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Premiere Pro 2021 at a glance
- A new captions workflow (15.0). Captions get their own track on the timeline, and you style them in the Essential Graphics panel.
- Media Replacement in Motion Graphics templates (15.0). Drop your own logo or video into a template.
- Faster Warp Stabilizer (15.0). Adobe says the analysis is up to 4x faster on UHD footage.
- Lumetri preset previews (15.1). See what a preset does before you apply it.
- Text gradients and a Loudness Meter (15.2). More looks for titles, and a proper meter for your mix.
- Speech to Text (15.4). Premiere transcribes your video and turns the transcript into captions.
- Native Apple M1 support (15.4). Premiere runs natively on Macs with the M1 chip.
A new way to add captions
Premiere Pro 15.0 rebuilt captions from the ground up. Captions now sit on their own Captions track on the timeline, so you trim and move them like any other clip. You style them in the Essential Graphics panel, with the same font, color and background controls you use for titles.
The new captions need a newer project format. That's one reason projects saved in Premiere Pro 2021 don't open in Premiere Pro 2020.
Speech to Text: captions without typing (15.4)
In July 2021, Premiere Pro 15.4 added Speech to Text. Premiere transcribes the dialogue in your sequence, and you fix names or typos right in the transcript. Then it turns the transcript into captions on the timeline, timed to match the pace of the speech. You can also use captioning presets for broadcast, or make your own.
The Transcript panel has search and replace, can tell different speakers apart, and can export the transcript as a text file. Speech to Text works in 13 languages and is included in your Premiere Pro or Creative Cloud All Apps plan at no extra cost. Your audio is transcribed in Adobe's cloud, so you need an internet connection.
Swap logos and videos in Motion Graphics templates
With Media Replacement in 15.0, a Motion Graphics template can have slots for your own media. Whoever builds the template in After Effects marks which images or videos can be replaced. In Premiere, you drag your logo or clip into the slot, and the template updates. It's a quick way to reuse one template for many clients, versions or languages.
Native on Apple M1 Macs (15.4)
Premiere Pro 15.4 runs natively on Macs with the Apple M1 chip, and so does Media Encoder. Adobe says Premiere runs nearly 80 percent faster on M1 than on comparable Intel-based Macs. Before 15.4, Premiere ran on M1 Macs through Rosetta 2.
Scene Edit Detection got faster in the same update: up to 2x on Intel Macs and Windows PCs, and up to 3x on M1, according to Adobe. At the same time, Premiere stopped supporting CUDA and OpenCL on macOS, as Apple moves Macs to its Metal graphics.
Better titles: gradients, shadows and backgrounds
Version 15.2 added gradients for titles and text in the Essential Graphics panel. Open the color picker, choose Linear Gradient or Radial Gradient, and set your color stops.
Version 15.4 added more styling: several shadows on the same text, better text backgrounds, and wider font substitution that covers 28 international alphabets. You can also upgrade Legacy Titles to Source Graphics, so old titles show up in the Project panel, where you can sort and track them like any other item.
Audio: a Loudness Meter and quicker mixing
The new Loudness Meter in 15.2 measures the loudness of a full mix, a single track or a submix. It shows short-term, integrated and momentary loudness, the loudness range and the true peak, so you can check your mix against a delivery spec without leaving Premiere.
- Copy and paste effect racks (15.0). Copy all the audio effects on one track in the Audio Track Mixer and paste them onto another.
- Automatic audio device switching (15.4). On Windows, Premiere notices when you swap headphones, microphones or an audio interface, and switches to them.
- Old audio effects removed (15.0). Obsolete audio effects, already replaced by newer ones, are gone.
Color, speed and teamwork
- Lumetri preset previews (15.1). Preview thumbnails show each Lumetri preset as you browse the Effects panel.
- Tetrahedral LUT interpolation (15.4). LUTs are read more precisely, which helps against banding in shots with strong shadows and highlights.
- Faster H.264 and HEVC exports on Windows (15.1). Better use of Intel Quick Sync hardware encoding.
- DirectX on Windows (15.2). DirectX replaces OpenGL for the display, and with an HDR10 monitor you get native HDR playback.
- Team Projects (15.0 and 15.4). Faster search and SmartBins in 15.0, and faster saving in 15.4.
- Label colors and clip names (15.4). Change them in the timeline for the current sequence only, or for the source clip too.
- Caption improvements (15.2). Label colors for captions, and captions that stay linked to their video and audio when you trim.
- More cameras (15.0 and 15.2). Import for ARRI Alexa Mini footage, and smoother Canon XF HEVC playback.
- Inclusive language (15.0). Some terms in the app were renamed.
Updates during Premiere Pro 2021
- 15.0, March 2021. The new captions workflow, Media Replacement and a faster Warp Stabilizer.
- 15.1, April 2021. Lumetri preset previews and faster Intel exports on Windows. What's new in Premiere Pro 15.1.
- 15.2, May 2021. Text gradients, the Loudness Meter and DirectX with HDR on Windows. What's new in Premiere Pro 15.2.
- 15.4, July 2021. Speech to Text, native Apple M1 support and new title styling. What's new in Premiere Pro 15.4.
In August 2021, version 15.4.1 fixed flickering in the Program Monitor when you used edit tools on clips.
Premiere Pro 2021 system requirements
| Computer | Premiere Pro 2021 |
|---|---|
| Windows | Windows 10 (64-bit) version 1903 or later |
| Windows processor | Intel 6th Gen or newer, or AMD Ryzen 1000 Series or newer |
| Mac | macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later, macOS 10.15 (Catalina) recommended |
| Mac processor | Intel 6th Gen or newer, or Apple M1 (native from 15.4) |
| Memory | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB for HD, 32 GB for 4K or higher |
| Graphics | 2 GB of GPU memory minimum, 4 GB recommended |
These are Adobe's requirements for Premiere Pro 15.4. Projects saved in Premiere Pro 2021 don't open in older versions, so keep a copy if you share projects with someone who hasn't updated.
Our plugins and templates work in Premiere Pro 2021
EaseFlow, BetterFX, QuickPaste and Mako all work in Premiere Pro 2021. Our plugins and Motion Graphics templates work in Premiere Pro 2021 to 2027, and our presets in 2019 to 2027, on Windows and Mac.
Want the short version? Read the 7 best new features in Premiere Pro 2021, or find out whether you should update to Premiere Pro 2021.
FAQ
When did Premiere Pro 2021 come out?
Adobe released Premiere Pro 15.0, the first Premiere Pro 2021 version, in March 2021, and announced it on its blog on March 10, 2021. Adobe called it the launch of the 2021 versions of Premiere Pro and its video apps.
What version number is Premiere Pro 2021?
Version 15. It covers 15.0 (March 2021), 15.1 (April), 15.2 (May) and 15.4 (July), plus bug fix updates like 15.4.1.
Which version added Speech to Text?
Premiere Pro 15.4, in July 2021. The new captions track it builds on came earlier, in 15.0.
Does Premiere Pro 2021 run natively on Apple M1?
Yes, from version 15.4. Earlier 15.x versions run on M1 Macs through Rosetta 2.
Editing in Premiere Pro 2021? See the plugins that work in it.
