What's new in iMPC Pro 2's version 3.0?
Retronyms, the studio Akai Professional works with on the iOS side of the MPC ecosystem, pushed iMPC Pro 2 to version 3.0 on September 22, free for anyone who already owns the app. The headline engineering upgrade is AUv3 plugin hosting: the app can now load third party Audio Unit instruments and effects directly into its pad and track view, and it can run the other way too, as an AUv3 instrument inside hosts like AUM, Cubasis and GarageBand. That closes a real gap against desktop grade iOS DAWs. It lands alongside Files app integration for dragging samples, projects, mixdowns and stems in and out of any location iOS supports, more flexible time signature options, and a notes pane for syncing lyrics to playback.
Why is Akai charging monthly for the AI part?
The feature actually driving attention to this update is AI powered stem separation, splitting a track into vocals, bass, drums and other inside the waveform editor. It is not included with the app producers already bought. Per Synth Anatomy, it runs 8.99 euros a month or 79.99 euros a year, and both tiers cap usage at 10 separation credits a month rather than unlimited runs. Apple's own App Store listing for iMPC Pro 2 backs up the shape of it, showing a Producer subscription and a pricier Professional tier in the in app purchase list, specifically for the stem tool, on top of whatever was paid to download the app itself (discounted to $6.20 from $24.99 for a limited window, a separate one time charge).
That is the friction. AI stem separation has spread fast over the past two years, into free browser tools, freemium apps and one time purchase plugins alike. Akai putting a metered, recurring subscription on its version, bolted onto a sampler workflow people already bought outright, is what producers are pushing back on in the update's release day threads, not the accuracy of the separation itself.
An app you paid for once, now asking for a card on file every month to use its best new trick.
Is the update actually stable?
Less flattering: the macOS build of 3.0 has real bugs. Synth Anatomy reports it crashes in standalone mode and does not render correctly when loaded as an AUv3 plugin inside a Mac DAW. No fix timeline has been published; anyone on Apple Silicon macOS should expect to wait on a patch before the desktop side of the app is dependable.
