I have made an editable Google Doc to compare the various iOS devices. It would be very helpful in determining what iOS device to purchase for a live gig. My preference would be to use a phone that I can mount to a pedal board, or perhaps an iPad mini (don’t want to get bigger than that if I can avoid it). I would invite our members to contribute their specs and experiences running MG2 on iOS, See Chart here https://docs.google.com/document/d/16KlNZlZoLRmz1l69on3elxTWznq1dKilTfrqQyt3KR0/edit?usp=sharing
Great idea. I’m wondering the same thing as I’m in the process of trying to figure out how to add this to my live rig. So far I’ve been experimenting with MG on my MacBook but no way I want to use a laptop in a gig setting…so unfortunately I don’t have anything to add to the doc but I’ll be anxiously following this thread.
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I’m wondering if the upcoming iPhone 12 will be a viable option? I’d also like to see if the next OS update helps the XsMax run better than my 6Splus. The current mini has an A12 processor same as my XsMax, so I doubt it runs any better.
Im in the some boat, that is an iphone with the A12 chip. Mine is a XR and I have serious problems doing music with it (my main app is MG2) that can be read here: https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/781949#Comment_781949
I also have a Iphone 6s and it worked better, which is really strange being much older.
That forum is the best source that I know about IOS music related.
There are other threads where people was having problems with the Ipad pros equipped with that same chip but it was solved with an update. Apparently the problem was that music is not a priority task and was done with the low cores. Maybe its the problem with the A12 Iphones which seems has not been adressed in Iphone?
Also there is other posts and threads where people claim that their XS and XS max are doing very well with music apps. Not many XR opinions anyway.
Edit: After testing with other audiocard powered by usb hubs, I discovered that the problem is still that the XR is unable to feed a simple sound card like SonicPort (normal and VX) and perhaps how it manages the use of cores and their speed according to demand.
I do not know if in the case of the XS / Max it is the same, or the case of the Iphone 11 or 11 pro, but it would be very interesting to know.
Therefore, the variable of which sound card is used and whether it is intended to be powered directly by the Iphone is a variable to be taken into account for the reasons stated.
Personally if I want to make live music with my phone so I want to use a simple audiocard without the need of hubs and more cables.
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I’m still hopeful the next big iOS rollout will fix it.
I have been running MG2 on standard iPhone 7 with no issues so far. Granted I haven’t used it in a live setting yet but that’s intent… eventually. But so far so good with the performance. It’s not perfect but for the few songs I would use it for, I’d feel OK using it in my live rig at this point. More to come as I continue to test.
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That’s good to know! Can you give a few more details?
What iOS version are your running?
What latency/buffer settings are you using?
What other soft synth apps are you using with it?
What I/O hardware are you using?
It’d be helpful if you could add the info to this chart https://docs.google.com/document/d/16KlNZlZoLRmz1l69on3elxTWznq1dKilTfrqQyt3KR0/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks!
Performance comparison as such is a very ambiguous matter.
I’d advice to click on the right top CPU usage indicator, that will popup a CPU load graph of MG and the loaded synths and fx, also the AU plugins.
The same plugin will show smaller usage on a better system, and this might give you a better indicator of performance.
On a software system performance is usually perfect ( latency stays the same) untill the CPU graph is full and the system starts to stutter.
That is why you read some people using very old ipads or iphones and it runs perfectly. they just dont load that much extra fx and stuff!
The less stuff you load, the more CPU headroom you have, and the more your ios device is trustworthy in performance.
If the CPU graph is nowhere near full, and you still experience stutters and crackles, while no other apps are running: that is the situation where the hardware is not optimal, or there might be a problem with the ios system or hardware.
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Yes, it’d be good if people mention in the comments of that chart what the CPU load is showing for their system, along with all the other info. It’s obvious some devices are better than others. We have to compare apples to apples etc… My iPhone 6 with the same iOS and the same softsynths and AU plugins out performs my XS max.