systems iOS and Android since the very beginning of its existence competing with each other practically on all possible fronts, starting with the appearance of the interface and ending with the number of available applications. In most cases, it is difficult to identify a clear advantage of one of them, because everything here depends on your personal preferences. However, there are areas in which the dominance of one of the rivals is so overwhelming that even the biggest fans of competition must admit his superiority.
In the case of Apple this reason pride have always been cooperating with the apps and accessories for musicians that competitors were present in trace amounts so that almost imperceptible. Within a few years the unit working under iOS had time to settle so good in recording studios and on stages around the world, thus confirming our belief that the only legitimate Tablet musicians are those gnawed apple logo. It seems, however, that Android finally awoke from their lethargy, and although the music still too early to talk about that overtakes iOS, at least you can see that finally began to run. And this is already a big success.
catching up
About how great the distance between the two systems now can provide even the fact that the company Algoriddim, responsible for one of the most popular applications DJ on iOS, decided to transfer it to your Android device only four years after its release. Have to wait even longer interested persons ThumbJam virtual instrument, which Runner version was presented five years after its debut in the App Store.
The main question is therefore: why developers do not want to create music apps for Android? The reasons for this phenomenon must be sought in the two obstacles. The first is the perennial problem of the Green Robot latency, or delay the sound in relation to user actions (eg. Keystroke virtual piano). In the case of Android devices this time was sometimes up to 200 ms, while the majority of instrumentalists recognizes 10 ms for the upper limit allowing for comfortable game on an electronic instrument. As you might guess, this situation almost completely eliminated the ability to create all sorts of virtual instruments, as well as effectively disrupted the existence of multi-track recorders, looperów and effects (it is worth noting that most of the few music apps available on Google Play this example. Sequencers, ie tools, the nature of which does not require an immediate response to user actions). No applications of this type made while the manufacturers of accessories for musicians is not profitable to invest in equipment created specifically for the Android. If you are interested in the precise technical details of the problem, and you have a little free time, I recommend you watch the following presentation of last year’s I / O.
While Google has long promised to take care of this issue, it is the first harbinger of better times for androidowych musicians appeared on the horizon thanks to Samsung, which a few months ago, developers proposed their own solution to the problem in the form of Pro-Audio SDK 2.0. It is this tool was used to create applications ThumbJam and Soundcamp visible on the earlier recording. Another company that has decided to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Samsung’s solution proved to be IK Multimedia, one of the leading music producers of accessories and apps for the iPad. The result is presented a few days ago set Amplitube & amp; HD IRIG-A, allowing turn your Android device into a pretty powerful multi-effect / amp emulator.
All of the above applications, however, pales by today’s release of Google Play. The largest store for Android applications while a finally Lemur , which is one of the most interesting music apps on iOS. The software is modeled on already-produced devices of the same name, allows users to turn the tablet in self-designed MIDI controller. Great opportunities and great flexibility meant that this application has established itself in setupach modern electronics giants such as Richie Hawtin, Orbital, Daft Punk and Bjork. The entrance of such a large and, needless to say, well respected player in the Androidowy market may therefore encourage other developers to begin moving their applications to Google Play.
The final incentive should be the premiere of the latest version of the system. The official list of novelties in “lizaku” will find not only a lower latency audio but also full support for audio devices via USB, or all sorts of microphones, sound cards, amplifiers, etc. (But frankly I do not believe in these claims until check on their own in practice). In theory, everything appears to me that the future of Android as a platform for musicians looks really optimistic. And here we come to the issue of the second obstacle, which, unfortunately, may be much more difficult to overcome.
Curse of abundance
Let’s assume that all the promises of Google meet in 100% and actually eliminate Lollipop any delay and provide seamless interoperability with external audio devices. So what if more than half of the devices under the sign of the green robot still working on the system two years ago or earlier? Anyway, even if due to some unknown force all users of older versions suddenly switched to “lollipop”, it would not facilitate it does matter. IOS musical success is due in part to the fact that companies that want to create co-operating with the application or accessory have to ensure trouble-free operation for literally a handful of devices. The world of Android is made up of a myriad of tablets and phones models differ from each other in terms of design and software, and even co-creating solutions with several popular models require at the moment the workload exceeds the potential gains.
The result is that almost all of the aforementioned applications officially support only one or two models of devices (in most cases released by Samsung or Google), which is true significantly reduces the potential audience, but it allows developers to release good and, most importantly, properly running programs. Developers finally understood the fact that attempts to satisfaction of all Android users are doomed to failure, and the only real solution is to focus on specific devices. In this situation, users still only patiently wait and watch developments. Sooner or later you find out which models are the most popular among developers, and hence, that may be a really valuable tool for music.
ROUTE AWAY
In conclusion, after many years of gross negligence of his musical potential of the Android finally woke up and catching up. Although still a lot of time will pass before it reaches this respect a level comparable with the possibilities of iOS, but at least finally see that there is any chance of it. Holders of a handful of selected devices can already feel a foretaste of the coming changes, and the rest is concerned only wait patiently. Everything points to the fact that he can now only get better.
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