DaVinci Resolve on ARM: Qualcomm delivers Hollywood’s most popular editing app
Creators rejoice as Snapdragon Summit brings the good news.
What you need to know
- DaVinci Resolve is a video editing app designed for creative professionals and hobbyists, famous for its various post-production features like color correction.
- ARM-powered Windows laptops designed for Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite X platform will natively support the software.
- The announcement was made at the Snapdragon Summit event in Hawaii, primarily focused on Qualcomm's X Series platform and Oryon CPU.
Previously only available on ARM-powered Apple macOS devices, one of the best free video editors, DaVinci Resolve, is coming to more supported devices, including future Windows laptops. The announcement comes as part of the ongoing Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii alongside jaw-dropping claims made by the CPU manufacturer about the promised performance of its Oryon processors over its primary competitors, including Apple and Intel.
Dave Lebolt of Blackmagic Design, developers of DaVinci Resolve, took to the stage at the Summit to explain their plans for ARM-supported devices, reportedly running the app 1.7x faster than Intel's 12 core CPUs and 3x faster when using an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) in testing.
Why is DaVinci Resolve such a big deal?
DaVinci Resolve offers a broad range of post-processing tools for creative video editors, though it is primarily famous for its color correction. Combining clip editing with high-quality visual effects and various motion graphic tools alongside audio editing means users can focus on learning a single piece of software rather than an entire creative suite. It's an attractive prospect compared to Adobe's Creative Suite, which splits specific post-processing tools into separate apps like Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro.
Budding Hollywood editors-in-training could essentially pick up an ARM-powered Windows laptop and exclusively use DaVinci Resolve to cut their footage, apply video effects, and balance their audio within the same app from anywhere. If laptop OEMs can beat out some of Apple's most popular MacBook laptops regarding pricing, this could see a gigantic shift in choice for students and proven professionals. DaVinci Resolve is a free app with premium features like rendering 32K footage at 120 FPS over multiple GPUs locked behind the paid DaVinci Resolve Studio alternative.
DaVinci Resolve 18 | Blackmagic Design
Integrates editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics, and audio post-production into one app. DaVinci Resolve has an interface that's easy to learn and powerful once mastered. Work with the same high-quality tools as Hollywood professionals.
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Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.