XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone   
   From: mariasophia@comprehension.com   
      
   Nick Charles wrote:   
   >> Which do you use for free adfree offline audio playback w/ screenblank?   
   >   
   > I have always used the included Music app on iEverything.   For many years.   
   >   Not sure why you think "free adfree offline audio playback with screen   
   > blank" is some kind of special functionality.   
      
   Nick kindly and helpfully mentioned "iMusic," which is not on my iPads.   
   I only have the built-in iOS app, which is called "Music", on my iPads.   
      
   Apparently "Music" comes preinstalled on every iPhone & iPad and it has   
   system-level background audio privileges, so it always plays audio with the   
   screen off. There is no separate "iMusic" app to download I could find.   
      
   Hence, that's why Nick brings up the good point that the requirement is so   
   trivial on iOS that he's not sure why it's something special, since Music   
   (which was apparently formerly called "iPod", bundle-ID com.apple.Music) is   
    a. Always present,   
    b. Always ad-free,   
    c. Has system-level background-audio privileges   
    d. Plays local MP3 files with the screen off   
      
   So, unlike Android, iOS already has one consistent, built-in solution.   
   On the other hand, Carlos is on Android, where no universal app exists.   
      
   On Android, apps must explicitly support background audio so video stops   
   unless the app runs a foreground playback service. Nick is on iOS, where   
   background audio is a built-in system feature, so audio continues   
   automatically with the screen off, but video always blanks off every time.   
      
   On Android, video can continue with the screen off, but only if the app   
   implements a special foreground video service. In fact, I use that feature   
   every night when "listening" to YouTube video documentaries. I choose a   
   YouTube playlist and blank the screen in the NewPipe ad-free YouTube   
   player, and not only do I never (see or) hear ads in YouTube videos, but I   
   don't see the video (in this method) 'cuz I blank it out at night.   
       
      
   However, this is about audio where most Android video players, including   
   the venerable VLC, do not continue to play when blanked, just like iOS.   
      
   The main difference, if we bring up video, is that on iOS, background video   
   is not allowed so only the audio track may continue when the screen is off.   
      
   But that's exactly what I want since this is a 212-page PDF which I   
   converted to an audiobook MP3 file using Balabolka on Windows so that I   
   could listen to it with the screen off.   
      
   Back to the audio files, Foobar2000 and VLC fill very different roles on   
   both Android and iOS, and neither behaves quite like the built-in iOS Music   
   app. The differences come down to design philosophy, supported formats,   
   library handling, and how each platform treats background playback.   
      
   On iOS, the built-in Music app has the smoothest background-audio behavior   
   because it uses Apple's private system-level privileges, which are not   
   available to Foobar2000 or to VLC, but that comes at a cost in flexibility.   
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