Video Software Chief Randy Ubillos Retiring After 20 Years at Apple - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Video Software Chief Randy Ubillos Retiring After 20 Years at Apple

by

randyApple's former Chief Architect of Video Applications Randy Ubillos announced on Twitter today that he is retiring after working for 20 years at the Cupertino-based company on professional video and photo software. Ubillos is best known as the creator of the first three versions of Adobe Premiere and KeyGrip, which was sold to Apple and released as Final Cut Pro.

While not a household name like some other Apple employees, Ubillos is well known among those who have used Final Cut Pro or other professional video software. In June 2010, he made a brief appearance on stage during WWDC to demo the latest version of iMovie for iPhone 4 and returned on stage in October 2010 during Apple's "Back to the Mac" event for another demo.

Top Rated Comments

150 months ago
and he left us with FCPX?
Which is a fantastic, fast and versatile NLE. When it launched it was lacking features but now it's on par and even superior to the competition in some ways. If you're into your editing you should give it another look if you haven't in a while. It's a different way of editing and has done away from using film analogies, in this digital video world.

I mean each to there own and there's not really a wrong NLE.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
150 months ago
Randy and his teams have done some really incredible things for video editors around the world. FCP @ $999 was an amazing break through in pricing back when Avid cost 50K+ for an installation. I remember running FCP 3 on a Power Book and thinking....this sort of power on a laptop isn't available anywhere else. iMovie mainstreamed video editing unlike any other product.

The space is full now of cheap video editors but at the time, FCP and iMovie were huge selling points for Macintosh.

I imagine his vested stock options over the last 20 years will leave him with a very good retirement.

AAPL was trading @ $1.50 in 1995 when you factor in splits. It's @ $129 today. I'd say he did pretty well. :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brock2621 Avatar
150 months ago
So can we trash FCP X now and get FCP 7 with 64bit support and multicore support?

Sweet mother no...... please no. I've been using FCP-X editing RED Dragon 6k raw .r3d files straight out of camera on a freaking iMac's without having to render. Truly amazing.

The ability to auto sync audio on import? PluralEyes is required to do that in Premiere and that plugin itself costs as much as FCP-X.

The ability to create a group with a single clip, and then use that 20 times in an edit and changing color on ALL 20 of those clips with a single click is amazing. Also, seamless integration with Davinci Resolve is priceless.

It had a bumpy launch but has bloomed into an amazing and critical piece of software that runs insanely smooth.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kariya Avatar
150 months ago
Apple bleeding some veteran talent recently. Hopefully the apprentices have been well trained.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yoak Avatar
150 months ago
I use both premiere and fcx, and fcx is just faster (to edit) when you get the hang of it. The only thing that bugs me is that I can't set the quality of the playback of my RED 6K and 5k like in premiere. Fcx handles it automatically and I often would like less quality on my aging Mac pro for better performance.
I now love things I laughed at in the beginning; Share to Vimeo or YouTube.
I thought that was for holiday videos, but it's great to show client versions this way. All I have to do when finished a version, hit share, it's renderd, coded and uploaded to Vimeo. I'm already sitting in my sofa when an email tells me it's ready to be shared from Vimeo and I can do that from my iPhone
Thanks.

I do understand that other nles might be better suited in a larger collaborate environment, but I'm not in one, is FCX works great for me on a lot of projects
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LethalWolfe Avatar
150 months ago
GOOD RIDDANCE! This guy destroyed the Apple Pro applications market. He ruined FCP, and overall did nothing to help professional video editors.

Maybe now we can re-claim the pro portion of our apps and hardware for actual pros.

Nothing to help pro video editors? He was one of the original creators of Premiere and then left to create KeyGrip (which was purchased by Apple and became FCP). When people in post talk about the 'three A's' it's Adobe, Apple and Avid and this guy has finger prints all over the NLEs from two of those companies.

With regards to X, Randy was originally working on a video logging app as a companion piece to FCP (kinda like what Prelude is to PPro) and when Jobs saw it he fell in love and said that's what he wants the next FCP to look like, and X was born.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Duo Display Cracking

Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue

Friday October 30, 2026 3:20 pm PDT by
In a memo shared with Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, and later obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided technicians with guidance on how to diagnose and address the iPhone Duo's inner display cracking issue. If a customer reports the issue, Apple advised technicians to inspect the iPhone Duo and repair or replace it in accordance with their standard procedures....
iPad mini OLED feature 1

Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display

Thursday October 29, 2026 1:47 pm PDT by
While the new iPad mini has an OLED display, the device does not support ProMotion, meaning the display's refresh rate is limited to 60Hz instead of 120Hz. ProMotion support would have allowed for the iPad mini's refresh rate to automatically adjust from 10Hz to 120Hz depending on the content being displayed, but evidently Apple has kept the feature exclusive to the iPad Pro among iPad...
Pinched iPad Mini

Apple Avoids Showing Pinched Fingers on iPad Mini Page in South Korea

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:52 am PDT by
In the U.S. and most other countries, Apple's website shows the new iPad mini being held by pinched fingers, but this is not the case in South Korea. The new iPad mini shown with pinched fingers on Apple's website in the U.S. On its South Korean website, Apple simply shows an image of the iPad mini on its own. The new iPad mini shown without pinched fingers on Apple's website in South Korea ...
Latest Stories
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount
16 hours ago
Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today
Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today
16 hours ago
Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software
Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software
16 hours ago
Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity
Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity
18 hours ago
Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates
Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates
19 hours ago
'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today
'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today
1 day ago
iPhone 18 Pro Sales Surge in China, Offsetting Decline in U.S. and Japan
iPhone 18 Pro Sales Surge in China, Offsetting Decline in U.S. and Japan
1 day ago
HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More
HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More
1 day ago
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
1 day ago
iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China
iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China
1 day ago
Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week
Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week
1 day ago
Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'
Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'
2 days ago
14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2
14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2
2 days ago
iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later
iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later
2 days ago
Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign
Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign
2 days ago
The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More
The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More
2 days ago
MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed
MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed
2 days ago
Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry
Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry
2 days ago
Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders
Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders
2 days ago
Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months
Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months
2 days ago
Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac
Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac
2 days ago
Apple Acquires Ascend.io
Apple Acquires Ascend.io
2 days ago
HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features
HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features
2 days ago
AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99
AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99
2 days ago
Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral
Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral
2 days ago
Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores
Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores
2 days ago
Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027
Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027
2 days ago
New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed
New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed
2 days ago
Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display
Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display
2 days ago
Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors
Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors
3 days ago

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors