Android might be swiftly closing the gap with iOS when it comes to the apps that are available on either platform, but if there's one category where iOS is still the preferred mobile operating system, it's that of audio processing and reproduction. Android's high latency, and its fragmented nature, has seen developers of such apps ignore the OS for a while, and now, Samsung has teamed up with IK Multimedia to bring the AmpliTube app to Android. AmpliTube allows guitarists to plug in their guitar to their smartphone for real-time signal processing, and the app is now compatible with the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge (with support for the Note 3 and S5 coming later on.)
AmpliTube offers various features and effects, including 5 amps, 11 stompbox effects, 2 microphones, 15 sound presets, and a digital tuner for keeping the guitar in tune. Connecting a guitar to the phone requires an audio interface hardware, with IK offering three options – the iRig, iRig Stomp, and the iRig HD-A, which cost $39.99, $69.99, and $99.99 respectively. As for the app itself, there's a free version, and light (LE) and full versions that cost $19.99 and $9.99, all of which can be downloaded from Samsung Apps.
Being able to connect a guitar to a phone isn't going to be that cheap, as you see from those prices, but AmpliTube is a great option, one that will hopefully drive other developers of audio apps to bring their offerings to Android.
