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Djay wants you to DJ an entire party from the Apple Watch

Djay wants you to DJ an entire party from the Apple Watch

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Algoriddim considers its app Djay to be one of the tools that helped prove iPads could be used for more than browsing the web. "With the iPad app, everyone was saying, 'Oh the iPad is only consumption, you can only read on it, you can't do anything creative with it,'" Michael Simmons, a design and business advisor to Algoriddim, tells The Verge. "And Djay for iPad proved that obviously wrong."

"The whole interaction is done purely from your wrist."

It seems strange now to think of the iPad as something that you can only read on (even if its productivity tools are still limited). But it seems remarkably stranger to think that the same thing could happen with the Apple Watch: that one day, it'll be seen as a device that you can really get things done on. Algoriddim doesn't want to bet against it — in fact, it's hoping to build another app that can illustrate creative uses for a new Apple device.

Read next: Read our Apple Watch review.

To do that, it's today introducing a version of Djay for the Apple Watch. The app appears to be surprisingly capable, allowing you to pick and control two songs, synchronize them, fade between them, and even create basic loops and apply effects to them. That's a lot to fit on a small watch screen, but it looks like Djay could be an effective way to remotely mix as a DJ.

"iPhones are so powerful now that you can basically hook it up to a PA system at a club or a house party and just leave it alone," Karim Morsy, CEO of Algoriddim, tells The Verge. "The processing is done on the phone, but the whole interaction is done purely from your wrist."

Morsy sees the Watch app as something that can allow pro DJs to step out from behind their booth for a while. It could also let a more casual user tweak their party's music while they're wandering around the house. You can't do everything remotely — there are a lot more features if you actually pick up the iPhone — but Morsy says that the essential tools for DJing are available through the Watch.

The app will be free for a week

We'll find out tomorrow how well that works in practice. Algoriddim has confidence that its app makes good use of the Watch, but it's worth remembering that the Apple Watch is a limited tool right now: it has some performance issues when it comes to apps, and it has some real limitations when it comes to battery life — you're not supposed to be interacting with this thing for every long, and DJing all night may take a toll. It could also just be uncomfortable.

Still, if you're getting an Apple Watch and you're curious, there's not much reason not to try it out. Algoriddim is making Djay's iPhone app free to download starting today and running for a week. Djay's iPad app, which is also getting a small update today, will also be available for free. Simmons says the free downloads are meant to hook people, who could then go on to purchase Djay Pro or introduce the mobile apps to others.

Algoriddim is also announcing a pair of updates for Djay's desktop app, Djay Pro. The first is support for Pioneer's CDJ and XDJ controllers, which Morsy believes will be a boon for its more professional users. The other update is video integration, bringing features from Algoriddim's iOS app Vjay into Djay Pro. It includes a number of visualizations and allows people to fade between them and other video footage to create visuals that play in sync with the music. It'll be available as a free update to existing Djay Pro owners.