I think it was pretty clear from the start that Push 3 standalone would eventually end up branching from Live.
Certain they are working on live 12 for it, but seeing as live 12 is now only in beta it makes sense to iron out the bugs in that before porting to Push 3.
Not an easy answer unless you know that you want additional native devices not found in Live 11 Intro (it is intro, not Lite, right?).
The big things are track count… if you haven’t hit it, then not a point to consider.
Same goes for returns.
The biggest thing is Max 4 Live. You can get by without ever using it, or you can get by with only using what has already been created (speaking as someone that has avoided learning M4L but uses it). M4L is expansive and covers tons of utility and workflow choices in addition to instruments and effects.
I wouldnt describe it as branching from Live. Whether Push is a priority at any particular stage of release cycles is bound to vary though, yes.
As for firmware fixes for 11 users, I expect perceptions will hinge in part on what fixes are actually going to be urgently required/deemed necessary for 11 once 12 has been out for a while. I’d assume there will still be fixes for major issues for a while, and those will get backported, but things will dwindle gradually on the Live 11 front. And eventually they will actually put some of the compelling 12 features (beyond the new instruments) into the Push 3 (as in properly accessible from the Push 3s interface), providing further impetus for users to want to upgrade to 12.
All of this still means that I would expect that at some stage people still on 11 will end up with reason to moan that they’ve been left out, but I cannot predict exactly when or what.
Let’s say they extend max4live support for push down the road. There’s no reason 11 users would not be able to update their push for that. You miss out on live specific updates but not updates that are meant for push specifically. I can’t imagine that would be the cas.
You don’t have to worry about this. You maked your choice and bought a MPC Live 2 (again) a week ago, I read in the MPC topic.
I’m sure the Push 3 Standalone will be the best choice for the long term. Ableton has proven that their support will continue for years and years.
Track count is definitely the biggest draw for me. I’ll usually resample Digitakt and Syntakt tracks into the OT or DT to either create stereo weight or build specific tonal range (ala a section of layered guitars or synths), which works exquisitely how I either want it or am used to it. But the P3 with Lite (yes it’s Lite) track limit is a major issue. Also adding more effect sends is a hard limit of 2, which is basically not an option at all instantly when creating any preset instrument.
M4L will likely stay a mystery for awhile. Years of programming for web might come in handy. Looks like I’ll get the robust Suite with the 12 perk down the road. Looking forward to pumping my AH+fx in to a master mix finally.
A look inside the ambient kitchen of Martin Stürtzer, how he uses his Push 3 (controller version) for his live performances. I really enjoyed this video.
Imagine if Ableton made a Push SA sound module, a push without the mpe pads and most of the buttons - just a module with a screen and some knobs. What an amazing thing it would be. I know this is never going to happen but just imagine if it did…
The idea was mouthwatering before but now with the new Meld device I can’t get the thought out of my head. I really don’t want to buy a Push for these soinds and I really don’t want to be tethered to my Macbook all the time… Just imagine…
Indeed, I’m one of them! Currently using Reason 10 and just got a used MPC Live 2 as a happy compromise because the idea of spending nearly 3.5X as much for Push 3 and Live Suite was and still is off-putting.
At a 20% discount and an implied promise of free upgrades for the next 3 years that Live 12 reigns, it’s still prohibitively expensive but perhaps a bit harder for me to resist. 
I wouldnt assume that. Max for live is tied to Live in various ways, so depending on the detail of what they improve it may well require changes on the Live side that will only come to 12 not 11.
I could end up being wrong about this on some occasions in some ways, and still be right in others. All we can really say for sure is they have to balance their development resources against keeping users happy while still encouraging users to upgrade.
We dont have years of Push 3 history to aid our guesses, but I dont see why they would be any more afraid of leaving Push 3 users who stay on 11 behind any more than they are afraid of leaving Live 11 computer users behind in the era of 12. Its not like they’ve sold people hardware that has been superseded overnight. And a chunk of their business model continues to rely on giving a good chunk of existing users reasons to upgrade to the latest version, I dont see why Push 3 standalone users will be treated any differently in this respect. And while there are all sorts of things the Push 3 standalone currently doesnt do that people consider to be omissions that need to be filled in the fullness of time, they didnt promise to fill in any of those gaps at no extra cost at all, they offered no certainty, no public roadmap, and certainly no roadmap of what people could expect to come for free. They very much did promote the image of the Push 3 standalone as being something that can have a long life by upgrading the modular part of the hardware as the years go by. My attitude would be completely different if we were talking about a total dead end for existing Push 3 owners, but we arent, we’re just talking about the standard software model of paid upgrades.
I fully agree with the second part of your post regarding live 11 and 12 functionality specifically.
Maybe I did not describe what I meant well enough. I’m not talking about updates to max4live instrument functions or 11 vs 12 features being implemented into push. I’m talking about how a max4lives knobs represent themselves on push for example. Or how the grid might be used to change or sequence based on a max4live device. This in essence has absolutely nothing to do with which version of live you are using as both the max4live device works in both daws and on push which runs either 11 or 12. some things could even be supported for users that use push 2 and Ableton 10. Because A. It’s a change to the instrument, not the daw and B. It’s a firmware update for push, not the daw. And that firmware in fact is seperate from live even though you update it through live.
Otherwise even push 3 bug fixes would stop being rolled out for 11 users which makes no sense whatsoever :).
Hope my description is a bit clearer. Sure I might be wrong, we’ll see, but just making the point that what I’m talking about is not linked to the daw 11 or 12.
Cheers
Most of that stuff isnt done in firmware though, its done by Live. Almost everything you see on the Push 2 & Push 3 screen (exceptions include stuff like the boot logo) is actually created continually by software on the computer and then sent to the screen as individual pixels, whether that be a normal computer with a Push controller or the compute module inside the Push 3 standalone.
Quite a lot of this is done via python scripts that are part of Live. It is possible to hack around with these, but some stuff is done in a different part of Live, not scripts we can easily mess with, so there are limits to how much we can hack around with.
The method for sending data to the screen was even documented by Ableton, which is how other people were able to write stuff like Push support for Bitwig, albeit using their own graphics which look completely different to the Ableton Live Push screens.
Yeah that I understand 
Anyway, we’ll see 
The Live 12 announcements were quite nice I thought, I’ve personally not had any gear for a while and the Push 3 looks like a nice way back in. I’ve been a Suite owner for some time and jumped on the 12 pre-order discount.
A couple things I’m curious about though with Push 3 if anyone has time to answer ~
Does the non SA version of Push pretty much have all the bells and whistles, except battery and processor / hdd? It doesn’t seem problematic to me to have a MacBook Air nearby via a USB cable, but, I suppose a battery would be nice. I guess I’d have to power the Push 3, too.
Is there any news on the Upgrade Kit? There’s a page on the website but I didn’t see any purchase info. That could be a nice fallback if later I decide I wish I went standalone.
At least it’s a cheaper point of entry, a shame it didn’t get a little discount as well. But definitely tempting.
I used to have Push 2 and really liked it
edit: just saw the pricing listed and it says late 2023. so I suppose the Upgrade Kit isn’t out yet
Is anybody experiencing a consistent bug in the drum synt plugins (for exe. DS snare)? When I reopen a project that has such a plugin, the plugin doesn’t sound or sound very weird (like with no decay) and I have to restart the plugin to have it sound again.
This is on P3S.
Thanx in advance
Yes
The upgrade kit is expected soon, they told on last of the year
Looking at the Push 3 section of the 12 beta release notes (right near the bottom of the very long notes), there are a few bits and bobs beyond making the new devices controllable from the Push 3. They have made the new tuning system compatible with the Push 3 so most of the notes are going on about how this works with the Scales menu on the Push.
Two questions to the Push 3 Standalone owners.
is it possible to lets say connect an iPhone and sample the Audio stream sent over usb to push? I do that on digitakt and it works like a breeze
where is a resampled sample stored? Is it accesible from another set, can it be stored in the userlibrary?
I‘m tempted to jump on the P3S train. 20% too strong.
1 no you can’t like on DT directly.
2. Don’t remember right now where it saves, I think on the proyect but will check tomorrow and if is accesible.