Interview with Max Frimout, co-creator of award-winning iPhone app Odio at WWDC23

It’s finally here: WWDC23 is about to begin. One of the highlights of Apple’s developer conference is the Apple Design Awards. Last year, the Dutch iPhone app Odio won a prize. We speak with co-creator Max Frimout.

Whether it’s the sound of a waterfall, rain or other soothing tones, you can hear them all in Max Frimout’s studio. The young producer makes all kinds of music. He starts and ends his day with it, literally, because his huge mixing consoles and other electronics are next to his bed for his music.

iPhone-app Odio wint de Apple Design Award

Still, one of his greatest passions is Odio, an app developed specifically for the iPhone and iPad. Using the spatial audio capabilities of the AirPods Pro and Max, he created the app together with other developers.

And the success was on display last year at the Apple Design Awards. He and his colleagues won in the Innovation category. “It’s truly an enhanced take on the audiovisual experience,” the company said.

And as soon as you open the app on your iPhone or iPad, you immediately notice that it is a special experience. Odio does something that other apps can’t. In the app you create a virtual environment for yourself, a world in which you can isolate yourself completely.

Producers like Frimout develop different sounds that you can place around you in a certain position. The spatial audio function of your AirPods then creates a true 3D effect, allowing you to hear exactly where each sound is coming from. When you turn your head, the tones you hear change to Odio.

How it all started

Odio is a special concept, something you don’t easily think of. “My Korean friend Joon Kwak came up with the idea for the app as a graduation project and we developed it further together.” The two met in Eindhoven. In addition to developing a friendship, they also developed the iPhone app together with the developers of Volst that caught Apple’s attention.

“We all had different expectations, but above all we thought it was a wonderful project to do together,” says Frimout as he turns the knobs. And that project ultimately brought them considerable success.

The Apple Design Award really helped him. Not only did the developers get credit for their work, but it also generated a lot of publicity.

“Although we were nominated, we had not counted on it at all. During the announcement, one of our developers was at WWDC. Just when we were going to hear if we were going to win, the connection dropped.”

It took a long time before the team that stayed behind in the Netherlands knew whether they had won. But when the redeeming phone call came, the party started right away. “When the connection was lost, I also had a connection with Joon, who was in South Korea at the time. He already thought we had won, which created a strange situation. In the end he was right,” says Frimout with a laugh.

The inspiration of Max Frimout

He demonstrates how he creates the sounds for the Odio iPhone app. That inspiration can come from anywhere, from a simple walk down the street to while working on one of his other projects.

Although some sounds literally come to you, Frimout also tries to find inspiration in the most unexpected places. One of these is TU Delft’s ‘dead chamber’, an anechoic room that is soundproof. You don’t hear anything there.

“It gave me a lot of inspiration. I heard nothing of the world around me. That got me thinking. What do I hear in my head and what does sound do to me.” Then he composed another new song.

The makers try to release a new song every month. Several artists have created compositions especially for the app. Each creator has their own sound, which makes the app even more special.

This is how you use Odio on your Apple iPhone

Want to play around with the sound in the iPhone app yourself? The first two numbers are completely free. After that you can take out a subscription to play all tracks on Odio.

Frimout notices from the reactions that people use the app in different ways. “Some people take out a short subscription just for the experience. They listen exactly to what we do. For them it is like listening to a CD.”

Others stay longer. They use the app precisely to relax or to meditate, for example. Frimout is happy with both groups of users. “It is great that everyone has their own experience with Odio and that we can offer them all something special.”

Odio is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and can through this link are being found.