There’s a new option, albeit at a higher, subscription cost. It appears Apple has “raised the bar” in the tablet DAW market.
What is Steinberg’s response to what appears to be a highly capable alternative @LSlowak?
I’m sure many loyal Cubasis users are anxious to hear from you.
To me, the main difference between GarageBand and Logic Pro for iPad, among many others, will be the chance to automate and edit every parameter.
Currently, the only parameters GarageBand iOS allows for automation editing are the track volume and pan. This is so limited that makes me unable to create proper electronic music tracks until the final stages; this is why I only use GarageBand sometimes as a sketch tool for composing the first ideas and then export the tracks, loops, and MIDI files to Cubasis for further editing.
But the forthcoming Logic Pro for iPad changes that and will offer full creative possibilities at the same level as Cubasis. The issue here is that the automation editing in the current Cubasis version still needs lots of attention; it’s cumbersome and, most of the time, frustrating to deal with the line handles (no curves feature), even with an Apple Pencil.
Now there’s an opportunity to fix this by revamping how the automation editing works to be on par with how Logic Pro presumably will do it.
It would be great if a roadmap of the forthcoming Cubasis features could be shared.
well, its good there is competition, cubasis dont have meter and tempo changes in a project, which is weird not implementing it for years now
I completely agree, tempo and time signature changes plus the ability to record SysEx is something I miss from Cubase and I would welcome these inclusions, I have no intention of moving away from Cubasis, but if any competition creates speedy and prominent updates then all the better.
I don’t think I would like to spend more time learning a new DAW, I have been using Steinberg for the past 23 years on Pc and iPad and at my age I want to create not investigate.
EDIT:
Just checked it out on YouTube, it seems very GarageBand style and it comes with a monthly subscription (£4.99), the first month is free though, that will be interesting 
I’m interested in the mixer and plug-in thumbnail (my term, not Apple’s, they call it plug-in tiles). Also, it appears that Logic Pro iPad actually has mix busses, a feature many have begged for.
Perhaps they have also supported plug-in delay compensation and take folders (for comping), though this is just speculation.
Since Apple boasts round trip compatibility between the iOS and the macOS version, it seems to be the full Logic Pro code base with a touch interface. I really don’t see how Cubasis can compete with that in the current state.
CUBASIS is the answer.
Which is already ahead of the game. iOS, Android & Chrome.
It cannot get better than that.
@mariusl32 the round-trip sharing would seem to point to a high degree of similarity in many areas, such as stock plug-in capabilities.
My OP was an attempt to draw out a response from Lars Slowak, who is (I hope) thinking about strategies to compete with what seems like an incredibly complete offering from one of the best players in the music software world. I’m sure this is a tough moment for Lars and the rest of the Cubasis team.
I think they will add 120 new metronome sounds. 
Take a look at this YouTube video
@fixitmania53 that’s an interesting and valuable perspective.
Never the less…
As active Cubasis users, living within the capabilities of our current product, we’re looking at a new option. We want to know about Logic Pro for iPad:
Yes, Apple is talking about radically new and different tools that have no analog in our current toolset. Let’s reserve judgement on how well capabilities like the sound browser work on the disk-limited iPad. Reality is, we have not touched this app, and so we have to reserve judgement on the whole thing until we can try it.
Still, I wager that many Cubasis loyalists offered a Logic Pro with bus capability and a better way of accessing plug-in controls from the mixer would be hard pressed to not be interested.
In my opinion, the question for Steinberg right now is:. Does Logic Pro perform reasonably reliably, even without some of the cool new creative capabilities, on less than royally provisioned iPads?
If so, Steinberg has a “Sword of Damocles” poised over the future of Cubasis, unless they have a dramatic and impressive roadmap to trot out very soon.
I am with you 100% 
I find it funny how a YouTuber has totally abandoned Cubasis and will now jump into Logic for iPad…. He has stated that Steinberg was paying him to in the form of keeping Cubasis crippled for too long…. I am totally against subscription software….
Many have commented in forums of all kinds about how terrible subscription models are.
As an executive at a software company, and the former CEO of my own software startup, I have a different perspective.
If you expect a software publisher to maintain a product and to continually enhance it, you must respect that publisher’s need for a revenue stream to fund this massive effort.
Subscription fees tend to be lower than the cost of an outright purchase (compare the $199 cost of Logic Pro for Mac vs the $4.99 per month subscription for Logic Pro iPad). Companies that rely on subscription fees have a more predictable annual revenue for a product, and therefore a greater incentive and budget to maintain and enhance that product. This is in contrast to the “lumpy” revenue that outright purchase generates.
Perhaps, if Steinberg had charged us a subscription fee for Cubasis, they could have maintained and enhanced it much more rapidly.
If you are prepared to buy version X of a product for your generation Y iPad and never update it beyond IOS version Z, insist on an outright purchase. Otherwise, pay for subscriptions in your own self-interest!
It’s a sad day that Steinberg have ignored all the warning signs that have clearly been there to see. In a review I posted several months ago I warned Steinberg that if they did not improve Cubasis with more professional features someone would beat them to it. Well it seem like Apple have done just that. Logic Pro for iPad is going to be functionality close to the desktop version. The extremely small subscription model is also a very smart move. The low income stream on IOS apps is not enough to pay for expensive software engineers to continue indefinitely to improve and maintain the software. A sensible and logical move from Apple. We now need for Steinberg to do the same with Cubasis and bring the desktop features to the IOS platform that it now deserves.
@mogpot11 you are 100% correct.
Apple is charging more for Logic Pro than Steinberg is for Cubasis, albeit in a subscription mode.
Steinberg’s concept for Cubasis has always been a very good one. They aim to bring a robust DAW with a quality UI to tablet platforms. Their starting point is very strong - the look and feature set of Cubase, one of the most respected DAW’s on the market.
While charging more, Apple may bring an even more robust DAW to the iPad with an even better UI (we’ll see in a few hours).
I hope Steinberg has a plan to respond aggressively. The bar has been raised from a price standpoint. Perhaps Steinberg should offer a subscription, and invest the funds in more development resources?
Competition could be a great thing for Cubasis, or maybe it won’t be.
I downloaded Logic Pro for iPad and played with it a couple of hours. It’s absolutely stunning especially because of the quality and quantity of samples and instruments. The interface is very very smart but takes some time to get used to. Just wonderful but … there is a but…
What is the purpose of having such a power engine on an iPad? No matter how clever you are to design the interface, practical use will always be crippled by the limited real estate of an iPad.
I think that a tablet DAW is meant for quick jobs on the field or when your PC is not at hand. Having an incredibly sophisticated program like Logic goes beyond what is needed by users.
Then I came back to Cubasis, made a quick project and fell in love once again with that super friendly interface and immediate access to all key parameters.
Logic for iPad is a masterwork though and is also so beautiful to look at. But I for one will not confirm my subscription in 30 days time when the free trial period expires.
A few good things should be learned by our Steinberg team. We should really step up development.
Have I got £200 to buy Logic Pro…. I think not, and if I paid the £4.99 monthly subscription- will I be able to stop paying once I reach £200……I think not!
Over the years I have purchased more than 80 synth apps that I have used in Cubasis3, many are brilliant, some are so-so. One thing for sure - these synths will sound the same in Logic Pro as they do in Cubasis3.
Ok, maybe there are more tools and features in Logic, but as of yet I have not felt restricted with Cubasis3 tools and features, there could be reoccurring bugs in Logic which will need ironing out over time….perhaps!
I’m more than happy with Cubasis3 
I’m pretty sure Steinberg are working on something with Cubasis. You’re assuming in one day because Logic came out with something on the Ipad that they need to drop something tomorrow. I have both on my ipad pro. I’m going with Steinberg/Yamaha here in the long run with consistent updates.
A quick check of Logic Pro in my iPad revealed the following:
It instantly and reliably connected to my Behringer XR18 mixer, something Cubasis often refuses to do until the iPad is rebooted. Further testing required.
It supports true busses. Any track can send variably to any number of busses. Busses can send to busses, and support plug-ins just like tracks do.
It supports “takes” in a way that makes sense to me. This means we can do comping.
It recognized my Behringer X Touch controller. However, track names didn’t show up on the track LCD’s and the faders didn’t jump to match the corresponding tracks’ fader position in the app. It appears Mackie MCU support is not part of Logic Pro iPad. Will it be in the future?
It recognizes plug-in latency, though doesn’t compensate for audio latency as far as I can tell. It does have compensation for MIDI latency. Perhaps we’ll see compensation for audio latency in the future, but for now, there’s no audio PDC in Logic Pro for iPad.
It appears highly stable on my iPad, and the UI is very responsive as well as intuitive. Further testing with a realistic number of tracks is needed.
Cubasis is my one and only DAW currently. I don’t use a DAW in my Mac, so I’m considering Logic Pro iPad as a direct replacement. So far, I’m seeing a few very real advantages in Logic Pro, and only one for Cubasis. I’ll reserve judgment, but my intuition based on the limited testing I’ve done so far is that I’m likely to switch to Logic Pro.
Steinberg has a real fight on their hands for the hearts, minds and dollars of anyone like me who leverages an iPad for music production.