3D Environment
Your visuals now live in real 3D space. Import OBJ models, write custom Metal shaders for them, and move your camera through the scene. A low-poly disco ball is included to get started. 3D models travel with exported .visualko project files.

New Master Effects
Two new effects: Outline (soft edge glow, beat-reactive) and Ripple (radial wave distortion). RGB Split, VHS, and DOF are now smooth under beat-sync with no more stutter.

Computer Veld Pack
12 MS-DOS-era Metal shaders — boot terminals, EGA flight sims, dungeon crawlers, and more. Audio-reactive and BPM-synced.
Available in the Shader Store.

VKO1 Player — AUv3
Run VKO1 visualizers directly inside AUM, GarageBand, Logic, and any AUv3 host. All 33 palettes, Complexity / Reactivity / Speed sliders, custom shaders, node graph support, and 3D model import — all from inside your host.

EPIC UPDATE!

NODE GRAPH EDITOR

Build your own visualizer — Connect generators, modifiers, combiners, and live audio inputs into custom signal chains
25 generators, 20 Metal modifiers, 6 combiners, 11 input nodes — the deepest visual toolkit in any VJ app on iOS

NEW METAL SHADER NODES

Bloom — Beat-reactive glow with threshold and intensity controls; the more bass, the brighter the halo
Beat Crossfade — Hard-cut, smooth sine, or downbeat-flash transitions between two generators, locked to the grid
Luma Key — Replace the dark or bright regions of one layer with another; punch stars through plasma or terrain through noise

NEW CORE IMAGE MODIFIER NODES (×7)

Twirl — Spiral distortion from center; radius and angle independently controlled
Vortex — Rotational warp that spins the whole frame outward
Pinch — Squeeze inward or bulge outward from a focal point; great for beat-reactive lens effects
Variable Blur — Smooth Gaussian blur with adjustable radius; wet/dry mix preserved
Color Controls — Independent saturation, brightness, and contrast sliders with a wet/dry blend knob
Transform — Rotate and scale the frame; patch an LFO to the amount pin for perpetual motion
Film Look — 8 cinematic presets: Noir, Chrome, Fade, Mono, Process, Tonal, Transfer, Instant; blend with original via wet/dry
NEW AUDIO INPUT NODES

Bass, Mid, Treble — Each frequency band exposed as its own node; wire them to any numeric pin to make different parts of the spectrum control different visual parameters independently
19 GRAPH TEMPLATES

Ready-to-play starting points covering every new node:
Twirl Plasma — Bass energy drives twist angle on a Plasma field
Vortex Voronoi — Slow LFO continuously rotates Voronoi cells
Pinch Pulse — Beat phase kicks a bulge through Tunnel Warp
Dreamy Haze — Terrain → Variable Blur → Color Controls, atmospheric slow burn
Color Burst — Starfield → max saturation → Bloom, pure neon
Film Noir — Neon Prism → Film Look (Noir) → Edge Detect, cinematic B&W
LFO Spin — Fractal Noise rotating forever via Affine Transform
Cinema Blend — 6-node chain: two generators → Screen blend → Chrome film → Bloom
Beat Switch, Star Punch, Bass Bloom, LFO Glitch, Pulse Storm — Audio-reactive multi-node chains from the previous session

SHADER PACK STORE

In-app Shader Store — New store accessible from the toolbar, browse and install shader packs with one tap
Metal Starter Pack — 24 hand-crafted Metal shaders included free: Aurora, Biocore Monitor, CGA Dither, CRT Monitor, CRT Tunnel, Diamond Spin, Digital Rain, Hex Wave, Holo HUD, Kaleidoscope, Laser Grid, Neon Tunnel, Nihon Grid, Pixel Warp, Plasma Orb, Retro Grid, Signal Intercept, Spiral Vortex, Star Warp, Synth City, System Crash HUD, Tech Diag HUD, Voronoi Glass, and Wireframe Cube

PHOSPHOR CULT — FIRST PAID SHADER PACK

Phosphor Cult — 12 hand-crafted Metal shaders: Arcade Idle, Circuit God, Data Corruption, Deep Scan, Fungal Bloom, Neon Topology, Phosphor Eye, Pixel Shrine, Signal Ghost, Star Forge, Terminal Soul, and VHS Nightmare. From VHS glitch storms and occult trading cards to PCB circuit deities and mech diagnostics. Audio-reactive, BPM-synced, and built to haunt your next set.

Three bug fixes in this update:

- Bank folder loading freeze — If your bank folders were pointing to iCloud Drive, loading them could completely freeze the app. Files that aren't downloaded yet are now skipped automatically (and queued for download in the background), so the rest of your bank loads without hanging.

- Audio volume drop after using beat detection — If you turned on the beat detection mic and then turned it off, the overall audio volume would stay lower for the rest of the session. iOS quietly lowers output when the mic is active to prevent feedback, but it wasn't being restored when the mic turned off. Fixed — volume now snaps back to normal as soon as you stop beat detection.

- RAM preload crash with large clip libraries — Loading many video clips into RAM could crash or hang the app. The preloader now tracks actual memory usage, checks available memory before each clip, and stops cleanly when things get tight — keeping whatever it already loaded rather than crashing. Also, trimmed clips now only load the trimmed portion into RAM, so a 60-second clip trimmed to 5 seconds only uses 5 seconds worth of memory.

**New Features**
- **Self-contained .visualko exports** — Projects now bundle all media files, so sessions open perfectly on any device
- **9 new visualizers** — Signal Decode, Tactical Grid, Glyph Matrix, Schematic Pulse, Terminal, Tron Grid, Wire Tunnel, Vector Terrain, Holo Cube
- **Still image animations** — 19 Ken Burns, zoom, pan, drift, pulse, and rotate presets; auto-applied on import
- **Visualizer playback modes** — Reverse, Ping-Pong, and One-Shot now work on visualizers
- **1/64 beat division** — Plus true-timing fix for 1/32
- **WebP image support**
- **Session resume on launch** — Tap-to-resume card remembers your last session
- **Mouse scroll wheel mapping** — Map to Jog Wheel or MFX Dry/Wet (Mac)
- **Custom .visualko file icon**
- **Marathon color palette** (#33)
- **Clear Bank** — Delete all pads in a bank at once
- **GIF RAM preload** — GIFs now included alongside videos in RAM preload

**Improvements**
- Active effects, blend modes, and color adjustments highlighted in orange in context menus
- Export saves directly to Finder/Files instead of share sheet
- Spinner feedback while packing export bundles
- Report a Bug button in settings

**Bug Fixes**
- Fixed CoreAudio crash on macOS Tahoe (26.4)
- Fixed paste media detection on iOS 16+ and Mac Catalyst
- Fixed pasted images overwriting each other
- Fixed Auto Play getting stuck on 1/32
- Fixed MFX BPM division scaling
- Fixed sessions with older format failing to load
- Fixed Cmd+S on Mac Catalyst

RAM Preview

  - New "Load Clips to RAM" option in Session Manager — pre-loads all your clips into memory for buttery smooth,
  instant playback during live performances
  - Progress indicator shows how many clips are loaded and how much memory is being used
  - Reload button to refresh the cache anytime

  Reverse Audio

  - Audio now plays in reverse when using Reverse or Ping Pong playback modes — video and audio stay perfectly in
  sync

  Visualizer Playback Modes

  - Visualizers now support Reverse, Ping Pong, and One Shot playback modes, just like video clips

  Still Image Animations

  - 9 new animation presets for still images: Ken Burns, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Pan Left, Pan Right, Drift, Pulse,
  Rotate, and Rock
  - Bring your photos and graphics to life right from the pad context menu

  Stability & Performance

  - Faster video compositing across the board
  - Older session files now load without crashing
  - GIF clips are now properly included in RAM Preview

Native Mac Support
VisualKO now runs natively on Mac via Mac Catalyst using Apple's "Optimize for Mac" rendering. Native resolution text, proper Mac window chrome, and a UI that feels at home on macOS. Use your Mac as the control surface while sending clean video output to a projector, second display, or AirPlay device.

How to install on Mac
If you previously installed the iOS version of VisualKO on your Mac (via "iPhone & iPad Apps"), you must uninstall it first. Then search for VisualKO in the Mac App Store and install the native Mac version.

Fixes and improvements
- Fixed a bug where AirPlay/external display output rendered differently from the main video preview when using Automix. Both outputs now show identical video with all effects and visualizers applied.
- The video output window on Mac no longer duplicates the main UI. It now shows only clean video output, matching AirPlay and HDMI behavior.
- Fixed effect color bleeding between Master Effects when switching between B&W, Sepia, and other color effects.
- Fixed session save crash caused by invalid float values in clip data.
- MIDI Learn buttons now pulse with a snappy animation when listening for input, making it clear the app is waiting for a MIDI message.
- MIDI pad mapping screen is now always accessible, even when starting from scratch with the Custom preset.
- Added 9 new MIDI controller presets for popular 2024-2026 controllers including Akai APC Mini MK2, Novation Launchpad X, Arturia BeatStep, and more.
- Added separate default render quality settings for clips and visualizers in Session Manager.
- Fixed dark mode contrast issues across multiple sheets including BPM Settings, Tape Editor, and Tape Library.
- The Mac app now remembers window size and position between launches.
- Ableton Link networking now works correctly on Mac Catalyst.