It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that Apple’s Vision Pro “spatial computer” lands today, along with a wide variety of apps. One of these, it turns out, is a reimagined version of Algoriddim’s djay, but perhaps the bigger news is that, in tandem with this announcement, it’s been confirmed that all versions of djay are now getting full compatibility with Apple Music.
"We’re thrilled to introduce djay for Apple Vision Pro. Its innovative spatial interface offers a completely new way to experience music and marks a new chapter in the evolution of DJing”, said Karim Morsy, CEO of Algoriddim. “Integrating Apple Music across the entire djay product line represents a significant milestone in Algoriddim's mission to make DJing accessible to everyone."
The reimagined Vision Pro version of djay - already a hit on iOS, Mac, Windows and Android - enables you to mix on a set of virtual 3D turntables, interacting with them by moving the needle around or scratching. You can position yourself in various immersive environments, and there are light shows that respond in time to your performance.
Other features include the ability to preview songs by ‘holding’ your ‘headphones’ to your ear, navigate songs with gaze and pinch gestures, browse playlists with eye movements and mimic the act of pulling a record out of its sleeve and putting it on the turntable.
All clever stuff, we think you’ll agree, but a high price point means that the Vision Pro is likely to remain a niche product for the foreseeable future. As such, the new version of djay may only be of passing interest to you, but if you already use the software on another platform, the Apple Music integration could be a pretty big deal.
To confirm, this means that, assuming you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you now have access to more than 100 million songs, plus those that are in your own personal Apple Music (formerly iTunes) library. As far as we’re aware, this is the first time that Apple has opened up its catalogue for DJing purposes, so for Algoriddim, it’s quite a coup.
It also goes some way to filling the void left when Spotify pulled its service from djay (and all other mixing platforms) in 2020, for reasons that were never fully explained. Since then, djay users have been able to stream songs via Tidal and Soundcloud, but Apple Music - Spotify’s closest rival in terms of market share - is a much bigger fish to net.
A brief test confirms that Apple Music streaming in djay works seamlessly and, even if you’re not much of a DJ, gives you an excellent way of auto-mixing through a playlist at a party. Existing Apple Music subscribers are eligible for an exclusive 2-month free trial of the full djay Pro subscription; for everyone else, the price is $7/£7/€7 a month or $50/£49/€50 a year, though there's also a free version with a more limited feature set.
Find out more on the Algoriddim website.
