Finally! Android Users Can Run an Amp Sim From Their Phones

Let’s say, hypothetically, you think iTunes is a scourge upon your computing needs and you’ve jumped to another mobile OS ship just to avoid it. But let’s also, for the purposes of conversation, assign another variable to this imaginary you: musician. If these two hypotheticals apply, and you’ve been using Android for the last year or years, then there’s been a death of mobile guitar apps available to you. And by “a dearth” I mean none.

It’s a limitation of the audio engine; you can’t just mainline a guitar signal into Android with the same ease as you can with iOS. So for the last several years Android users have been staring longingly at the Apoggee JAMs and IK Multimedia iRigs of the world, and gently weeping.

Well the later company has finally come to your aid, assuming your Android is a Samsung phone. The AmpliTube iRig HD-A has been announced.

Previously not possible on Android devices, the AmpliTube app is now available thanks to the new Samsung Professional Audio system. Available on the new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge – and soon to be available on the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3 and other devices – this system allows users to process audio in real time without perceptible latency. Now Android can support AmpliTube, which means musicians can enjoy real time effects and instrument processing anytime and everywhere.

These new Samsung phones come with a recording program called Soundcamp (I’m assuming they just chopped up and rearranged the names of various music websites until they landed on that one). I’ve never seen it and can’t vouch for its quality, but AmpliTube works as a guitar plugin within Soundcamp as well as in a standalone capacity for pure direct mobile jamming. Otherwise, the hardware looks very similar to the existing iOS iRig HD. It’s also priced identically at $99.99. The AmpliTube app will set you back $9.99 in theory, but at the moment it’s bundled with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge phones as a part of the Galaxy Gifts apps program.