If You Can Get Past The Terrible Logo, Audacity 4 Looks Pretty Great

The caller Audacity logo

Rebrands rarely get much love. That backlash tin beryllium particularly beardown if you’re giving a facelift to a decades-old portion of package beloved by nerds astir nan globe. So, it was nary astonishment that erstwhile Audacity revealed its caller logo group connected nan net sewage a small worked up. And look, there’s nary 2 ways astir it, nan logo is beautiful bad. The font it rather nice, but nan bewildering return connected its accepted headphone icon is rough.

Reactions astir The Verge newsroom included “looks for illustration personification stepped connected nan pome euphony icon,” and “trying to determine if their caller logo looks for illustration a sperm, and americium mostly coming up pinch yes.” But if you tin get past nan branding, Audacity 4 really looks for illustration it’s going to beryllium a overmuch needed upgrade.

Martin Keary, VP of merchandise astatine Muse, posted a astir hour agelong video to YouTube detailing nan challenges facing Audacity, nan logic down nan creation changes, and updates connected nan improvement of type 4 (slated for merchandise successful early 2026). One of nan biggest improvements is successful minimizing what Keary calls “Audacity says ‘no’”. These are things that Audacity simply won’t fto you do, often pinch nary mentation different than a elemental popular up (if you’re lucky). He lists disconnected a number of examples:

If you want to resistance a clip past different clip, it hits it for illustration a ceramic wall. No. If you transcript a clip and effort to paste it wherever there’s not capable blank runway, no. You don’t person capable room. If you wanted to prime aggregate clips… no.

Cleaning this up progressive changing nan behaviour of nan UI, for illustration automatically trimming a clip if you paste thing complete it, and getting free of a bunch of “modes” that constricted really you could interact pinch audio. The squad besides added meters for individual tracks, made trimming and clip stretching easier to find (just click and resistance nan separator of nan clip), and added a divided instrumentality that makes cleaning up audio a spot easier.

Some users mightiness beryllium upset that nan Sync Lock characteristic is going distant but, arsenic a agelong clip personification of Audacity, I tin corroborate it’s a confusing mess. Working pinch and keeping aggregate audio tracks successful sync is simply a difficult situation to tackle, but nan approached laid retired successful type 4 makes a batch much consciousness (to maine astatine least). Add to this a much customizable, modern interface that’s overmuch easier to publication and Audacity 4 looks for illustration it’s really shaping up to beryllium awesome measurement guardant for nan stalwart audio editor. Lets conscionable dream they revisit nan branding earlier nan due merchandise successful 2026.