The world's most popular DAW for beat-making and electronic music. Late 2025 updates introduced the 'Gopher' AI assistant, multithreaded sample loading, and 'Emphasizer' (a lite loudness maximizer). While it offers the best value in the industry due to its 'Buy Once, Update Forever' model, professional users often find its non-linear workflow and lack of traditional 'Take Comping' less suitable for multi-track live band recording.

Apple's flagship DAW, now a leader in 'Agentic Audio' for late 2025. Key updates include 'Stem Splitter' for high-fidelity track separation, AI 'Session Players' (Bass, Keyboard, and Drummer), and 'ChromaGlow' for vintage saturation. While it is arguably the best value for Mac users due to its included 100GB+ sound library, its Apple-exclusive ecosystem and iPad subscription model remain sticking points for cross-platform creators.