Release notes, announcements and progress updates for PunchKit. Follow along as the app evolves — from small polish to major new workflows.
v1.8
August 2026
Released
Live MIDI keeps its place, and USB monitoring through iPhone or iPad speakers
PunchKit 1.8 makes live performance safer to leave and easier to recover — MIDI machines keep playing across views, ALL OFF silences every channel, and USB input can monitor through a built-in iPhone or iPad speaker.
MIDI Playground continuity
Switch from MIDI Playground to REC to enable monitoring without losing active MIDI machines. Return to MIDI Playground to see the same playing state and stop it.
Keep chords, melodies, and basslines running while you check REC, then come back to the identical progression.
Use ALL OFF to send standard All Sound Off and All Notes Off messages across every MIDI channel, including notes left behind after navigation.
Chord Machine registers
Chord Machine adds explicit high and low chord registers for wider voicing range during a live progression.
Normalized transport controls and clearer chord feedback keep chord controls in sync across registers.
USB monitoring
Devices with USB input but no separate stereo USB return can now monitor through the built-in iPhone or iPad speaker.
Route labels and a warning explain speaker output, feedback risk, and possible duplicate EP sound.
Monitoring uses the iOS default output path more reliably, with louder output and a stable MON control while the audio route changes.
Privacy
Keep using the shared local sample shelf, MIDI Playground, recordings, takes, projects, and backups without an account or automatic upload.
v1.7
August 2026
Released
MIDI Playground machines and reviewed folder uploads
Layer synced chords, melodies and basslines beside your EP, then review complete sample-folder uploads before they touch device memory.
MIDI Playground
Open MIDI Playground from Kit Builder and layer independent Chords, Melody and Bass machines on a connected EP.
Start and stop each machine separately — a running part keeps playing while you open another machine or leave MIDI Playground.
Use Auto Key to follow a stable live-input key estimate, or set key, mode and scale manually.
Lock arpeggios to exact EP MIDI clock with musical rates, triplets, swing, note count, gate and pattern controls. If pulses stop, playback continues at the last stable BPM and re-locks when they return.
Harmony and expression
Shape chords with diatonic, borrowed or chromatic harmony, extensions, compact two-column voicings, inversions, strum, humanization, randomness, velocity and octave controls.
Adjust chord feel with strum order, groove, timing, humanize, velocity and release while the chord machine is running.
Build melody and bass phrases on 16-step grids with note-name playhead feedback, musical rates and swing. Transpose by octave without regenerating the phrase.
PunchKit-owned selector panels for presets and harmony controls — tap anywhere inside a bordered control to open it.
Folder sample uploads
Drag a complete folder from Sample Shelf onto a Library slot to include every supported audio file in that folder and its subfolders.
Review each file's path, duration, source size and converted device size before uploading, and remove individual files without deleting them from the shelf.
Choose sequential placement, skip occupied slots with Free Slots, or explicitly confirm Overwrite if occupied.
See device memory before and after upload, including space reclaimed when samples are replaced.
Edit samples one by one before upload to trim long files, change mono or stereo processing, preview effects and bake the result.
v1.6
August 2026
Released
Beat-synced cassette looper, Space effects, and a shared sample shelf
PunchKit 1.6 turns the cassette and Punch It into a deeper live-performance instrument — capture beat-synced loops, perform a whole new page of Space effects, and work from one shared sample shelf across the app.
Cassette Looper
Open ∞ below FS to capture a seamless half-, one-, two-, four-, or eight-bar loop from live input
Quantize capture to the next beat or bar, release immediately, on a beat, or at loop end, and choose pre- or post-FX capture
Follow a selected CoreMIDI source, automatically choose a sole active MIDI clock, detect beats from audio, or set a tapped/manual tempo
Keep a captured loop running at the last stable tempo if MIDI clock stops, then relock smoothly when clock returns
Perform captured loops at ½×, 1×, or 2× tape varispeed, view the captured waveform and playhead, and continue scratching downstream on the cassette
Send the final effected and tape-manipulated loop to a safe separate USB return, and capture that same performance when REC is active
Punch It — Space & Custom
New dedicated Space page with Reverb, Dub, Granulator, Tape Echo, Chorus, Phaser, Spring, Shimmer, Resonator, Infinite, Gated Verb, and Wide
Perform every Space effect in Direct mode or route one or more effects through the XY pad
Push Reverb from compact reflections into long, modulated tails; bloom Shimmer into a dramatic octave cloud; hold Infinite for sustained frozen ambience
Build a 12-slot Custom page from any combination of Color, Motion, and Space effects, with a denser six-effect-wide editor tray
Smoother parameter movement and safer long feedback tails, with better level consistency and protection against crackles, dropouts, and runaway values
Shared Sample Shelf
One shared local sample shelf across Library, Projects, and Kit Builder, with folders, search, and previews
Drag sounds directly onto device library slots or project pads
Faster kit-pad auditioning and clearer sample play controls
Devices, Backups & Recording
Switch automatically into the connected EP workspace, with cleaner reconnects and hot-swaps
Browse, search, sort, preview, share, and delete saved backups offline without an EP attached
Monitor class-compliant USB audio through a lower-latency path, including interfaces and EP devices that expose only one stereo return
Record, play, trim, process, and separate takes through supported audio-only routes without connecting an EP
Interface
Name takes faster with dice suggestions, date-stamped defaults, and clearer save controls
Roomier landscape layouts, wider backup controls, and more reliable search and menu interactions
Privacy
All Punch It processing, recordings, samples, projects, and backups stay local to PunchKit
Effects never modify connected EP data unless you explicitly choose an upload or assignment action
v1.5
July 2026
Released
Pixel Backgrounds, faster take navigation, expressive tape control
PunchKit 1.5 expands the recorder into a more personal and responsive performance space — build a personal pixel stage, find takes faster, and perform with quicker tape FX, tighter tempo tracking, and deeper scrub control.
Pixel Backgrounds
Create named, muted Pixel Background videos locally from clips in Photos
Adjust trim, fill or fit, zoom, position, pixel size, contrast, saturation, and brightness
Use the new Pro Background Studio to preview multiple saved clips and arrange a looping video chain
Reorder, edit, and manage the local Pixel Background library
Backgrounds are visual-only and never modify recordings, projects, samples, or connected EP devices
Take Navigation
Search saved takes by name
Sort takes by date, name, size, or length
Filter takes by stem availability
Live Performance
Toggle the live effect chain and choose a preset directly from the cassette
Full effect editing still available in Punch It
Steadier live tempo tracking with the EP's USB MIDI clock when available
Guide saved-take analysis with a tapped BPM
Tape Scrubbing
Adjustable sensitivity, deadzone, and smoothing
Tune scratch-head gain, follow duration, and maximum rate
In-App Updates & Support
See a concise What's New screen once per release, and reopen it from Settings anytime
New Support PunchKit panel to leave a review, find PunchKit online, or make an optional tip that never unlocks features
Reliability
Improved Pixel Background editing and reordering, and renamed-version baking
Better stem compatibility, live tape-mix alignment, and monitoring
Stronger opt-in issue diagnostics and take reliability
v1.4
July 2026
Released
Record with FX, tape performance, and connected sample control
PunchKit 1.4 expands recording, live performance, and connected EP sample management — capture through the full effect chain, perform with a virtual tape transport, and manage device samples with drag-to-rearrange pads and multi-select library tools.
Recording & Effects
RECORD WITH FX captures through the complete effect chain
RAW mode adjusts color profiles and effect parameters while performing with Punch It
Monitor and process compatible USB audio live without starting a recording
Stack Color and tempo-synced Motion effects in Direct, XY, Custom, or RAW layouts
Record from the built-in microphone or compatible USB audio, and follow live or saved-take tempo
Manage original and rendered take versions together
Tape Performance
Virtual tape transport on saved takes or live input: drag backward or forward
Choose HOLD, FOLLOW, or beat-aligned SYNC, and resync deliberately
Redesigned cassette controls for monitoring, recording, playback, looping, Punch It, and full-screen tape performance
Effect Controls
Double-tap effect sliders to restore the active preset value
Keep playback speed when switching presets and shape it with a centered logarithmic control
Compact, aligned effect controls across take editing, sample editing, and RAW mode
EP Samples & Library
Rearrange live EP pad assignments by dragging between pads, with confirmation before clearing an assignment or deleting its device sample
Preview library samples by holding a row
Select and review multiple samples before deletion; search or refresh from the library toolbar
Check available EP sample memory before uploads and show preparation, deletion, and refresh progress sooner
Choose the MIDI channel used for pad-preview note messages
Interface
Adaptive iPhone landscape and iPad layouts with clearer workspace switching and consistent margins
Unified portrait pad surface
PunchKit Pro
Remains a one-time purchase with no subscription
Supports Apple Family Sharing
Existing founding users receive Lifetime Pro automatically
v1.3
July 2026
Released
Offline kits, on-device stems, live Punch It
Build 12-pad kits offline, split takes into four stems on device, and perform Punch It live. PunchKit 1.3 makes the EP workflow faster and more flexible.
Kit Builder
Build and save 12-pad kits without connecting an EP
Browse sample folders, preview sounds, drag them onto pads, edit before upload
Import, export, duplicate and share kit drafts
Upload populated pads to a chosen project and group
Stem Separation
Separate takes into vocals, drums, bass and other with Fast, Balanced or Best quality
Runs locally on your device after an optional, user-initiated one-time model download (~135 MB download / ~222 MB installed, removable)
Mix stems with individual level, mute and solo controls
Save stems and mixes as new takes, share them, or upload a stem directly to an EP pad
Recording & Live Punch It
Live USB monitoring while recording (requires a compatible multichannel USB audio device with an available output pair), with adjustable level and latency modes
Perform stackable Color and tempo-synced Motion effects with Direct or XY controls
Build a custom 12-slot Punch It page by mixing and arranging your favorite effects
Follow incoming audio or saved-take tempo automatically, with editable BPM and tap correction
Record from the built-in microphone as well as compatible USB audio inputs
Sampler-inspired 404, 303 and 202 recording profiles
Keep original and rendered take versions together, with clearer selection and management
Interface
New adaptive layouts for landscape iPhone and iPad
Search and sort the sound library, hold to preview, clearer upload destinations
Trim and preview audio more easily with clearer waveforms and playback controls
Refined light, dark, and device-inspired colorways
More reliable sample uploads, EP file operations and progress feedback
A single Lifetime Pro purchase removes all workflow limits — no subscription
Supports Apple Family Sharing; pricing is localized by Apple through StoreKit
Customers whose first App Store download predates version 1.3 receive Lifetime Pro automatically as founding users
v1.2
July 2026
Released
Smoother auto-connect, refreshed look
Connect your EP, capture USB audio, shape takes with Punch It effects, and keep projects backed up — now with smoother auto-connect and a fresh new look.
Reliability
Smoother auto-detection and connection for EP-133, EP-1320 and EP-40
Clearer guidance for unsupported devices and microphone permission issues
More reliable USB audio recording and WAV take creation
Interface
Better layouts on smaller iPhones
A new minimalist app icon and refreshed launch experience
General interface polish and fixes
v1.1
July 2026
Released
Clearer connection, more dependable recording
PunchKit 1.1 makes EP connection and USB recording clearer and more dependable, with polished take controls and better layouts on smaller iPhones.
Connection
Automatically connect when a supported EP-133, EP-1320 or EP-40 is detected
Clearer unsupported-device guidance while keeping the Recorder accessible
Explain and recover from microphone-permission issues required by iOS for USB audio capture
Recording & Takes
Improved USB audio route detection and WAV recording reliability
Clearer recording status when an input or permission is unavailable
Polished take playback, metadata, controls and haptic feedback
Interface
Improved layouts and controls on shorter iPhone screens
Refreshed PunchKit app icon and launch presentation
v1.0
July 2026
Released
PunchKit launches
The first release of PunchKit — a workflow companion for the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II, EP-1320 medieval, and EP-40.
Device & Library
Connect over USB to browse projects, groups, pads, assigned sounds and device memory
Preview, import, replace and delete samples from the sound library
Trim samples, choose mono or stereo, apply effects, and upload to a pad, free slot, bank or exact slot
Recording
Record compatible USB audio as WAV or M4A with optional signal-activated capture
Play, scrub, rename, share and edit recordings without replacing the original
Bundle a recording with its current EP project for a self-contained backup
Punch It & Processing
Shape takes and samples with playback speed, bit depth, filters, EQ, tape, vinyl, saturation, dynamics and more
Perform Punch It effects and save processed take versions
Backups & Themes
Back up and restore individual banks, projects or the complete device
Choose light, dark, system and device-inspired themes
