Longplay 2.0: An Album-Oriented Apple Music Player with Loads of New Features

Longplay 2.0 by Adrian Schoenig is out, and it’s a monolithic update of nan iOS and iPadOS album-oriented euphony app.

If you’ve tried Longplay before, nan update will beryllium familiar. The first clip it launches, it quickly checks your Apple Music room (about six seconds for complete 1200 albums successful my case), finds each nan astir complete and complete albums, and displays them successful a grid of medium art. I’ve ever loved this interface because it does specified a awesome occupation of emphasizing medium art. However, what’s different is simply a agelong database of caller features, but since we’ve only covered nan app for Club MacStories members and AppStories listeners, I’m going to screen everything and telephone retired nan updated features arsenic I go.

Getting started is easy. Just pat an medium to commencement playback. It’s worthy noting, though, that Longplay is not a streaming app. Your euphony must beryllium downloaded to play, which intends that if you don’t person a information relationship of immoderate benignant to download them, albums that aren’t connected your iPhone aliases iPad won’t play. However, moreover albums that aren’t connected a instrumentality commencement playback instantly if you’re connected WiFi aliases a mobile connection, truthful that hasn’t been an rumor for maine successful practice.

Nor has nan truth that I person complete 1,000 albums and playlists been an rumor because location are truthful galore ways to negociate your collection. First of all, if location are albums successful your Apple Music room you don’t for illustration anymore, kids’ euphony you don’t want cluttering up your collection, aliases thing similar, you tin long-press connected an medium and hide it, truthful it won’t show up successful Longplay. That aforesaid long-press motion provides playback controls and nan expertise to build a playback queue nan measurement Apple Music does pinch Play Next and Play Later buttons, which is caller successful type 2.0. There’s besides an action to region an medium from your queue aliases adhd it to a Collection.

Collections are different awesome measurement to shape and navigate your albums and are caller successful type 2.0. If you’re connected nan main surface pinch its grid of medium art, pat connected nan ‘My Library’ banner astatine nan apical of nan screen. From there, you’ll spot Collections of your already-downloaded euphony and immoderate that you’ve already created and a fastener to create a caller one. Then, you tin resistance and driblet albums into nan collections you’ve created aliases long-press connected them and usage nan ‘Add to Collection’ action successful nan discourse menu. As overmuch arsenic I for illustration scrolling done my afloat library, Collections are a awesome measurement to shape your euphony based connected a temper aliases context.

Another measurement to navigate a large euphony room is by swiping correct connected nan medium grid to uncover 8 different ways to benignant your albums. For purists, there’s an Orderliness action that’s alphabetically based connected creator and past album, but there’s besides a Random option, different based connected prima ratings, Negligence for forgotten favorites, and others. If there’s a benignant action you don’t understand, caput to nan app’s settings, wherever there’s a mounting called Dictionary that explains really each benignant bid works.

Settings is besides wherever you tin alteration Infinite Album Shuffle, different 2.0 feature. As you’d expect, Infinite Album Shuffle will play random albums arsenic agelong arsenic you want. If you’re listening to a queue you group up and person Infinite Album Shuffle turned on, shuffle will footwear successful aft nan queue finishes.

In summation to nan main grid of albums and nan interface for its benignant order, Longplay besides has a playback surface that you get to by swiping near from nan grid view. The playback surface includes medium art, album, track, creator information, and playback controls, positive buttons to entree your playback queue, show each of an album’s tracks, alteration Infinite Play Shuffle, and invoke AirPlay. Right successful nan mediate of those buttons, there’s besides a dice fastener that’s marque caller and, erstwhile held, shows a horizontal portion of medium art, allowing you to quickly prime an medium to play arsenic they scroll by. The albums flick by beautiful fast, but you tin besides move among them by sliding your digit near and right, which goes medium by album. Another constituent of nan playback surface that I for illustration a batch is that it counts down nan clip remaining connected an medium alternatively of showing individual way progress, which fits perfectly pinch nan app’s album-orient approach.

Also caller pinch type 2.0 is that Longplay syncs betwixt devices utilizing iCloud sync and allows you to complaint individual medium tracks utilizing a 5-star standing system. I admit nan standing system, which harkens backmost to nan days of iTunes and is still disposable successful Apple Music, but I wish adding a bosom to a opus were an action too. If you usage prima ratings, Longplay besides allows you to skip tracks beneath a definite rating, which is handy.

It’s worthy noting that Longplay 2.0 adds support for CarPlay, Last.fm scrobbling, Listenbrainz, Shortcuts, and alternate icons. Plus, nan update adds Home Screen widgets that see a grid of albums from your room that tin beryllium tapped to play nan medium connected which you tap. This isn’t widget interactivity. Instead, nan app is deep-linking to nan medium and must unfastened Longplay, but it’s a awesome feature, and I dream existent interactivity is connected nan sky for nan app. The mini and medium-sized widgets person aggregate parameters that tin beryllium group for things for illustration nan postulation displayed and its benignant order. I’d emotion to spot ample and extra-large versions of nan aforesaid widget, on pinch Lock Screen widgets to play a random medium from a Collection successful nan future.

I’ve ever liked Longplay, but type 2.0 is caput and shoulders amended than anterior iterations. I’ve said earlier that I’m much of a playlist personification than album-oriented, but that’s shifted a small recently, and I’m going to usage Longplay’s caller queueing characteristic to tee up aggregate albums to get maine done nan long, busy-season workdays of September. Plus, contempt its album-focused approach, Longplay tin see playlists that you’ve saved, which I admit for those times erstwhile I want much variety.

Longplay is disposable connected nan App Store for $5.99.