We’re pleased to announce that the first update to Dorico for iPad, version 1.1, has just been released via the App Store and should be offered to existing users as an update imminently.
This update fixes a number of bugs and adds numerous small features and improvements, but the most significant change is that users who choose to subscribe on a monthly or annual basis will now be able to open and edit Dorico projects with any number of players, subject to the capabilities of your iPad (specifically the amount of RAM it has).
I didn’t see it mentioned in Daniel’s blog post, but an additional added benefit of removing the player limit is that you can now click any element in Write or Engrave and play back from there. In 1.0 you had to switch to Play mode as these elements were not selectable if you had over 12 players, which made the iPad version not as useful if you wanted the score to remain visible for teaching or demonstration. Great improvements!
Another new bonus: I didn’t see this in Daniel’s blog post, but the open recent scores dialog now remembers your last location (for me this is box.com). Very helpful!
Any chance for the pen to be option for writing scores using iPad Dorico? Is there any recognition software in development? Has someone already asked this question and I missed it? I’m looking for a staff pad equivalent from steinberg.
In the Scoring Notes podcast episode Daniel stated that wasn’t on the radar, since there are other dedicated apps better for that task and the technology hasn’t really progressed in the last decade.
If anyone is curious about how far you can push this: I’m using a 2020 11-inch iPad Pro, which has 6 GB RAM, and so far the normal range of operations have all worked smoothly on a score with over 70 players and close to 80 instruments in it. There have been a few times where the program clearly took a few seconds to get everything loaded up, but once it did, it has “just worked” in the best way possible. Quite impressive!
And for a bonus: I’m using it on an iPad running the iOS 15 preview and it has had zero issues with Dorico so far. (Admittedly: only a half hour or so of working with it, but color me impressed nonetheless.)
I couldn’t be happier with this update. In no time at all from the release, the value of this app has jumped up dramatically.
I did want to address something in your blog post, about the subscription. I know it probably isn’t a popular decision, and you’ve heard more negativity on the subscription model than anything else. But you’re probably not hearing from the users who are very happy to pay a $40/yr subscription with the understanding it never touches Big Dorico. $40/yr feels like a bargain, especially now that the player limit has been removed. It’s a great value, and I know that the iPad makes it very hard to have any other sustainable model. If there’s some add-on priced into Dorico 4’s upgrade for the iPad version, I might consider it (especially if it’s the main means to a “Pro” tier that gives me more of Engrave Mode) but I’m very happy with the price point you’ve settled on, and if there’s ever a “Pro” subscription tier at ~$80/yr for iPad on top of Big Dorico, I wouldn’t hesitate to subscribe.
I can rename projects, but after typing in the new name I can’t click the big blue “Done” button on the onscreen typewriter; instead I must click the smaller “OK” button in the Rename dialog (this also happened in v. 1).