Skip to main content

Dolby’s secret recording studio app may soon exit stealth mode

Dolby-234-App

Dolby Labs, the company behind some of the most important innovations in the audio space, is working on a new mobile app that will endow creators with some unique tools — and a new social network — according to TechCrunch. Known for now as “Dolby 234,” the free app has the ability to measure background noise and eliminate it during the recording process. Borrowing a successful upgrade model from photo apps, 234 users will be able to filter their recordings through paid audio effect EQ packs, such as “amped, bright, lyric, thump, deep, or natural.”

234 recordings can be exported as stand-alone files, or in a move that will both embrace and challenge SoundCloud, they can be shared to Dolby’s own as-yet-unnamed audio social network, or to SoundCloud. Dolby has apparently been testing 234 since June, sometimes under the name Dolby Live. A link to a sign-up page to test the app was live until Thursday, January 17, and it still shows up in Google’s index when you search for Dolby 234. As much as the app’s audio features are intriguing in their own right, we’re very curious about video possibilities implied by the camera icon on the first frame of the captured screenshots:

Related Videos

This new app is an intriguing move for the audio technology company. Although a well-known brand, Dolby has thus far been the Intel of the sound world, providing the software, techniques, patents, and equipment to produce (and reproduce) incredible audio experiences like Dolby Digital, and Dolby Atmos, but never engaging with consumers directly. In late 2018, this changed, with the release of the company’s first consumer product, the Dolby Dimension headphones, designed strictly for enhancing screen-based entertainment listening.

With a portable recording studio app in the works, these two products could well signify Dolby’s intent to become a much bigger player in the consumer space. We think such a move makes perfect sense and it could put Dolby on an equal footing with the likes of Audio-Technica, another brand that enjoys high levels of respect from consumers and creators alike. Using its reputation as a peerless innovator in the movie and sound production industry, we may be looking at a future competitor to Beats, though admittedly, it will take equal parts innovation and marketing prowess to erode Apple’s premier headphone brand’s hold on the higher end of the consumer market.

Editors' Recommendations

Apple cracks down on ChatGPT apps with harsh age ratings
App Store on-screen illustration

Apple is in a deadlock with email app BlueMail over its decision to give the app's latest update an age restriction of 17 and older due to its ChatGPT integration.

Apple is currently blocking the update because the app's developer Blix Inc. disagrees with the company's stance to give BlueMail an age restriction, having rejected the brand's update application last week, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Read more
Our 5 favorite iPhone and Android apps by Black developers
An iPhone with apps from Black developers downloaded on it.

As we wrap up the celebration of 2023's Black History Month, it remains important to recognize and appreciate the contributions that Black people have made in various fields, including technology and the smartphone apps we use every day. From social media platforms to productivity tools, Black developers and other people of color have worked hard to create innovative, useful, and just plain fun apps.

Here, we're focusing on five helpful apps developed by Black people that you should check out. These iPhone and Android apps range from ones that help you discover and support Black-owned businesses to ones that provide legal assistance in case of an emergency to ones that curate and highlight sources of news and entertainment by Black creators.
We Read Too

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of MWC 2023 Awards
MWC 2023 Awards

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the biggest yearly showcases for the ever-changing world of mobile tech. Whether you’re an avid smartphone fan, are fascinated by smartwatches/wearables, or love strange tech that doesn't really fit in a specific category, MWC is the place to be.

MWC 2023 was no different in this regard. Despite Samsung and OnePlus already launching their major flagships earlier this year (the Galaxy S23 Ultra and OnePlus 11, respectively), MWC 2023 was still home to numerous smartphone announcements — many of which push the foldable industry forward in big and exciting ways. In addition to peculiar wearables, new satellite technology, and a whole lot more, MWC 2023 gave us plenty of reasons to be excited about where the mobile tech industry is headed.

Read more