Figure and Shazam developers talk about making Windows 10 music apps

Microsoft wants to show off how the teams of two popular music-based apps, Figure and Shazam, created their recent universal Windows 10 versions for both PC and Mobile. The promotion comes via the official blog of Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft's chief developer evangelist.

Developer Propellerhead first launched the Windows 10 version of Figure in December. The app, which initially launched for iOS, allows people to compose and create their own music beats. Propellerhead decided to release Figure on Windows 10 ahead of Android due to the new audio drivers on Microsoft's platform.

"Leo Nathorst-Böös, product manager at Propellerheads, says, "With Windows 10's new audio drivers and built-in audio enhancements, we can reach the enormous Windows audience base. Android doesn't yet support the audio capabilities apps like ours require and we're excited that Microsoft is thinking about the needs of music app developers."

Shazam, which allows users to discover new music tracks, was easy to create for Windows 10, according to product manager Piotr Bar:

"Shazam deploys distinct native code across multiple mobile platforms, but on Windows, they used the hosted web app model. "It allowed us to quickly get to market on multiple browsers using a single, portable implementation. We deployed a fully web-based UI that felt native and lightweight at the same time, and we were still able to access the functionality of Cortana and Live Tiles," says Bar."

Figure is even looking towards the future, and a possible launch of an app for Microsoft HoloLens

"Nathorst-Böös envisions a future in which music apps use HoloLens. "It would be intriguing to revolutionize music creation by utilizing mixed reality," he says. "HoloLens makes possible a little-known immersive 3D audio experience that could completely change how people create new music."

Source: Microsoft

John Callaham