Apart from the text we copied yesterday, audio developers can’t say anything about the contents of audio APIs in Apple’s new iOS 7. It’s all under NDA. So, instead, since Apple is all about feelings this week, let me convey the emotion I’m hearing about audio in the iOS update, in the form of a Facebook sticker:
It was only recently that I had to explain that two solutions to getting sound between apps are better than one (now JACK and Audiobus – support for each continues to grow). Now, it seems, we’re wrapping our heads around the feature being baked into the operating system and in external tools.
But just as JACK and Audiobus are beginning to work together to make inter-app functionality more powerful, the Apple technologies under the hood should pack more power into all of these tools. The Audiobus crew have made an official statement, saying they have “big plans”:
We’d just like to say this: We’re excited about the great work the Core Audio team have done on the new functionality, which has some terrific features that only a team at Apple with system-level access could achieve …
… we believe Audiobus is going to continue to be a valuable member of the community, bringing music apps and devices together.
Emphasis mine. The ability to have system-level features is important, because that isn’t stuff that a third party can always do. And there is still room for additional functionality in user interface, in bringing together all these apps, and … well, note the discussion of multiple devices. (The JACK side also shows some potential to working across devices.)
On Inter-App Audio in iOS 7 [Audiobus Tumblr]
Remember, both JACK and Audiobus already rely on APIs that are built into the operating system. The magic they do is all because of what Core Audio makes available. They’re not hacks, and the support you add in an app is in turn based on supporting core APIs in the OS. It makes sense that progress between the third parties and the OS will – and should – proceed in tandem. This is how OS audio should work on any platform.
I think it could be an exciting time. And it does show the passion from the Core Audio team for doing this stuff. I expect some of them are reading, so, hello, folks, and keep up the good work.