Bitwig Studio 2.5 is out now. Huzzah!

System Requirements

Windows - Windows 7, 8, or 10 (all in 64-bit)
Mac - macOS 10.11 ("El Capitan") or above
Linux - Ubuntu 17.04 or later

Changes in Bitwig Studio 2.5.1 [released 03 May 2019]

Plug-in Fixes

Reduce loading time and memory usage for some VST3 plug-ins
Improve the error messages when we find problems scanning plug-ins (less redundant information)
If a plug-in constantly reports latency- and IO-changes then ignore these to avoid audio drop-outs
Don't show errors found when trying to treat a shared library as a plug-in if it is just a normal shared library and not a plug-in (Linux/Windows)
When switching presets in a plug-in GUI and a parameter has modulation apply the modulation to the value in the preset
Better handling of VST3 plug-ins that list the same parameter ID multiple times - choose the most likely one based on the metadata
In some cases VST3 parameters would jitter slightly when moved
If a plug-in parameter is modulated allow the user to still interact with it in the plug-in GUI (disable modulation while they do this) and then re-enable when they finish
If a VST3 plug-in parameter was modulated it was hard to edit it inside the plug-in window as it jumped while you tried to edit it
Some VST3 parameters did not update in their plug-in window when they were automated or modulated
Plug-ins that incorrectly list their parameters with non-unique IDs didn't work correctl
Workaround for Acustica VST3 plug-ins: Was incorrectly stating a parameter change came from a user interaction
Workaround for Acqua VST3 plug-ins: Ignore MIDI mappings interface it was returning invalid data

Fixes

Sampler didn't trigger envelope on notes that were shorter than one sample - this could happen with certain drum kits
SFZ files that set a default path to find its samples cannot be loaded
ALSA might fail to scan the devices if the previously selected device is disconnected (Linux)
Undoing the move of a scene could result in a broken layout of the arranger clip launcher if some scenes had a custom width
Sliding content does not work correctly on reversed audio events
Reordering scenes in a nested track results in a broken clip launcher layout
Crash in Maschine JAM script when stepping through parameter pages of DRC VST plug-in
Control scripts that don't require any hardware (eg MIDI or USB) don't automatically start when added
Controller visualizations shown in the status bar may not always show the correct value when the parameter is changed in the Biwig Studio user interface
Stereo Split Device is -6dB too quiet
The timing on some modulation routings would be one processing buffer late

Regression Fixes

Value displays for plug-in parameters not updated on controllers in 2.5 if the parameter is not currently visible in the parameter list in the device chain
Some very old projects that were create in 1.1.x where the user had copied the master track into a nested track group's track list meant that the project could not open in 2.3.x or later

What's New in Bitwig Studio 2.5 [released 07 Mar 2019]

New features

Plug-in hosting overhaul (see section below)
Concept of clip blocks, for addressing different groups of Launcher clips with new Next Action options
Slide-content editing gesture, for shifting the content of clips from the Arranger Panel (and audio events from the Detail Editor Panel)
New device: Note FX Selector, for setting up multiple note FX layers and dynamically switching between them
macOS: Pinch-zooming using trackpad for zooming in all timeline editors (including Arranger) and in the Sampler waveform display

Plug-in hosting overhaul

Added the plug-in hosting mode By Manufacturer, which sandboxes plug-ins from the same manufacturer together (permitting communication between them, when necessary)
Added the plug-in hosting mode By Plug-in, which sandboxes all instances of the same plug-in together (sometimes saving memory)
Renamed and clarified the original hosting modes (now called Within Bitwig [hosts all plug-ins with Bitwig Studio's audio engine], Together [hosts all plug-ins in a single sandbox], and Individually [hosts each plug-in instance by itself])
Quicker scanning of plug-ins, including less chance that plug-ins will show dialogs during scanning
Ability to filter out plug-ins that exist in different versions (by preferring 64 bit over 32 bit, and/or VST3 over VST 2) in either Browser
Option to temporarily show filtered plug-ins in either Browser
Reduce the OS resources we allocate for each plug-in (we no longer allocate a new shared memory area for each plug-in)
Plug-in windows better restore their position and size
Deactivating a plug-in (either directly or when deactivating its track) now unloads the plug-in
Text values for VST3 parameters now shows the knob value (not the modulated value)
Text values entry for VST3 plug-in parameters use the parameter's actual unit
Support VST3 parameter default values
Support VST3 plug-ins dynamically changing their list of parameters at run-time
Sets VST3 channel information (helps handle how certain plug-ins function)
When using U-he VST3 plug-ins also show the h2p preset files in the browser for them and when dragging an h2p file use the VST3 version instead of VST 2 if it is present
Windows: Added context menu option for whether each plug-in should automatically stretch its interface
macOS: some old VST plug-ins that have both Cocoa and Carbon GUI will now open windows with the more modern Cocoa GUI

Improvements

Optimizations on Mac, providing much improved application launch time and better overall performance
When dragging the start or end of Arranger audio clips, contained audio events that overlap are also adjusted
Changing the tempo of audio events via the clip inspector also resizes the clip
Follow Playback option is now set locally within each timeline editor panel
Can now zoom to the current selection by pressing the Z key (pressing it a second time zooms out to the full length of the current editor)
Zooming in and out is faster in the Arranger Timeline Panel
When audio files are added to the arrangement as Raw audio, clip length matches the audio file
When searching in either Browser, closer matches are sorted to the top of the results
Added numerous functions (available as user-defined shortcuts) for navigating and controlling your arrangement
New shortcuts for "Turn On", "Turn Off" and "Toggle On / Off" to set the bypass state of selected devices
All selector devices (Instrument Selector, FX Selector, Note FX Selector) now display which layers are currently active and which are suspended
Better categorization of actions in the shortcuts editor
The states of Browser panels are saved for projects and templates
Expanded Browser folders are remembered, as is which section was expanded
Shift-clicking a folder's triangle icon in the Browser Panel will expand or collapse all folders at the same level
Clip Launcher: Loop length of recorded Clips is quantized to bars
Record buttons in the Clip Launcher Panel are now shown in red
Extension API v8: add setter for the clip launch quantization and the default quantization setting
Extension API v8: add clip launch to Q setter
Akai APC40 mkII: added option to "scroll by pages" as default (making "scroll by one track" the option when holding SHIFT)
AkaiAPC40 mkII: you can now double tap sends, user and bank button to have them stay on (it was already possible by using shift)
Akai APC40 mkII: the main track bank is not following the selected track anymore
Akai APC40 mkII: new option to control the send effect (via device controls) when the send is latched (via shift or double tap)
Akai APC40 mkII: better indications for sends and pan
Akai APC40 mkII: shift + track select to configure the default launch quantization

Fixes

Clip scaling actions (such as Scale 50% and Scale 200%) also scale the clip's loop bracket and start/stop markers
Event snapping in the audio editor is improved when snapping to event boundaries
Sustain pedal data is now properly imported from MIDI files
MIDI clock is no longer offset when pre-roll is in use
The note editor was sometimes unavailable after opening a project
Consolidate now continues clipped notes when there are notes on other keys/channels
VST3 on Linux did not remember the size of the plug-in window
Sometimes the track's mute might introduce a click sound
Automation now repaints correctly when changing timeline tool
Opening a project that had a file selected in browser and auto preview option enabled would start playback of the selected file when the project was loaded
Crash when adding a scene after navigating into a group
Setting an instrument layer chain to solo and deleting it, leaves the rest of the chains muted
Steps modulator: with high amount of steps, miniature view does not display current step anymore
Changing sample rate on Apogee's Ensemble Thunderbolt device does not work correctly on macOS (thanks to Apogee for helping out!)
Potential crash when trying to move audio event in locked layer (audio editor in clip content mode)
Duplicate Clip function refers to wrong clip length in some cases
Plug-in windows are not opening on top of main Bitwig Studio window when that is in full-screen mode on macOS
Support io bus and latency changing notifications for plug-ins correctly and fade in/out their audio when this happens
macOS: some plug-in windows look empty when opening the first time
Crash when sliding content in launcher clip on Windows when "Tablet" or "Master/Detail" Display Profile is active
Crash when invoking action to toggle note editor layer locking on layer that can't be locked
Crash when dragging after double-clicking in velocity editor if the mouse was not moved before second click (to draw linear ramp)
When showing the popup browser from the device chain '+' button, the browser's width can only be resized on the left side, but should be resizable on the right side instead
HW Instrument device: does not apply selected MIDI channel to CC automation
Dragging an audio event to the clip launcher of a grouped track to create a new scene may crash the app
Activating / deactivating per voice option in modulators is not undoable
When copying a device to the clipboard and then pasting it again any choices in source selectors are lost (e.g Dynamics device or a plug-in with a side chain input)
Engine sometimes crashes when moving an automation lane from one clip to another on the clip launcher
Fixed various issues with VST3 plug-ins that don't strictly follow the spec
Parameter automation gets smoothed after device wakeup but should jump immediately to the correct value
Setting sample rate in other applications gets blocked by Bitwig Studio on macOS
Channel was ignored for MIDI messages sent via MidiOut.sendMidi() control surface API
Prevent control surfaces from sending MIDI system messages via MidiOut.sendMidi() which is intended for channel messages
Engine could crash in some rare situations when a plug-in crashed even though it was sandboxed
Plug-in window for Melodyne VST3 could only be opened once
When hosting plug-ins in the engine process, the engine could leak memory
Some VST3 plug-ins could crash when being deleted
Engine crash when connecting to projects that were saved with certain Browser states
Initial size of "Delete used files" dialog was too small
Crash when selecting all multi sample groups when there are none to select
Some plug-ins that did not conform to the VST3 specification could return some junk text in various cases
Don't show parameters from plug-ins in the parameter list if they are not automatable
Selected filter section in the preset tab was not correctly remembered when reopening a project
Add workaround for u-he plug-ins that incorrectly report latency changes when they didn't happen
SFZ files that were saved on a Windows machine that used relative paths to samples containing the backslash (\) character could not be opened on Linux and macOS machines (and vice versa)
Dragging in a multiselection of files from the file browser does not preserve the order
WAV files with invalid "smpl" chunks do not load
LFO modulator may get quantized after running in kHz for a while
Sample root key should be read from filename instead of WAV file header when both are available (and the value extracted from the file name appears more likely to be correct)
Fixed mono sidechain input in plug-ins
Saving a multisample file on top of itself could result in data loss in some situations
Initial launch of a freshly recorded Launcher clip could be incorrectly timed
macOS: window content appears shifted by the height of the title bar in some old VST plug-ins with Carbon GUI
Dragging a project into a project which has fewer scenes than the one being dragged may crash the application