The cassette player app for iPhone, done properly

A cassette-style player can make a local music collection feel familiar again. The useful questions are practical: can you read the track name, browse your own albums and turn the tape effect off? We develop MP95 and use its cassette deck as the example here.

1. The reels have to move like reels

On a real deck the take-up hub gains tape as the track plays and the supply hub loses it. Because the tape runs at a constant linear speed, the hub with less tape on it turns faster. If an app spins both hubs at the same constant speed, your eye notices within seconds, even if you cannot say why.

MP95 draws the tape pack as a photograph of a real wound reel, clipped to the current radius rather than redrawn as rings, and turns each hub at a rate proportional to one over that radius. Press play and the motor spins up over about a tenth of a second; press pause and it coasts to a stop. Scrub the track and the pack winds forward or back with the same physics.

2. The label should say what is playing

A blank cassette is a stock photo. A cassette with your track name and artist printed on the label is your tape. MP95 prints the label on every song, in a typeface that reads like a J-card, and on the narrower shells it fits both on one line so nothing wraps off the strip.

3. It should sound like tape, and you should be able to switch that off

The tape effect combines saturation, pitch variation and hiss. These are optional colourations, not an improvement to the accuracy of the original recording. Try the controls at a comfortable volume, and compare with the effect bypassed. See wow and flutter explained.

4. It must play your own files, offline

MP95 plays audio files you supply. Folder access through Files can keep a reference to the original folder; opening an individual shared file can copy it into the app. Cloud files must be downloaded before offline listening. Keep an independent backup.

MP95 does not import protected streaming downloads. This is a limitation of its local-file workflow, not a claim that every third-party app is unable to integrate a streaming service. See the import guide.

5. More than one cassette

Choose a cassette design in the app. Designs shown on this site include NOIR, AMBER, CHROME, GOLD, BLUE and NEON. The available selection can change with the app version; check the current app and Pro screen rather than relying on a fixed count in an older article.

6. What else the deck should give you

• A visualizer behind it. MP95's FX chip puts bars, a waveform, an aurora, a stream, a pulse or RGB behind the deck. See the visualizer.
• A library that treats albums as objects. Sleeves, cases and boxes rather than a list, with search in every tab.
• Widgets. The deck on your home screen with its keys, and a live playhead.
• A remote. On Apple Watch, a cassette-styled remote for play, pause, skip and love.
• A Mac version. The same deck full-window, with the available cassette designs, on the Mac.

The checklist

Before choosing a cassette player, try it with a complete album. Check track order, tags, controls, offline availability and the ability to bypass sound effects. MP95’s cassette deck and turntable are free on Apple platforms; other designs and optional features are offered through Pro. Android is free. See current pricing.