Final Cut Pro X has been launched by Apple - the first major upgrade to the video editing suite since 2009.

If you're not a professional video editor (why the heck not?) then you may not be aware of this arm of Apple's enormous empire - but Final Cut Pro is fast becoming the go-to software for the movie and television industry.

It's estimated to be used by almost half of the US professional editing market and a 2008 report by the American Cinema Editors Guild placed their users at 21 per cent. Movies to be edited with the software include Jarhead, 300, True Grit, Zodiac, The Simpsons Movie and Napoleon Dynamite.

Final Cut Pro X brings isn't just a re-jig of the old software either, it's been completely rebuilt from the ground up according to Cupertino Computers, and introduces the "Magnetic Timeline" at its heart.

“Final Cut Pro X is the biggest advance in Pro video editing since the original Final Cut Pro,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product ,arketing. “We have shown it to many of the world’s best Pro editors, and their jaws have dropped.”

“I’m blown away by what Apple has done with Final Cut Pro,” said Angus Wall, Academy Award-winning film editor (for The Social Network). “Final Cut Pro X is incredibly modern and fast, but most importantly it lets you focus on telling your story in the most creative way, while it actively manages all of the technical details.”

It's in the Mac App Store now and it costs £179.99.