Posted By Paul Kafasis on June 10th, 2024

Earlier today, Apple announced the next version of the Mac’s operating system: MacOS 15 (Sequoia). Developers are just now receiving an initial version of Sequoia to test with, and the official release is expected this fall. Here at Rogue Amoeba, we’ve already begun the work necessary to update our entire product line for Sequoia, with official support coming as soon as possible.

For now, however, we strongly encourage our users to steer clear of Apple’s beta OS releases. All of our software is fully supported on the current MacOS 14 (Sonoma) and lower, and we recommend sticking with those OSes.

Current Sequoia Status

At present, our lineup can be divided into two groups.

Group #1: Functional on Sequoia

The following apps will function on Sequoia, and initial testing has surfaced no issues:

Airfoil

Audio Hijack

Farrago

Fission

Piezo

Do note that these apps are not officially supported on Sequoia yet. They’ll warn you of that when you run them, but will allow you to proceed.

Group #2: Inoperable on Sequoia

Meanwhile, these apps will not yet run at all on Sequoia:

Loopback

SoundSource

Updates in the Works

Our helpful Status page details the current state of affairs for major OS upgrades and other transitions. It’s the canonical source of information when it comes to supporting Sequoia.

In the past, our updates have generally arrived at the tail end of the OS’s development cycle. However, we know that some of our users will jump on Apple’s Sequoia betas earlier. This year, we’re aiming to provide releases with initial support sooner.

We’ll start by issuing test releases that run without warning on the new OS, followed by official updates to support Sequoia. You can turn on test releases now to get our latest updates for Sequoia as soon as they’re available.

More Soon

We expect to have more news soon, so consider subscribing to the blog via RSS and following our social media accounts as well. As always, stay tuned!

Posted By Paul Kafasis on June 7th, 2024

We’ve got more big news today, with an update for our cable-free audio routing tool Loopback now available for MacOS 14.5 and up. Loopback has now been updated with a streamlined setup process that will have you going in under 60 seconds. With this update, there’s no longer any need to adjust startup security settings, nor restart your Mac a single time. It’s fantastic!

To get started, download Loopback and launch it. You’ll be prompted to install Loopback’s backend component with your Administrator password, then grant the necessary permissions. In just a few clicks, you’ll be up and running.

Similar to our other recent updates, Loopback’s audio capture backend was overhauled to make this simplified setup possible. This update represents many months of development, as we worked to ensure that existing users experience no difference in functionality. Loopback is as capable and powerful as ever.

Update Loopback Today

For existing users, getting the latest Loopback is a snap. Choose Check for Updates from the Loopback menu to update to the latest version for your system.

If you’re not currently using Loopback, visit the product page to learn more and download the free trial. You can now get started routing audio between apps on your Mac faster than ever before.

Loopback’s new audio capture backend requires MacOS 14.5 or higher, so we’ve split it into two variants.¹ The app will handle everything for you, ensuring you have the right variant for your version of MacOS. Just download Loopback, launch it, and it’ll take care of the rest.

Coming to SoundSource Soon

We’re thrilled to have dramatically simplified Loopback’s installation. Coupled with the completely installer-free setup we’ve already shipped in Audio Hijack, Piezo, and Airfoil, getting started with our software has never been so smooth.

Meanwhile, we’re working hard to bring this same streamlined installation process to our must-have sound control utility, SoundSource. We expect to ship that update soon, so as always, stay tuned.

Footnotes:

1. For MacOS 14.5 and higher, Loopback 2.4.0 is the current version. On MacOS 11 through 14.4.1, Loopback 2.3.3 is used. These two variants of the app function identically. ↩︎

Posted By Paul Kafasis on April 5th, 2024

Big news: Audio Hijack has now been updated to provide our new installer-free setup on MacOS 14.4 and up. Just as we showed off last month with our recent Piezo update, you can now get started using Audio Hijack nearly instantly. There’s no need to restart your Mac, use Recovery mode, or even enter a password.

Just how fast is the new setup? See for yourself:

In just seconds, you too can be recording audio on your Mac with Audio Hijack. It’s now incredibly easy to get started.

Additional Details

This update overhauls Audio Hijack’s audio capture backend, which was quite an undertaking. As a user, however, you shouldn’t see any differences when it comes to functionality. Audio Hijack is as powerful as ever, able to capture any audio on your Mac so you can create audio recordings, apply advanced audio effects, or even transcribe live audio to text.

Because the new backend requires MacOS 14.4, we’ve split Audio Hijack into two variants.¹ But you don’t have to worry about a thing. The app automatically ensures you’re running the right variant for your version of MacOS, to make sure it just works.

Get the Latest Audio Hijack Now

If you’re already using Audio Hijack, just choose Check for Updates from the Audio Hijack menu to get the latest version for your system.

If you’re new to Audio Hijack, or haven’t used it recently, it’s simply never been easier to it try out. The Audio Hijack product page provides all the details, and enables you to download the free trial. As the video above shows, it’s a snap to get started recording any audio on your Mac.

Still More to Come

With this update, we’ve now brought installer-free setup to Piezo, Airfoil, and Audio Hijack. These apps now have our easiest first-run process ever. There’s still more to come, as we’re continuing to work on streamlining things for Loopback and SoundSource as well. Stay tuned for further updates!

Footnotes:

1. For MacOS 14.4 and higher, Audio Hijack 4.4.0 is the current version. On MacOS 11 through 14.3.1, Audio Hijack 4.3.3 is used. These two variants of the app function identically. ↩︎

Posted By Chris Barajas on March 13th, 2024

Our charmingly simple audio recording tool Piezo has just received an update that’s both small and monumental. There are a handful of bug fixes, but existing users may not notice much different in the update. Under the hood, however, there are massive changes. Now, anyone getting started with Piezo can do so without needing to install additional components, nor even enter an admin password. That’s a big deal!

Get Started in Seconds

As previewed in our recent status report, we’re working hard to simplify the first-run experience for all of our apps. That easier setup process has now launched with Piezo, making it possible to get started nearly instantly.

This video shows that you can now start recording audio in less than 30 seconds:

As you can see, you no longer need to restart your Mac to get started recording audio with Piezo. And since no password is required either, it’s now possible for Standard user accounts to use Piezo on their Mac without requiring assistance from an Administrator.

A Seamless Experience for All Users

Piezo’s audio capture technology has been overhauled to make this seamless setup possible. When it comes to recording, however, this new technology works as it always has. Piezo still makes it a snap to record audio from any app on your Mac.

Piezo’s new installer-free experience is available on MacOS 14.4 and higher, so we’ve split the app into two variants: Piezo 1.9.0 runs on MacOS 14.4 and higher, while Piezo 1.8.2 is available for MacOS 11 through 14.3.1.¹ To keep things simple for all users, Piezo always ensures that you’re running the right variant of the app for your system. There’s just one download from our website, and when you launch Piezo, everything is handled for you automatically.

Try the Latest Piezo Now

If you’re already a Piezo user, just choose Check for Updates… from the Piezo menu to get the latest version for your system.²

If you’re new to Piezo, or haven’t used the app in a while, it’s never been easier to get started. Visit Piezo’s product page to learn more about it, and download the free trial to test it out. You’re going to love it.

More to Come

This update to Piezo is just the beginning. We’re hard at work on updates which will provide this same easy setup to Airfoil, Audio Hijack, Loopback, and SoundSource. Stay tuned for more updates!³

Footnotes:

1. Piezo is still supported on MacOS 11 and later, through these two actively updated variants. Further, we always provide Legacy downloads of all our products for even older releases of MacOS that are no longer supported. If you bought a product from us, you’ll always be able to get it from us. ↩︎

2. Our in-app software update system is smart enough to detect whether you’ve got Apple’s latest updates to MacOS 14 (Sonoma). If you’re not prompted for Piezo 1.9, you may need to update your Mac by checking for updates in System Settings. ↩︎

3. To preview the latest and greatest changes before their official release, check out our test release system. ↩︎

Posted By Paul Kafasis on March 1st, 2024

Last year, we hit another employee milestone here at Rogue Amoeba and today, we’re finally getting around to properly celebrating it. This time, we’re honoring Nathan Tiddy for five years (and more!) with the company.

A Look at Some of Nathan’s Work

Nathan’s done a lot of work in his time at Rogue Amoeba. Here are just some of the major projects he’s brought to life.

SoundSource 4 and SoundSource 5

Prior to joining on here, Nathan had developed an audio adjuster called “menuBUS”. That work made him a great fit to helm the overhaul to SoundSource we had in the works. With Nathan’s help, our small little audio utility graduated into a robust sound control application. We shipped SoundSource 4 less than a year after Nathan was hired. With it, Mac users gained powerful new control over all their audio, including per-application adjustments and the ability to adjust any audio with effects. Nathan fought hard for those audio adjustments to include Audio Unit effects, and countless users are glad he did.

SoundSource 4 was such a hit that it brought a deluge of feedback full of feature requests and suggestions. We generally space out our major product versions, but neither the people nor Nathan could be denied. Just 17 months after SoundSource 4 had shipped, we were ready to release SoundSource 5. This version improved audio effects substantially, and made SoundSource easier to use by automatically tracking what apps were producing audio. It also formed the foundation for several years’ worth of further updates and improvements, and Nathan’s led the way on all of those.

SoundSource has a large and growing user base, and it’s thanks to Nathan’s hard work.

Farrago 2

While SoundSource is the product over which Nathan has had the most influence, his work on Farrago has been key as well. His first shipping code after joining us in 2018 was found in our soundboard app, where he was responsible for the app’s MIDI support.

A few years later, Nathan took over lead development of the app as we worked to level up to version 2. That update shipped last year, and it included more external controls, including Stream Deck and OSC, as well as Shortcuts support, and much more. Nathan built on top of the app’s solid version 1 (created by veteran dev Grant Farr), and took the app to new heights.

Audio Hijack’s “Transcribe” Block

Nathan has also done a fair amount of R&D for us here at Rogue Amoeba, but that work hasn’t always seen the light of day. Late last year, however, we were thrilled to be able to wrap some of his work into a shippable package: Audio Hijack’s Whisper-powered “Transcribe” block. That block is still in public beta, but it’s already helping countless users transcribe audio to text, and we’ve got plans for further improvements in the future as well.

Thank You, Nathan

Nathan has led the way on major enhancements across multiple products. If you’re a Rogue Amoeba customer, it’s a good bet you’re benefitting from some of his work. What you don’t know is what a pleasure Nathan is to work with, nor how quickly he can crank out new code, or prototype ideas we’re considering. He’s a great asset to the company, and we’re thrilled to have him.

I look forward to many more great years ahead, as we continue working together to develop the Mac’s very best audio tools. Thank you, Nathan! We’re honored to have you on our team.