The current state of IAA in iOS 13.4.1

tehskwrl

So, I’ve been watching some concerning comments regarding apps that worked recently but no longer do. It inspired me to go through my plugins to see what is going on, and let me tell you: it isn’t pretty.

I went through just IAA effects apps, including the ones with AUv3 versions, and tested what happens with them. I did not test the AUv3 versions, I’ve made the assumption they are going to function better. Some apps I just plain don’t know how to use, because collecting, and others I’ve acquired recently I have gone and requested refunds for because holy f are they broken (as exciting as csSpectral was, I have got to wait and see if there is an update before committing $27 to something that doesn’t function as expected).

Edit: I only attempted loading in AUM. This doesn’t make it a great comparison, so I posted my preliminary findings and I’ll test in AB3 next.

So here are my results, in point form. Some things are newly broken (Moog Filtatron!) but I don’t know when it happened exactly.

bark filter - causes audio stutters as iaa (upon load, persistent)
audiolayer (as fx slot) - no sound in?
audiomaster pro - must be manually loaded
buttercup bitcrush - no effect, crashes when trying to load help
cornflower compressor - produces buzz when bypassing, initial bypas setting not functional
dahlia delay - functions normal, crashes when loading help
deregulator - doesnt function properly, outputs only noise (mismatched samplerate?), input doesnt seem to register; any amount of output is overloading the audio
dlym - initial crash on load, loaded the second time and functions properly
emo chorus - audio splotches*
fiddlicator - incorrect sample rate? dirty audio while effect is "clean", applying body makes worse
filtatron - must load manually, receive "unknown error -50" initially. upon reattempt, receive "could not initialize. node has been invalidated" error
foxglove flanger - initial bypass not functional, produces buzz when bypassed. otherwise functional
frekvens (audiobus effect) functions, but frekvens (effect) has no audible input?
gelabs - produces buzz if background audio disabled and window not in front
howl - must be manually loaded each time
ilep - crashes when trying to access matrix
jamm pro - loading into effect slot kills audio, does not come back after closing app. Restart AUM
m/s processor - does not load, crashes on manual load
phlox phaser - crashes when opening help, bypass produces buzz, otherwise functions
qooqooq - crashes unless manually loaded
re-1 tape echo, rf-1, rp-1, rm-1, sf-1 - intermittent error screen describing a fail to load of audio engine
saffron saturator - crash on help, bypass makes buzz
samvada filter - does not load
self-a-fuzz - must manually load, crashes otherwise
sliver filter - crashes on any load attempt
soundfruuze - no audio in?
sunvox filter - could not be initialized, error -10875
svep - audio splotches*
tardigrain effect - noticeable glitching while monitoring input, does not seem to record or playback said glitches though
tigerlily tremolo - buzz on bypass
vectorscope - crashes after loading in back or foreground
voxsyn pro - distorted beyond recognition? (another vocoder produced a similar result, so could do with further testing)
enso - does not load
filterstation 2 - left channel only
replicant 2 - crashes
analogkit - incorrect sample rate?
jaf collection - no sound?
jax stereo tool - no sound?
nembirini analog rack chorus, cleaner, flanger, guitar eq, noise gate, phasor, tremolo, Crunck 2, pas1000 jr - left channel only
fluxfx - incorrect sample rate? audio splotches*

*splotches are what I am calling little blips of noise here and there, to differentiate from “incorrect sample rate” which is constant

I didn’t list everything I tested, just the stuff that didn’t work. Perhaps we can make this list a bit more comprehensive...? It feels like it’s time to be considerably more wary of what is available in the App Store.

rs2000

Thank you very much for testing!!
I was thinking about updating in the next months but your list looks like iOS 13 is not for us musicians and probably will never be.
I might sound like exaggerating but I prefer stable audio and MIDI over a few nice features that iOS 13 has on offer.

wim

It would be a significant pain, but important for accurate results, to reboot, or at least clear memory after every failure though. IAA apps can leave behind crud that can interfere with the audio system, especially when they fail.

Given that Apple has depreciated IAA, I don't expect it to get better from Apple's side. Developers may find workarounds, if their apps are only IAA, or they have the will to go to the trouble for a depreciated technology.

It does seem that if one decides it's important to stick with IAA, that freezing at iOS 12 is the best route. That has some downsides for apps that are still evolving and may leave iOS 12 behind.

Korakios

I usually host IAA apps inside AB3 and don’t have any problem . Some apps (Effectrix for example) are still in IAA list but it’s a bug ,since they don’t support it anymore (only standalone or AU)
Air2 iOS 13 latest

tehskwrl

@Korakios I think a couple of the ones I listed that wouldn't load are in a similar situation. I think AB3 will offer better stability, too, so I am going to make another run through of the listed apps in there to find out what I can

noob

just move on IAA is no more.

busker

@noob said:
just move on IAA is no more.

Several apps I use regularly are still IAA only, namely:

Sound Canvas
Animoog
iMono/Poly
ODYSSEi
iWAVESTATION
iM1

Really hope these get on the AUv3 bandwagon someday.

tehskwrl

Further testing:

Bark Filter - AUM - causes audio stutters upon load, remains during use
- AB3 - Causes audio stutters until app is brought to front. Stutters are not present after switching back to AB3
-ApeMatrix - Causes significant audio stuttering upon load. After switching to BF window, stutters are lessened but still
present for a bit, then become very intermittent.
AudioLayer - This one works fine, I’m just not familiar with it
Audiomaster Pro - AUM/AB3/ApeMatrix - must be loaded manually
Buttercup Bitcrush* - AUM/AB3/ApeMatrix - loads properly (bypassed), enables fine, bypass causes buzz afterward, crashes when loading help page
Cactus Chorus* - AUM/AB3/ApeMatrix - loads improperly (bypass enabled, is not bypassed), bypass causes buzzing, crashes when loading help page
Cornflower Compressor* - AUM - loads improperly (bypass enabled, is not bypassed), bypass causes buzzing, does not crash loading help page
Dahlia Delay* - AUM/AB3/ApeMatrix - loads properly, re-enabling bypass produces buzz, crash when loading help page

Deregulator - BIG BUG - Wet randomizer is set to greater than 1000% (one thousand) on load of any preset. Instant overload.

*Flora Creative Suite IAA is all affected in the same ways, with the odd one loading properly bypassed or allowing the help/messages window to load properly. All cause buzzing when bypassed again.

tehskwrl

@noob said:
just move on IAA is no more.

I agree, and in light of this I've pared down my originally tested list based on what has a fully functional AUv3. For the following, use AUv3, as their IAA counterparts are worth avoiding:

dlym
emo chorus (fully functional AUv3, but the IAA version has the smiley face interface)
frekvens
re-1, rf-1, rp-1, rm-1, sf-1
soundfruuze
svep
tardigrain effect
voxsyn pro
enso
filterstation 2
replicant 2
nembirini analog rack chorus, cleaner, flanger, guitar eq, noise gate, phasor, tremolo, Crunck 2, pas1000 jr
jax stereo tool

Flora Creative Suite falls under this as well, but I have found some other oddities with their plugins. The compressor especially confuses me, it does panning with the wet/dry knob....

noob

best practice - kill your darlings now, dont count on AUV3. Even big names like Korg are behind times. Nothing that cant be replaced imho

klownshed

The latest update for K7D dropped IAA support completely.

I don’t expect it to be the last app to do that.

tehskwrl

@noob everything is being replaced and for the better I'll miss the toys once they are gone, but I will enjoy the ones that come from their inspiration equally or more

robosardine

Ampify could do with moving in this direction. Blocs Wave as an AU would be just dandy. I wonder if they are on the case.

TheOriginalPaulB

IAA is working just fine on all my iDevices. iOS 13.4.1 isn’t...

[Deleted User]

There are definitely things that can't be replaced as AUs, currently... loopers being the obvious example due to the memory limit for AU.

There is nothing like the Lumbeat apps, I rely on Soft Drummer and there is no replacement for that.

Patterning is another that springs to mind that is a highly regarded fairly recent app.

3 things that I use most rely on are Soft Drummer, Group the Loop, and at least partially Amplitube, for Fenderish tones. None of which is AU.

steve99

@rs2000 said:> I was thinking about updating in the next months but your list looks like iOS 13 is not for us musicians and probably will never be.

I’m not a particularly enthusiastic iOS updater, but I think you’re grasping the wrong end of the stick there. All the IAA’s I regularly use (Samplr/ ThumbJam / DrumJam / ToneStack / Blocs Wave / Quantiloop / Group the Loop) are working as well in iOS 13 as they did in iOS 12. I updated because some new and very good musician apps did not work in 12 (and never will).

Sandstorm

I'm still on 12.4 and still on the fence about updating to 13.

Gravitas

I'm on iOS 13.4

Most if not all of the IAA apps that I have function as they should.

The one thing I have found is that if any of my IAA apps
are crashing then opening them up in AUM stabilises them

I only have to remember if I've got to start them before I launch
AUM or afterwards which began with one of the iOS 12 versions.

Gavinski

Are there some ‘rules’ about when to launch before or after? > @Gravitas said:

I'm on iOS 13.4

Most if not all of the IAA apps that I have function as they should.

The one thing I have found is that if any of my IAA apps
are crashing then opening them up in AUM stabilises them

I only have to remember if I've got to start them before I launch
AUM or afterwards which began with one of the iOS 12 versions.

Gravitas

@Gavinski

Depends upon the combination.

Off the top of my head BM3 doesn't like to be launched after
AUM only before, even when I'm only using the two of them.

I was using Quantiloops, BM3 and AUM and launching
them in that order so that they could play well together.

I think it's because all three are hosts as well.

Something to do with setting the sample rate.

Some apps have problems with background audio
so if you try switching that off and then launch them
in AUM and most probably AB3 as well,
you may find they work better.

I found this to be true for Aphelian.

Whenever I switched from foreground to background
the sound would glitch so opening it up as IAA standalone
from within AUM worked perfectly cool.

So even when I'm only using an app in
standalone I see if I can load it up in AUM first.

I hope this helps.

Gavinski

Thnx! Ah yeah, sample rate idea makes sense i guess

Gravitas

@Gavinski said:
Thnx! Ah yeah, sample rate idea makes sense i guess

No worries.

Since Apple set the internal headphone rate at 48kHz there
have been problems with synchronisation and app compatibility.