by It’s hard to imagine now, but iTunes started out as a simple audio player. It didn’t try to sell you anything, nor did it support movies, TV shows, books, or apps. Depending on whom you ask, iTunes has grown either more feature-rich or bloated over the years. But in this multimedia world, what if all you want to do is play music from your computer? Then Vox 2.0 might be for you.
Vox is as streamlined as iTunes used to be, but it has a few features iTunes doesn’t offer even today. You can drag music into Vox from any storage device to create playlists, or you can have it absorb your entire iTunes library. It can even play file types that leave iTunes scratching its head.
The app looks fantastic, with a beautiful modern design that hones in on what’s important. You could almost mistake it for an iPhone app, with its tall, slim form factor that all but disappears when you glance away. When Vox isn’t the selected window, it displays a gorgeous, dimmed view of the cover art of the selected track.
Though Vox is simple on its face, its capabilities go fairly deep. Audiophiles can adjust 10 equalization sliders to make the tracks sound exactly how they want, or they can use presets like Acoustic, Vocal, Small Speakers, and Rock. Vox is free to download, but a $2.99 in-app purchase grants you access thousands of online radio stations that offer something for fans of every kind of music.
As thoughtfully designed as Vox is, however, navigating through a large music library is a laborious experience thanks to poor keyboard navigation. To view all of an artist’s albums, for instance, you can’t just start typing the band’s name. Instead, you either have to scroll to them manually or key up a search, which displays the songs in a seemingly random order. The app’s lack of features could be viewed as a negative as well, since it can’t do some basic things like import the iTunes playlists you’ve already created.
However, the pros outweigh the cons. Vox 2.0 is redeemed by its gorgeous design and ability to handle all kinds of audio files, from any folder or storage device you want.
The bottom line. Vox 2.0 isn’t for everybody. If you’re happy listening to your music through iTunes, there’s little reason to download another audio player. But if you use file types iTunes doesn’t support, or you wish you could listen to music without opening that behemoth of a program, it’s definitely worth a look.
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