It’s surprising that PanAmp even exists, given Apple’s penchant for refusing to allow apps that replicate current iOS functionality, but clearly someone at Big Cupertino let this app slide for a few good reasons. PanAmp is a music player replacement that allows you to create playlists on a fly, a feature that is sorely missing from the standard iOS player. It also adds a few bells and whistles to music playback.
The main interface is fairly basic. You can search, order by artist, album, or song, and view current playlists. To create playlists you simply flick a song to the right and to view more information on a song – including the album from whence it came – by flicking it to the left. Tapping a song brings up a cascade view of that song’s album.
To be clear, PanAmp is a music player replacement that has full access to your iTunes library and is AirPlay compatible. It is a shell for the current iTunes music interface and it even supports access through the lock screen.
The question is “Why?” Why would you replace the current iTunes music player? Why would you use this instead? I suppose if you found the current interface abhorrent, this would be a good replacement. However, I think the main draw here is the queue management that makes selecting items for ad hoc parties, events, and bat mitzvahs especially easy.
The app will be officially available on July 14 for iPhone. It will cost $2.99.