Image Line are working on a native Mac version of FL Studio 12.
There aren’t many DAWs that are single-platform these days, but a couple of the big names will still tie you to either a Mac or a PC. Expect hell to freeze over before Logic ever returns to Windows, but in news that’s almost as improbable, Image Line has been quietly working to recreate its hugely popular FL Studio software on the Mac. Yes, you read that right.
It’s been kind of possible to use FLS on a Mac before, either under emulation or using Crossover to ‘wrap’ the Windows app to run in OS X, but both techniques have some fairly significant limitations when it comes to performance and support for things like plug-ins, to the point that it can seem like more hassle than it’s worth. What I really want is a fully native version of FL Studio built for the Mac, with exactly the same features as the well-established Windows version. And that’s what Image Line is creating!
Although the developer is at great pains to avoid naming any kind of official release date at the moment, it really does look like this is going ahead. It’s officially in alpha and although there are plenty of issues (hey, alpha isn’t even beta), they seem very serious about moving the whole app and all its related plug-ins into the aquafied world of the Mac platform.
If you own a license for FL Studio 10 or higher already you will be able to download the alpha Mac version and subsequent betas from inside your user area. The usual caveats apply: don’t rely on it for anything and don’t do any serious projects in it, because it’s far from finished. The really exciting part is that, apparently, existing licenses will work cross-platform so when it’s all done and dusted, your Windows license should also work on a Mac. Now that’s fruity.