More information on future updates M+

Are you talking about the announcement of the MPC3.0 PUBLIC BETA, which still has to be released within the coming weeks? So yes, MPC hardware users are invited and have the choice to participate… or not.

Nevertheless, what I don’t like about where this discussion is heading, is that it’s gone completely off-topic and users are bashing other users because they don’t experience the same problems within their particular workflow.

Again, Maschine+ is a great piece of gear, but it has its quirks that need to be addressed. NI promised an update to the core software that was expected to be released in April 2024 and should fix things (see provided release notes). So please, have a look at the topic‘s title and the first post.

Akai is simply announcing and showing an upcoming public BETA for MPC. It’s up to the users of standalone devices IF they want to use this new BETA version of the software… that’s why they call it a BETA and not a FINAL release. So it’s the exact opposite: first the hardware (in Beta), than the desktop. Communication first, than the release. I assume that users are warned before participating that v3 projects aren’t backwards compatible.

Another example would be the Stems add-on. It was released to the desktop software first, but as far as I know it didn’t break project compatibility with the hardware. It renders to standard audio files, that do not break compatible with projects in standalone. After that the standalone version of the add-on was released, which is less powerful but works on MPC devices.

Same goes for Ableton Push 3, not everything is available or as powerful in stand-alone as on the desktop, but you can convert / export and reimport all projects. And updates to the software also include updates to the standalone hardware. Even Push 2 had a feature update with the most recent update of Live 12.

THREAD SUMMARY

But I don’t want to compare Maschine SW and the M+ to offerings of those (and other) vendors. I also understand development doesn’t always go as planned. The solution for that would be clear communication… and that’s why I’ve started a separate topic to ask for ‘more information on future updates for M+’.

As @Kai_NI wrote in December 2023, he would provide us with this kind of information on Maschine and M+. It’s buried somewhere in the topic on audio interface compatibility, so in January 2024 I’ve started this topic because I would like some information on:

1. Kernel updates: the core drivers and OS that let the M+ run as a standalone piece of hardware.
   
   (Personally I’m not interested in tech talk, but more about known issues and how / when they’re are being addressed. If issues can’t be addressed or will not be addressed, then I think it’s up to NI reps to inform us about these kind of decisions.)
   
2. Software updates: the Maschine SW version that’s ported to run on the M+, so not the dekstop version.
   
   (From my point of view this includes official versions of instruments and effect plugins. All of this is or should be compatible with some version of the desktop software. Up to NI to keep this working as advertised. So if the desktop has to move on and the standalone version can’t or is EOL, than I think there should be a separate version that remains compatible; probably the new desktop version can be used, too, with the M+ in controller mode).
   

In March 2024 there was a first reply from Kai on the issues with audio interface compatibility. He expected the kernel update to be released in April 2024:

After that, nothing. No update, no communications whatsoever. Only a quarterly high-level look-out that would mention the desktop version… but nothing on the M+ and the delayed kernel update or SW.

So I’ve bumped this topic, again. This time tagging other NI reps, and early July 2024 @Matthew_NI surprised us with some information on Maschine 3 (desktop) and assured (some sort of) compatibility with the (current) M+:

Of course that’s great news, also for the future of M+. Than again, some of us are still waiting for those fixes / update to the kernel software, that was expected to be released late April 2024. Also compatibility with the (hopefully) latest version of the desktop software. As far as I know this should / could be separate releases, but it seems NI chooses to one release and test:

It’s the end of July now and there’s still no updated for the M+, nor can we participate in testing the update specifically for the M+ SW and kernel (at least, not that I’m aware of). So I’m not talking about new features for SW, improvements to the UI of M+ or a better and simpler File Management solution.

No, I’m talking about 1) a kernel update that should solve problems that are known for months or maybe years now, and 2) simple compatibility with the latest version of the desktop software (before there’s an even newer release).

This all has nothing to do with the announced Maschine 3 for desktop and/or compatibility with current NI hardware (M+, MK3, KK, etc.).

Page 1: doesn’t say anything about the time it took them to reply or provide information through other topics.

Page 10: yes exactly, that’s why I’ve wrote a summary…!

And yes, a lot of fuzz created due to feature requests (for desktop), the Maschine 3 announcement, and the lack of communication by NI about this (and other) releases. So don’t blame your fellow customers for that.

OT: Akai… it’s the announcement of a PUBLIC BETA for MPC3. Head over to Akai Pro channel on YouTube, have a look at the official MPC 3 Overview video released on July 2025. Pay attention to the last section on how to join the PUBLIC BETA.

You didn’t… that’s why you act like if you don’t understand me. But hey, you win. Have a nice life.

I’ll wait for NI reps to respond.

Just to make sure, are you talking about just File Transfer or also about opening and editing projects on both sides of the line…?