Winamp, one of the oldest digital music players, is planning a major update for 2019. Parent company Radionomy wants to reboot its glorious past as an all-in-one application.
Radionomy's goal is to create a new Winamp that will play anything audio, such as podcasts, playlists, streaming radio stations, that is, it will play every digital audio on a single platform. We expect the update to be released in 2019.
We don't have many details about the update yet. So far, we know that Winamp will have a mobile app, available for iOS and Android, and a desktop version that will be completely revamped. Currently, a free update to version 5.8 is coming on October 18th, and it will be the first new version the app has received since version 5.666 appeared in 2013. The app was essentially abandoned in 2016 and was sold to Radionomy later that year.
The upcoming update on October 18th will be a simple refresher for older internet users, as it will only provide a few basic bug fixes and compatibility fixes that will keep the app running until the company can bring a new update. The fully revamped version of the app, Winamp 6, is expected sometime next year, and it is likely that the mobile app will accompany it.
Radionomy CEO Alexandre Saboundjian said he envisions the new Winamp as a kind of centralized program that will contain all possible listening options in a single, searchable platform. He did not mention how the new Winamp will integrate with services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, or any other popular streaming option. It is unlikely that companies will be interested in collaborating with a project that plans to pull users out of their individual ecosystems. So wait.
