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The mobile apps

AudioSilo has native apps for iOS and Android. They're the same player you know from the web - same screens, same shelves, same account - plus the things only a real app can do well: rock-solid background playback, lock-screen controls, and downloads that live comfortably on your phone.

The home screen on a phone

Availability​

The apps are finished and in active use, but not yet generally available on the App Store or Google Play - the store releases are working their way through the stores' testing and review pipelines:

  • iOS builds are currently distributed to testers through TestFlight.
  • Android builds are going through Google Play's testing tracks, which require a testing period before an app can go public.

If you'd like early access, ask whoever runs your server whether a tester invite is available, or check the AudioSilo project on GitHub for current status. And you don't have to wait to listen on your phone: the web player works great on mobile and can be installed to your home screen today, downloads included.

note

This page describes availability at the time of writing; once the apps reach the public stores, installing them will be a normal store search away.

Connecting the app​

Signing the app in is usually a scan, not typing - all the routes are covered in Connecting and signing in:

  • Scan a QR code - tap Scan QR code on the app's connect screen and point it at the pairing QR on your server's connect page (or at the Settings → Devices QR on a device that's already signed in).
  • Tap a link - an invite link, or an audiosilo:// link, opens the app and signs it in automatically.
  • Type it in - server address plus an invite/recovery code or username and password, if you prefer.

Background playback​

Playback keeps going when you switch apps, turn the screen off, or pocket the phone. Interruptions are handled the way you'd hope: a phone call or a satnav prompt pauses the book, and it resumes afterwards only if it was actually playing before - a stray system chime won't restart a paused book.

Lock-screen controls​

  • Android gives you full audiobook controls on the lock screen and in the notification: previous chapter, a draggable chapter scrubber, next chapter, and 30-second skip back/forward buttons - no need to unlock the phone to hop around a book.
  • iOS shows the book on the lock screen and in Control Centre with play/pause, a scrubber, and skip back/forward buttons that use the skip lengths from your in-app Settings.

Headphone and earbud buttons work everywhere, and the sleep timer can be cancelled with a shake of the phone.

Gapless, chapter-aware listening​

Many audiobooks arrive as dozens of MP3 files. The apps play multi-file books gaplessly - chapter boundaries pass without a hiccup - and treat the whole book as one continuous timeline, exactly like a single-file audiobook. Playback speed is pitch-corrected on both platforms, so 1.5× sounds faster, not higher.

The same app as the web player​

If you've used the web player, you already know the app - they are literally the same application, shipped to different places. Home shelves, library browsing, search, favourites, bookmarks, notes, downloads, and settings all look and work the same, just arranged for a phone with a navigation bar along the bottom:

A book's detail page on a phone

And because your position, favourites, and bookmarks live on the server, moving between phone, tablet, and desktop is seamless - pause on one, resume on another. See Playing a book.