" Create music with the best gear ever made."
taken from the UAD website:
Get exclusive new instruments and tools with our ever‑expanding library.
## Runs Natively 
UAD Spark plug‑ins run on your Mac. No UA hardware required. (Windows coming Fall 2022).
Give your recordings the pro analog tones heard on your favorite albums.
so maybe as a result with the Apple M1 chips and especially the new Mac studios, it´s not really a need for the UAD Satelites oder the dsp power in their interfaces anymore? Or maybe it gets harder for UAD to get the sharc chips?
In general I think thats kind of good future move. But just wonderung about, if I can get UAD plugins I already own also with native support.
Subscription ? No thanks.
If I already own the UAD version of a plug-in, do I get the UADx version for free?
Yes! If you already own a UAD plug-in or UAD instrument that has been ported to UADx then you can get the UADx native version for free.
Notes
A UAD Spark subscription is not required to use these perpetual UADx licenses.
Your UADx licenses require Pace iLok License Manager, which is installed automatically by UA Connect.
No native Silicon support yet though, even with MacOs only untill fall 2022… 
So no M1?? Just wondering how many or how less api vision channel strips can run then on my macbookpro 2018
Getting access to the native version if you have the DSP version for free is nice.
Not enough plugins right now but I’m looking forward to being able to mix without my Apollo (I always use the Lex224, EMT140, Capitol Chambers so if I can use these 3, I’ll be good).
The subscription thing is meh though.
I have a MacBook Pro 2019 (basic setup with 8G of RAM) and the following worked fine (no audio interface connected):
16 tracks mono
16 tracks stereo
96khz
64 buffer
API vision channel strips + Studer A800 on every tracks
was using 50% of CPU.
okay, that sounds ace! If an intel mac book could handle so many instances of plugins while still running smooth, I just wonder why we needed DSP for the UAD plugins at all … and I just switched from thunderbold to usb-c dongle 1,5 years ago.
Do you have the new api vision channel strip? Just wondering if the upgrade is worth it. I use the api all the time, especially for drums.
I bought the Apollo for its low latency tracking capabilities, not really for mixing(Thinking of DSP consumption when mixing is no fun so I don’t use it much for that and use mainly the reverbs/delays). DSP is useful in that case and rock solid (I’m sure they’ll move to a new DSP platform soon-ish). And well, DSP can save a bit of CPU when mixing too so it’s not bad either as your computer is more stable.
It was running smooth but the fan was going crazy but now I can use more UAD plugins when mixing, that’s cool!
I bought it when it was on sale recently so I can’t compare it to the previous version but if you need to upgrade to access the native version, it might be worth the asking price.
…the uad concept was a great thing…in first place…but it’s days are counted lately…
average converter quality keeps on rising…average pre amp benchmarks are slimming down…the era of modeling plugins from top notch gear became average overall…
while the subscription model just won’t do the trick for most musicians…
and any halfway actual m1 cpu can catch up with most of all old latency issues easily these days…
the days of external dsp’s have come to an end…
Would like to see what latency/stability you would get when recording with an M1, 96khz, 64 buffer and 12 tracks running 3 plugins each (EQ/COMP1/COMP2) and 2 auxes (reverb/delay)! If it’s below 3ms and stable, I’m in! (When I sing, latency is a no-no).
What I like about the Apollo Twin is that I can have a song with a lot of plugins, virtual instruments, 1024 buffer but still record new tracks with very low latency (even though I don’t really do that these days) which was just not possible with my previous USB-3 interface.
…of course, apollo still rules big time…now…but tomorrow?..i don’t think so…
and hey, drummers are the most vulnurable to latency…and even. they can live/work with anything under 10 ms…
while i’m recording vocals myself and never asked for 3ms…
Good for you then! I need less and drummers I know too 
I hate the phasing latency adds when tracking my vocals, I’m very sensitive to that but not so much when playing the guitar so switching to an Apollo Twin was a great investment for me. It just works, no fussing around and no latency I can hear.
It doesn’t mean I’m against full native solutions and perhaps Apple switching to ARM is going to solve that, let’s see!
Just found this video with some honest thoughts about the UAD Spark. Make sense to me what he says:
The point is, as the plugins from UAD are already more expensive then the Plugin Alliance for example, I think the 150 USD per Year would be not too bad if it includes all the plugins. But I think there should be a discount for every plugin you already own. For example I already have the LA2A and 1176 collection - as I think most UAD users have - and also the API 2500. So why should I pay 150 USD a year? Just to get the “upgraded” Vision Channel Strip? If there were a lot more plugins to the spark party, like the Lexicon 480 etc … I would think about it again.
Also just wondering, if the release of UAD Spark is maybe one reason that Plugin Alliance kicked out tons of sales during the last months
Century Tube Channel Strip & Oxide Tape Recorder got added today! Its gonna be fun to trying them out tomorrow!
They just added Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection. Looking forward to try it out!