Visualizer

Watch the sound, not a screensaver.

Every frame is drawn from the audio that is playing — twelve looks across three families, in colour that follows the theme you chose.

What it does
Looks
12, in 3 families
Colour
Follows your accent, or the look’s own
Works with
Your files and internet radio
Default
Off until you turn it on

Three families, twelve looks

Each family reads the sound a different way.

  • Spectrum splits it into frequency bands — five looks: Bars, Classic, Flame, Ridge and Dots
  • Scope plots left against right as motion — four looks: Lissajous, Dust, Orbit and Tunnel
  • Waveform draws the wave itself — three looks: Waveform, Mirror and Oscilloscope
  • Colour comes with the look: most follow your accent colour, Classic runs the green-to-red analyser ramp with white peak caps, and Flame burns to ember

It never takes over a video

  • Audio Only is on by default: music gets the effects, videos keep their picture
  • Turn Audio Only off and a video plays as audio, with the visualizer in place of the picture
  • It runs in the floating player too, if you want it there
  • Some sources cannot be read — HLS streams, video inside a web page and AirPlay to another device — and there the artwork comes back and the button says why

Kind to the battery

  • 60 frames a second in full screen, 30 in the floating card
  • 24 in Low Power Mode, and it stops if the phone gets too warm
  • On a device with no Metal support the button is not shown at all

Step by step

How to turn on the visualizer

  1. 1

    Play a track and open the full-screen player.

  2. 2

    Tap the waveform button in the row of controls under the artwork.

  3. 3

    Choose a look from the menu — the list is grouped into Spectrum, Scope and Waveform.

  4. 4

    Leave Audio Only switched on if you want videos to keep their picture, and turn on In Mini Player to see it in the floating card too.

There is a step-by-step Visualizer guide inside the app as well: open Sources and look under Guides.

Questions

About the visualizer

Where do I switch the visualizer on?

In the full-screen player — not in Settings. Tap the waveform button in the controls under the artwork, then pick a look. The app also carries a Visualizer guide under Sources › Guides.

How many looks are there?

Twelve, in three families: five in Spectrum, four in Scope and three in Waveform. Each brings its own colour treatment.

Will it cover my videos?

No. Audio Only is on by default, so the effects run for music while videos keep their picture. If you would rather watch the visualizer instead of a video, switch Audio Only off.

Does it work with radio?

Yes, with ordinary internet radio streams. Stations delivered as HLS cannot be read, and there the artwork is shown instead.

Does it drain the battery?

It is drawn on the graphics chip and throttles itself: 60 frames a second in full screen, 30 in the floating card, 24 in Low Power Mode, and it stops if the device gets hot.

Get FoxFM for iPhone and iPad.

Free on the App Store · iOS 16 or later