reTONE beta arrives October 23 for old Android phones

IidaPiano has set Friday, October 23, 2026, for reTONE’s first public beta, version 0.90.0. Announced on October 20, the release now has a concrete date, but the APK is not available yet.

Where to get the APK on October 23

When the APK is released, download it from the official release page at https://retone.iidapiano.store/release.html and compare its SHA-256 file hash with the file hash published there after release.

Rather than recruiting testers first, IidaPiano will let anyone interested join testing. It plans to demonstrate an updated build incorporating user feedback at Autumn Headphone Festival 2026 on November 7.

Charge the phone and choose a few tracks

Have an unused compatible phone charged and local music files ready. reTONE is a free, ad-free player for ARM-based phones running Android 4.0 or later. It can run as a regular music app or optionally give the home and lock screens a music-focused interface, without root access or a custom ROM.

Try the phone first, then your USB DAC

This first beta may have device-specific bugs. Some phones may not recognize a USB DAC despite reporting USB host support, and a DAC powered by an old phone may fail if the handset cannot supply enough power.

On Android 4.0 specifically, update checks, gapless playback between tracks in Android-handled formats, and MP3/AAC playback through a USB DAC are unavailable. The MP3/AAC restriction concerns the USB DAC path, not a blanket restriction on playback through the phone’s own output.

Start with a few local tracks through the phone’s own output, then test a DAC you already have before buying one for this setup.