Hi, I have been looking for a music player which can support large music libraries stored on an iPhone or iPad’s local storage. Ideally it would be similar to Winamp that we knew and loved back in the olden days with keyboard shortcuts but anything that supports large local libraries would be a great start.
I have tried Winamp for iOS as well as VLC and Neutron but not had any luck so far.
Thanks for any help.
Comments
A great one which also supports EQ and 3-D sound, if that’s your
Jet audio is a really good app. It can also play podcasts, as well as files from Google Drive and I believe OneDrive as well.
Musicfolder 2
This is another app that fulfills your requirements.
BTR Amp
It supports its own Database and also Apples Music Library. https://apps.apple.com/de/app/btr-amp-offline-musikplayer/id1489180128?uo=4
Then there are Apps like Doppler or Evermusic.
Thanks so much for the recommendations.
I saw Levi Gobin’s recommendation first so tried that first and it seems to do exactly what I need. I have purchased the full version but I’ll try the other recommendations too as I had only tried inaccessible apps until now so to be spoiled for choice is a really nice development. Thanks everyone.
Apple Music ...
After these excellent suggestions, it does seem cherlish of me to point it out, but do remember that Apple's app, though increasingly a vehicle for Apple's services, can nonetheless still be used for playing a local library on-device. The difference to apps that provide UI for transferring files is of course that you have to use iTunes or Finder or the Apple Devices app to transfer your songs from your computer, they can't live on a network location and iTunes/Music has to track your files, which means that the metadata in the files have to agree with the folder structure if you want to see the tracks appear correctly. I choose to do this because I do value having everything organised under one roof, but just in case it isn't obvious, there's no actual requirement for your media files to be stored in a location managed by Apple Music; what's important is whether the library tracks those files or not and that the metadata is correct when the files are imported.
But yeah, these suggestions look great and if you're entirely happy managing things on-device or accessing direct via network then they look great. Thanks for the suggestions guys.
I'm also looking for this
I didn't see this so started another tread, but never mind.
Anyone else got any suggestions? apparently Winamp mobile is a no go...
Anyone used VLC for mobile since 2019?
Reviving this topic with some questions
I'm back looking for a player after trying BTR Amp and finding it a bit lacking. Its major problem is that it cuts off a snippet at the beginning of the file and plays it at the end. I find that very annoying.
I also tried EchoBox and found it severely lacking, not having playlists or the ability to rearrange the order of songs. There's no shuffle mode and no rename option. EchoBox is virtually useless as a music player.
I read earlier in this thread that the Apple Music app can be used to play local files. How is this done? How do I direct Apple Music to the files and where do I put them?
What's wrong with VLC? It seems to be able to play local music and will even play music from Google Drive. Is there something about VLC that I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance for all suggestions and advice.
Music on macOS or iTunes on Windows
To my knowledge you can't associate music from Files to the first-party Music app on iOS, however you can sync all your local music tracks and playlists using either Music on macOS or iTunes on Windows. There's even an Apple service called iTunes Match if I recall correctly, that you can use to upload all your tracks to the cloud and even replace any tracks in your library with high quality iTunes Store equivalents for free, however I no longer use any of that since I subscribe to Apple One Family which contains Apple Music so I may be out of the loop when it comes to those old iTunes Store services.
Thanks, but still looking
Thanks for your feedback, but after rereading the previous few posts, I think the Apple Music app will not meet my needs. I don't have an Apple Music subscription and don't intend to get one. I just want to play music files either from the cloud or files stored on my iPhone.
I'm still wondering why the original poster of this thread rejected VLC. Are there some drawbacks to VLC that I should be aware of?
Are there other apps I should consider?
Apple Music not needed
I have absolutely no idea where you read anyone claim that Apple Music would be needed anywhere on this thread.
@João Santos
Sorry, I believe I was misunderstood. I wasn't saying that someone claimed an Apple Music subscription was required, although iMatch is a subscription if it still exists, I was just stating that I haven't an Apple Music subscription, nor do I plan to subscribe anytime soon. I also don't have a mac and will not be getting one of those either.
I do have iCloud on my Windows PC and could copy music files into iCloud from there. My question is how to get the Apple Music native app to play these files. How do I get the Apple Music app to include these files in its library and allow me to build playlists with them?
So, my question comes back to VLC. I know I can get VLC to play files stored in iCloud as well as files in the "On My iPhone" section. It will also play files on Google Drive. This app seems like it's what I'm looking for, but maybe I'm missing something...something critical, even.
I just want to make sure I'm choosing the right app, so I don't have to go through this process again. I already feel I got burnt by BTR Amp.
Music on macOS or iTunes on Windows
As I said previously, you can upload your local music library to any iOS or iPadOS device using either Music on macOS or iTunes on Windows.