Doppler 3 Wishlist
I’ve been using Doppler on both macOS and iOS for a couple months now after switching from Apple Music and I’m a big fan of being able to own your music library. Doppler is very offline-first, so I’ve been wondering how to keep the mostly offline, privacy-preserving aspect with being able to compete with the feature set of a streaming service.
Here’s some ideas that have been cooking up in my head for what the third major update of this app could look like.
🐴 None of this is associated with Doppler, it’s purely a couple ideas from a fan with some mockups.
∞
When your playlist, album or song ends, Doppler 3 will automatically start playing a playlist that it automatically created from your library based on what you were just listening to from its genre, BPM and artist.
All processing is done on-device, so Doppler doesn’t learn anything about what you’re listening to.
Bandcamp Integration
You can now login with your Bandcamp account to Doppler and purchase music straight in Doppler.
Just search for an album you don’t own yet in the top right and you’ll be taken to a page where you can stream or purchase the album or song. Once it’s purchased, it’ll be automatically added to your Doppler library.
If you already have some music in your Bandcamp collection you want to import, just search for it and click “Add to Doppler” to download and add it straight to your Doppler library.
Doppler Cloud
Doppler Cloud lets you sync your library to all of your devices from anywhere in the world. Your music is kept encrypted in the cloud with a key you own so Doppler can’t even see it. Once you add a song, update its metadata or remove it from one of your devices, the change will be reflected everywhere within seconds.
Alternatively, run your own instance of the open-source server, connect with iCloud Drive, Dropbox (or any cloud provider), or go old-school with S3, FTP and SFTP.
You can also optionally choose to sync your listening stats so your Listening Reports will be more accurate than ever. Of course, this will stay encrypted in Doppler Cloud and can be exported or deleted at any time.
Plus, once you buy music from Bandcamp, it’ll be uploaded directly to your Doppler Cloud and be available on all of your devices in seconds.
Handoff
Handoff lets you control what music is playing on other devices. It loops in with Doppler Cloud, letting you control music playing on your MacBook from your iPhone, or picking up on your iPad from where you left off on your iPhone when you get home. It’ll remember your exact position, volume and queue.
If you don’t have Doppler Cloud, you can manually handoff as you would any other app with Continuity support.
Conclusion
These are just a couple of ways I’d make Doppler catch up with the featureset offered by streaming services today, without compromising on owning your own library.