It is time for the annual reminder that there are many many people who use Android rather than iOS and want to join the VST Live app party.
Has anything changed in the last 12 months or are the powers that be still not interested in the slightest in providing a mobile solution for the 71.4%* of the world who use Android?
*Latest % share as Jun 2024.
@ibarch if you visit this forum regularly it will be clear to you it’s not about “be still not interested”…
I do see that but I live in hope. If we keep raising the subject, eventually someone may listen.
I own a small software development company and I understand better than most the challenges and costs of supporting multiple platforms. I don’t have big budgets or a large team and yet I still manage to support Android and iOS. I listen to my customers and I care about delivering a product that works for all. The bean counters point out that it costs me more than it makes. Yet I still do it. It is painful but I do it.
I may be wrong but it looks to me like the main application is written using a cross platform framework, that supports both MacOS and Windows. The non-standard Windows controls suggest that. Its good enough for the main app.
So why Steinberg don’t use a cross platform mobile framework is beyond me. There are no good technical reasons and haven’t been for years. Unfortunately for VST Live, it is too late. Someone (no doubt an iPhone / Mac user) made the choice to make it native iOS and here we are. Maybe if we make enough noise, someone there may think twice before repeating the same mistakes again. Maybe as the old codebase becomes obsolete (it happens faster than you would think on mobile), it will be replaced with a cross platform app. Otherwise, it may be time to go elsewhere.
Your frustration is understandable but the team have made it clear that there are technical reasons why Android is not supported and whilst I’m the coding game as well (but not musically) I accept their assessment.
Not sure what extend your developments have, but beeing an expert you should know that for a project of this size, despite it is based on a multi-platform framework, there is no such button “press me to spit out an Android version”.
We tried, but there are many obstacles beyond user interface, and even for that, we need to plan in a way that prioritzes stability and functionality of the main application, and balance resources.
Nevertheless we respond to user input much more than most of other developers. Maybe we should skip that in favour of Android development…just kidding, We want to be clear - as we did already - we will not develop an Android version of the VST Live Mods in the forseeable future. We would certainly do it if it was that simple.
Hi,
Thanks for answering. I never for a moment suggested that an Android version would be easy. I know full well the complexities of working with audio and other low level services on mobile. For the record, working with audio on any platform, be it Mac, Windows or iOS is not easy either and I have a high regard for developers like yourself that have this in their skillset.
However, it absolutely is possible to deliver an Android version. We are not in 2010 anymore. The APIs, processing power and realtime subsytems exist and have done for a long time. It comes down to making a decision to support the platform and providing the necessary resources to do.
Again, this is not a comment aimed at the VST Live team. You are by far the most open and responsive dev team I’ve ever had the pleasure to correspond with on a public forum. I fully expect that resourcing is not something within your remit and your team can only work on the platforms it is currently geared up for. My comments for Steinberg as an organisation and its Product owners in particular. It is about time it recognised that two equally viable, vibrant, popular mobile platforms exist and put in the resources to deal with that. I, like many others continue to be disappointed at Steinberg’s deliberate snub to the Android user base and its refusal to recognise that it exists as an equal partner in every way to iOS. It is short sighted, damaging to the public reputation of the company and shows a blatant disregard for simple economics given that the market is bigger worldwide for Android.
So, to you, the programming team, keep doing what you are doing, we love you.
To Steinberg, get your fingers out your ears and open your eyes to the opportunities that Android provides. Put your fingers in your pockets and invest in an Android dev team than can start to put right the wrongs of the past. Stop denying the facts and start delivering your mobile apps on Android. No more excuses.
I think developing an android app with enough stability and functionalities may take time.
But, I believe it is possible for the developers to make an option to
Host a local webpage option.
In my opinion, at least that would be a good starting point for android users as they will be able to see and sync.
I don’t use VST Live but I want to. Lack of android support is the reason. I am windows and android user.
Sure that’s possible too, but it takes time as well. But we’re considering that option.
Well, update from VST2 to VST3 without Android support? I thing I will pass.
We are and have been transparent about this, there will be no Android app for the time beeing, sorry.
Hello, happy 2026
Are you able to update us on the reason an Android app will not be happening? Personally, I don’t get the business logic. Why put time and effort into building features that a band can use to keep in time, see lyrics etc and then make it unavailable to half of them? What use is an app that keeps half a band in sync? Or sends lyrics to just one of the vocalists?
I appreciate this is a public forum and you may not be allowed to tell us the full truth, but I am really curious on how Android is perceived within Steinberg. Some products like Cubasis are supported. But VST Live not.
Is this a commercial decision - the powers that be believe there is no money to be made from Android users?
Is it a political decision - the boss uses an iPhone, who cares about Android?
Is it a resourcing issue - Steinberg cant’ (or won’t) find enough Android programmers?
Is it a technical limitation - Android cannot provide the necessary resources in a performant fashion?
Is it because Steinberg believe no musicians use Android?
I would love to know why a company deliberately chooses to ignore 80% of the world wide mobile market and create a brand new product for just one minority userbase, but with features that need everyone in the band to have it to make it useful.
I really hope you can shed some light on this mystery.
no.
yes
partly, yes
not considered a serious question
“deliberately “?? Sorry, but that is…far fetched, to put it mildly. The VST Live Mods app is an extension to the VST Live host application, and not even necessary to run it. It is currently available for iOS only, not because we hate our customers, but while you appear to think differently, porting Mods to Android is a major task.
… but all of your band could have it available to them if they chose to … by choosing a device that is compatible with the Mods extension as it currently stands.
… but perhaps they made a “political” decision?
Seriously, I’m sure many of us here would like to see the Mods extension available on Android – myself included – but there are other ways to ask for a feature – perhaps even using the “Vote” button at the top of this topic?
It’s clearly stated on the Steinberg VST Live website that Mods is “when installed on iOS devices on the same network”.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, it is appreciated.
My question is borne from repeated frustration, not to slight or insult anyone.
Regarding “appearing to think differenty”, obviously I have zero knowledge or insight into the development of the VST Live app. I likely have far more experience and knowledge in assessing the amount of work required to deliver mobile applications, both native and cross platform. I do it as my living. My own company has built and supports a mobile app that does audio processing in an industrial context. I know exactly how much effort it takes to deliver this to two different platforms and I have hands on experience working with the APIs of both Android and iOS. I advice and guide businesses when they consider mobile investments. I help businesses looking to grow market share, looking to change from a single platform into cross platform solutions. I have considerable expertise in the reality of moving from an idea of supporting other platforms to delivering the implementations - both as native code solutions and cross platform solutions.
From your guarded answers, it is likely that Mods was not created on a cross platform framework. Therefore it is a new build, pretty much from the ground up to support Android. That is usually the most cost effective solution from this starting point. I’ve seen several projects fail in an attempt to write a native app to cross platform whilst the native app remains in continuous development. It is a difficult problem to manage and most companies do not succeed. Success is far more likely starting with a separate project for Android. It could be done on a framework that eventually replaces the iOS native solution but the main goal has to be delivery of Android only first.
Leaving that all aside, if you have time to share a little of your experience I would appreciate your opinion on where Android stands currently in terms of support for real time midi and DSP audio. When you speak of technical limitations, do you believe Android could not support the necessary functionality for the Mods app? I am assuming skills and resources are not a factor for this (ha ha - this is not the real world). If deficient, which part of the app is where the problem would be?
Thanks again for being so courteous to engage in this conversation. Many others would be less gracious. I am a big advocate of VST Live - but desperately want to be able to use the complete solution.
“ … but all of your band could have it available to them *if they chose to”
*
Funny. Yes, a device that is used everyday for so many different aspects of life from banking, shopping, entertainment etc should be swapped for a brand new platform with a big learning curve, significant cost and huge disruption. I will suggest it, tell them its “their” fault, not Steinberg’s.
Whilst you may love the Apple ecosystem, many people detest it. Who am I (or Steinberg for that matter) to dictate to them what they use?
We have a choice - but that choice is to buy something else, not VST Live. No one in their right mind would choice their mobile phone platform based solely on an app such as this.
Hi @ibarch,
let me briefly jump in here.
That’s fine - and let’s please leave it at that. We should avoid drifting into assumptions.
Please do not drift to that one …
@musicullum has already answered many aspects of this topic in different places, and we are trying to be as transparent as possible within reasonable boundaries. What we’d like to avoid is being pushed into discussions based on assumptions such as:
We’ve said this in the past, and we’ll say it again clearly: At the moment, there are no plans to add Android support to the VST Live MODS application.
Please also keep in mind: we do listen to our users - to questions, problems, crash reports, and of course feature wishes like this one. We simply ask that the discussion remains fair and respectful.
See you,
Michael
PS: You can always reach me directly via email at m.spork (at) steinberg.de