Palmtone

What is Palmtone? Palmtone is a two-handed, gesture-controlled synthesizer for iPhone and iPad. It uses your front camera to track both hands in the air — no touching the screen — and turns each one into its own independent instrument with its own sound, pitch, and effects.

How do I get started? Hold your phone up so your hand is visible to the front camera, then move it in the air — position controls pitch and timbre, and other movements (openness, wrist tilt, pinch) drive filters, effects, and more. Open Settings to pick each hand's instrument and scale.

Why does Palmtone need camera access? The front camera is how Palmtone sees your hand and gestures — it's the entire input method, replacing the touchscreen. Frames are processed on your device in real time to track your hand and are never recorded, stored, or sent anywhere. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Can both hands play different sounds? Yes — each hand is a fully independent instrument, with its own instrument choice, scale/key, effects, and gesture routing. Use the hand switcher in Settings to configure each one separately.

What are Patches? A Patch is a saved snapshot of both hands' full setup — instrument, scale, gesture routing, and visual style. Palmtone ships with a library of factory patches, and you can save your own from the current live setup at any time.

How do I record a performance? Tap the record button to choose Audio only or Audio + Video, then tap again to start (a short countdown gives you time to get in position). Recordings are saved to your device, and you can share them from the preview that appears when you stop.

Can I use Palmtone as a MIDI controller? Yes — enable "Broadcast MIDI" in Settings and Palmtone exposes itself as a virtual MIDI source that other apps (GarageBand, AUM, any DAW) or connected MIDI gear can play along with, right hand on channel 1 and left hand on channel 2.

Does Palmtone work as an Audio Unit (AUv3)? Yes — Palmtone includes an AUv3 extension so you can load it as an instrument inside any AUv3-compatible host, played via MIDI rather than gestures.

Does the app work offline? Yes — Palmtone works entirely offline. No internet connection is required or used for anything in the app.

Does the app collect any data? No. Palmtone collects no personal data of any kind, and camera frames never leave your device. See our Privacy Policy for full details.