3-APPS-A-WEEK, issue #2: music
Most of us listen to music when we work. When I design, it’s okay for me to listen to my main playlist, but when I need to write meaningful texts, it turns my brain off. Even though I love my bops, sometimes I need background noise to just be…there.
In this week’s issue I’ll look into some cool music apps and share my thoughts on the fun UI stuff I found there. Welcome to 3-APPS-A-WEEK #2: music. As usual, Sofia from aaply is speaking.
App #1: Portal
To quote Portal website:
Portal brings nature into your surroundings through cinematic visuals, 3D audio and smart light integration, so you can benefit from it at all hours.
We are welcomed by a stunning well-animated onboarding. Love a glass morphism moment in the buttons! It’s very cool that right away they suggest a purpose to use the app for. I chose focus because my attention span is ruined by TikTok, press F to pay respects.
It’s very delightful to swipe through different portals, but the most interesting part comes when you “fall” into the portal.
Zoning out to amazing visuals is super soothing. It’s really cool that everything functions on swipes, so you exit a portal with a simple swipe up. Even the free collection is pretty neat and various. Amazing imagery is used just right, and the UI gives this future travel teleportation feel. Again, I think it’s a really cool app.
App #2: Endel
I think Endel already is eligible to be a classic. I wouldn’t call it just a music app. It’s an AI-powered mindfulness tool, I think.
It’s really useful that you can switch “theme” right away on the main screen. Accessibility of different options and tools doesn’t break the mood at all.
It’s awesome that I could learn information about different soundcapes Endel has. What is the best way to get educated? With beautiful illustrations being part of the package, of course.
Last but not least, the timer feature is awesome. Call me stupid, but I don’t know how to set up a timer in music apps. Here it’s super clear and easy. Love it, thanks!
App #3: Mubert
I may be biased, but I’ve used it for a long long time. Mubert is a generated music app, but also they have a marketplace for generated music.
They got a huge variety of stations, each having a stunning individual graphic. no matter which station you listen to, you can enter a low-intensity mode to have fewer instruments playing in the track.
A fun subversion of common UI elements is using the icon of the station as a pause/play button. Btw, background graphics for each station are very fun!
Another nice detail is that upon first interaction with some features you learn the effects. It was really cool to learn that faves don’t just fave a station, but a specific piece of music, even though it’s generated.
*Fun bonus: I learnt they got a PH playlist, how cool is that???!
This was 3-A-A-W-#2. If you have any app recommendations, DM me on twitter. Tune in next week to see which 3 apps I will review. Have a good one!
