SynkEngine
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How to · one song, every phone, the same instant
Play the same song on multiple phones at the same time.
Press play on several phones and you get an echo: Wi-Fi gives them a network, not a clock. SynkEngine gives every phone in the room one clock, so the phones you already have play the same song at the same instant and sound like one big speaker. No accounts, no servers, nothing to rent.
Three steps
- One phone hosts the partyOpen SynkEngine, start a party and pick a song: your own files, YouTube or SoundCloud. A Windows PC can host too.
- Everyone joins on the Wi-FiThe other phones open SynkEngine and join. Guests queue their own songs; the host keeps play, skip and volume.
- Press play onceEvery phone plays the same instant. Spread them around the room, lock them, pocket them: the music keeps playing for everyone.
What you can do with it
- A party without a speakerFive phones on a table, twenty on a terrace: the room is the sound system, and the sound follows the crowd.
- Bluetooth earbuds, headphones and speakersSwitch a phone to Bluetooth and it stays on the beat; pair a Bluetooth speaker to any phone and it joins. The explainer →
- A silent partyEveryone in their own headphones, on the beat, no neighbours disturbed. How to throw one →
- KaraokeYour phone is the mic and every other phone is the speaker, with the lyrics in sync. Karaoke Mode →
- Movies and anime togetherThe same picture and sound on every phone, in step; up to four phones edge to edge as one wider screen.
- Lock it, it keeps playingOnce in sync, forget the phone: lock it, pocket it, walk away. The teaser →
See it
The how-it-works film (57 s) with its transcript: watch →. The Bluetooth explainer (82 s): watch →.
Questions
Can I play the same song on two phones at the same time?
Yes. Two phones is the smallest party: one hosts, the other joins over the same Wi-Fi (or the host's hotspot) and both play the same instant. It is the same for ten or twenty phones in a room; nothing changes but the size of the sound.
Why do several phones playing the same song echo?
Press play on five phones and each starts a few hundred milliseconds apart, and drifts further as it plays: Wi-Fi gives the phones a network but no shared clock. The ear hears a few milliseconds of difference as an echo.
How does SynkEngine keep them together?
The phones find each other on the Wi-Fi and agree on one party clock, so every phone plays the same instant; the host keeps them there as they play. No servers, no accounts: nothing about you or your music leaves the room.
What do I need?
Phones on the same Wi-Fi (a hotspot works), SynkEngine on each (Android now; a Windows PC can join or host), and a song: your own files, YouTube or SoundCloud. No speaker is needed; if there's a Bluetooth speaker, it joins.
How many phones can join?
As many as are on the Wi-Fi: a table, a room, a rooftop. The phones spread around the place become the sound system, and the sound follows the crowd.
Can guests pick songs?
Yes. Guests queue songs from their own phones; the master keeps play, skip and volume. There is also a karaoke mode, movies and anime in sync, and up to four phones as one wider screen.
Does it work with Bluetooth earbuds or a Bluetooth speaker?
Yes: SynkEngine times a Bluetooth device the moment it connects, asks once whether it's earphones or a speaker, and remembers it per device. See the 82-second explainer on the Bluetooth page.
Is it free?
The alpha opens on 11/11 at 11:11 and the official launch is 12/12 at 12:12. After the launch, one price: Rs 199 once (about €3.99). Request the app on synkengine.com.
Request the app: Android and Windows now, iPhone coming. Alpha 11/11 at 11:11, official launch 12/12 at 12:12.
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