For those who don’t know the tool: DaVinci Resolve combines editing, Fusion, colour grading and Fairlight audio post. Version 21 also adds still-image processing.
Final, mostly familiar
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21 for Windows, macOS and Linux. The release converts the features developed through four public betas into the final 21.0 branch. Most headline additions arrived in the first beta. These include the Photo page, AI IntelliSearch, Speech Generator, CineFocus, MultiMaster trim passes, expanded keyframing, Fairlight folders and more than 70 Krokodove tools for Fusion. The initial feature set appeared in our NAB overview and our closer look at the Photo page.
What the betas added
Public Beta 2 added tethered capture for supported Canon and Sony cameras, background rendering, proxy generation, Fusion remote monitoring and wider access to Studio AI tools. Public Beta 4 concentrated on repair work. It corrected Canon RAW highlights, improved still-image FX controls, exposed Fusion motion paths in the keyframe editor and refined CineFocus output. The final build therefore brings fewer surprises than its version number suggests. That is fine. Production software benefits more from predictable behaviour than another feature attempting to write the porject brief.
The iPad catches up
The clearest final-release addition is DaVinci Resolve for iPad, which now reaches version 21. The tablet edition gains the Photo page with albums, ratings, tags, RAW processing, cloud synchronisation and Resolve’s Color Grading controls. It also receives selected AI tools, expanded keyframing, OGraf and Lottie support, MultiMaster trims and Apple ProRAW decoding. Its feature set still depends on the iPad model and does not match every desktop function. It does, however, move considerably beyond the original Cut and Color configuration.
Pricing and migration
DaVinci Resolve 21 remains free. DaVinci Resolve Studio costs $295. Projects opened in version 21 cannot return to Resolve 20.3.2. Back up project libraries and individual projects before migration, particularly when shared databases, plug-ins or active deliveries enter the colour pipeline. New tools and innovations should always be tested with representative media and delivery settings before use in production. A missing beta label is useful. It is not quality control.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/whatsnew
