Free version of DaVinci Resolve with support for 32K. Required: Apple M5!

Free DaVinci Resolve has just made a huge leap – from version 20.3 it allows for editing and grading in a resolution of up to 32K, provided you are using a device with the Apple M5 chip. This is a feature that until now has been reserved exclusively for the paid Studio edition. DaVinci Resolve is the standard tool used in both Hollywood and by independent creators. During FlatpanelsHD's visits to film studios, it is Resolve that is the tool for colour correction and post-production. Now one of the most significant barriers — the 4K limit — simply disappears.

Required devices: Apple M5 chip

The full 32K has so far only been available in Resolve Studio. Update 20.3 introduces it to the free version, still at 60 fps. Blackmagic notes that to work in such high resolution, a Mac with an Apple M5 chip is needed. The M5 chip can currently be found in:

• 14” MacBook Pro,

• iPad Pro (2025),

• Apple Vision Pro (2025).

This is relatively accessible hardware that allows entry into a level of quality that until recently one could only read about in industry reports. Resolve 20.3 also works on iPadOS, and support for background rendering has emerged on iPhones with M4. In 2025, Apple plans to expand the chip family with M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra in upcoming Macs.

What is 32K for?

While the industry is slowly entering 8K, 32K may sound like a futuristic whim. However, the market has specific applications:

• huge LED volumes for virtual production,

• projection domes,

• custom signage formats,

• high-end VFX,

• materials from cameras such as Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65.

Working in a higher resolution than the output format also has archival significance and allows for preparing material for future remasters—while simultaneously improving the quality of the 4K version through better downscaling.

What's new in DaVinci Resolve 20.3?

Key changes:

• Support for up to 32K with Apple M5 processors.

• Improved performance of Resolve FX noise reduction.

• Named snapshots for timeline backups.

• Metadata columns in Media Pool + import/export ALE.

• Creation of custom metadata fields.

• Media Pool remembers views for each project.

• Inserting gaps in the timeline (Insert Gap).

• Keyboard shortcuts: search in Media Pool, Open in Timeline.

• Fixes for speed change functionality with Sync Lock enabled.

• New broadcast safe aspect ratios: 2.39 and 2.40.

• Alpha in film look creator, film damage, and analog damage tools.

• HDR Vivid and Audio Vivid in IMF workflow.

• Ability to add HDR10+ to QuickTime and MP4.

• Better support for MXF, OpenEXR, ARW, Fusion, and immersive modes.

• Stability, decoding, and performance improvements.

Important: as of version 20.3, the OpenCL mode on macOS is no longer supported.