AudioKit PRO-A5 brings vintage analog poly synth feel to iPhone and iPad

AudioKit has packed a classic polysynth mood into a phone-sized instrument, and PRO-A5 arrives with enough detail to make the pitch feel more than cosmetic. The new app launched June 4, 2026 as a desktop-class 10-voice poly synth for iPhone, iPad, and mobile AUv3 use, with a $4.99 intro price before a listed regular price of $29.99. For players who love the sound of old analog polys but do not want to power up hardware every day, that number matters as much as the tone.

PRO-A5 is built around the emotional territory vintage poly synths still own: big brass, soft pads, resonant sweeps, and basses that snap without needing much coaxing. AudioKit says the app ships with 300-plus presets on its site, while the App Store listing pushes that number to 500-plus, and the patch count sits alongside a filter section built to behave like the real thing. There is a classic REV 3-inspired mode with stepping, a more modern smooth mode, self-oscillation, 2x oversampling for more analog-style lows and highs, vintage-style poly mod, an accurate PWM engine, per-voice analog panning, single-note polyphony, a classic arpeggiator, and a vintage-style step sequencer.

That feature set makes PRO-A5 useful in a very specific way. It can replace reaching for a vintage-style keyboard when the goal is speed, recall, and portability. Open it in Logic for iPad, GarageBand, AUM, or Cubasis as an AUv3 instrument, and the whole instrument is there on one screen, with aftertouch control, dual touch pads, MIDI learn, three LFOs with more than 60 destinations, and effects that cover reverb, tape delay, chorus, crush, and a limiter. The App Store listing also says it is a universal iPhone and iPad app with no ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases, which puts the cost of entry closer to a single casual purchase than a monthly commitment.

It does not replace the real keyboard when the feel is the point. A vintage poly still gives you full-size keys, a physical panel under your hands, and the idiosyncratic rituals that come with old hardware. PRO-A5 is for the moments when the sound matters first and the device is secondary, especially for quick writing, travel, or host-based production. AudioKit is also promising MPE and polyphonic aftertouch as a free upgrade later in 2026, and that points to the bigger story here: the company’s open-source framework already powers more than 200 million app installs, so this is not a novelty app pretending to be a synth. It is another sign that the vintage poly experience now lives comfortably in the same pocket as the rest of the work, even if the old keyboard still wins when you want the whole machine.