release notes

VJ‑XY 1.3 — make your own matrix

july 2026

VJ‑XY 1.3 opens up the matrix. until now matrix clips were presets you chose from; now you can draw and animate your own, frame by frame, on the same 64×36 grid.

paint with touch or Apple Pencil, onion-skin the neighbouring frames so movement carries across them, and use transform, fill, shape, and clone to build a loop without redrawing it. build the loop to exactly the length you need, then reverse it or ping‑pong it in a tap. drawn clips live alongside the presets and behave like any other clip in a scene.

clips you draw can leave the app. export them as .vjxy files and send them through Files, AirDrop, Mail, or Messages, or post them to vjxy.app/gallery and play what everyone else made.

eight new presets join the built-in set: fold, shards, pillars, moire, assembly, oscilloscope, contours, and blobs. that takes matrix to 30 clips, each ready to drop straight into a scene.

underneath all of it the matrix engine has been rebuilt on a faster rendering foundation, so playback, transitions, and previews are smoother across every matrix clip, drawn or preset.

highlights

• draw and animate your own matrix clips, frame by frame
• paint the 64×36 grid with touch or Apple Pencil
• onion-skin tracing of the previous and next frames
• transform, select, fill, shape, and clone tools
• four brightness levels: max, mid, low, and off
• build the loop to any length, then reverse or ping pong it
• eight new matrix presets: fold, shards, pillars, moire, assembly, oscilloscope, contours, and blobs
• 30 matrix presets in total, up from 22
• rebuilt matrix engine for smoother playback, transitions, and previews
• share drawn clips as .vjxy files through Files, AirDrop, Mail, or Messages
• download clips from the community at vjxy.app/gallery

VJ‑XY 1.2 — perform

july 2026

VJ‑XY 1.2 focused on live control. perform mode gained a clip browser for jumping between clips without leaving the performance view, a controls lock to keep on-device controls visible during rehearsal or live correction, and clone actions for faster variation building.

the headline addition is experiments, a new area in settings for tools that reach beyond the visuals. the first one lets VJ‑XY control your OP‑XY itself: mixer, mutes, fx sends, filter cutoff, eq, tape track, and punch-in fx, played straight from the perform view. it is off by default, so you switch it on when you want it.

a clearer MIDI setup flow sits underneath it all. the MIDI sheet now distinguishes Bluetooth, USB‑C, and virtual sources, supports the VJ‑XY virtual input path for inter-app MIDI, and returns cleanly from Apple's Bluetooth MIDI browser.

highlights

• experiments: a new area in settings for tools beyond the visuals
• OP‑XY control from the perform view: mixer, mutes, fx sends, filter cutoff, eq, tape track, and punch-in fx
• perform mode clip browser for jumping between clips
• controls lock for keeping perform controls pinned
• clone actions for scenes and sets
• clearer MIDI connection view: Bluetooth, USB‑C, virtual, and mixed inputs
• VJ‑XY virtual input for inter-app MIDI routing
• background Metal rendering work and general release polish

VJ‑XY 1.1 — color and movement

june 2026

VJ‑XY 1.1 expanded the visual building blocks for sets. it added GIF support, canvas clips for layering stills and GIFs inside a single 16:9 clip, editable photo timing, clip background colors, blend modes, and the new mirror vfx. matrix clips also became more flexible, with per-clip background and dot colors plus a new blank matrix clip for pauses and quieter moments.

it also polished the live surface: perform mode hides device chrome more cleanly, canvas clips render through the normal audience pipeline, and release-readiness work improved import failure handling, external display behavior, MIDI and vfx stability, bundled onboarding assets, and the first-run demo set.

highlights

• GIF import, preview, loop-range editing, and playback
• canvas clips: still and GIF layers with MIDI note triggers, positioning, scale, rotation, and blend modes
• mirror vfx for symmetry and kaleidoscope-style reflections
• still-photo duration controls for cycle and shuffle timing
• clip blend modes across video, photos, and GIFs
• matrix clips: per-clip background and dot colors, plus a new blank matrix preset
• cleaner perform mode presentation, and release hardening across media, MIDI, vfx, and external display