has really upset Randy Ubilos who’s in charge of the Final Cut division,” the report explains.

Interesingly, a report earlier this year claimed Apple had laid off 40 per cent of its Final Cut staff. This was later denied by Apple, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs told users not to worry a Final Cut Pro is “alive and well“.