Apple is introducing full support for audio plug-ins in iOS 9, allowing developers to sell plug-ins like effects and virtual instruments on the App Store that can be used within audio editing apps like Apple’s own GarageBand.
Apple has long used Audio Units as a standard for audio plug-ins in Mac OS X for applications like its own Logic Pro and GarageBand. It’s now bringing full support for Audio Units to iOS devices and allowing developers to easily port their audio plug-ins from OS X with very minor code changes using a new Audio Unit version 3 API.
That means that apps like Garageband and other audio editors on iOS can now allow users to simply select third-party audio plug-ins from an in-app menu, as pictured below. Developers will be able to sell Audio Units as apps on the App Store, and Apple’s own plug-ins— the effects and virtual instruments you find in Logic and GarageBand— will be accessible to all free of charge.
Apple’s demo app showing a host app tap into audio plug-ins in iOS 9
Before full Audio Unit support on iOS, musicians had to use hacked together solutions, such as Apple’s inter-app audio feature or third-party apps, to jump between apps and apply things such as effects from one app to audio in GarageBand or another audio editor. The previous workarounds were extremely limited and clunky from a user’s perspective, and that’s why Apple is introducing a full-fledged audio plug-in experience. There are also a ton of Audio Units on Mac that haven’t ported versions of their plug-ins to iOS, since many plug-ins, like audio effects, don’t provide a full experience as a standalone app. Version 3 of Audio Units will make porting extremely easy for developers and likely encourage many popular plug-ins from Mac to come to iOS.
Apple will support the new Audio Unit feature in its own GarageBand on iOS, and you can expect to see other DAWs and audio editing apps implementing it for iOS 9 as well. Here’s a look at the experience on an iPad with GarageBand:
The source code for Audio Units on Mac will be identical for iOS and developers will only be required to optimize their plug-in for touch controls. Developers will be packaging the plug-ins using Audio Unit version 3 as extensions, and will be able to sell them on both the App Store and Mac App Store.
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iOS 9 does keep sounding nicer as the days go bye. I will be glad to see this arrive in the fall.
I’m wondering when we will finally see some benefits from Apple acquiring Camel Audio earlier this year, with Alchemy engine built into either Logic or GB. Camel’s Alchemy virtual synth was superb and their sound library was like Apple’s Jam Packs on steroids.
Jordan Kahn, Is Apple abandoning IAA (Inter App Audio)?
It’s not deprecated but they did say audio units will be the focus and essentially replace inter app audio going forward
Tragic. I hate how each new iOS update breaks unique independent music apps. Apples lack of legacy support is disturbing.
Apple’s lack of legacy support is what allows it to move forward more quickly. I’ve always loved hating that.
As a consumer I’ve never considered rapid obsolescence palpable. Apple rolled out IAA with the public release of iOS 7 less than two years ago. When apps are properly coded, IAA provides all the functionality hailed as innovative with the 2015 iOS AudioUnits press release. Legacy support is crucial for those attempting to maintain continuity of workflow. In December 2014, last time I counted there were 477 IAA compatible apps that can be easily opened directly from GarageBand, BeatMaker2 & Cubasis. I’d wager there are easily 200 or more IAA compatible apps that have been released in the past six months. AudioUnits is a great diversion but Apple still hasn’t ironed out more important iOS issues such as MIDI sync.
Yeah. I’m sticking to the Mac for music production. Just went all in with NI’s Komplete Kontrol keyboard and Komplete 10 Ultimate. What a marriage of hardware and software. It would truly suck if Logic no longer supported all that as a plug-in.
This is going to be great if it works with iPhone 4. IOS8 put a big stop in software apps for the old guys. I have several apps just sitting around because they can’t uprade. I have to admit some were free but programs like Garageband won’t come on with the old versions of Apple IOS programs.