“Chill videos” and “study videos” are trendy pieces of content right now on YouTube and other video platforms. May it be a live-streamed session with options to chat with others or on-demand content, people all around the world enjoy these to stay focused at work, study, sleep or relax. Now the platform Lofi.co has launched their early access and beta phase for the web (browser) version of their solution.
Lofi starts beta phase
Concerning mental health and wellbeing, Lofi writes on their website, “we believe that there’s a close connection between Lofi and mental health, we hope that our website is helping people relax or even make activities such as studying or working a little bit less stressful. To further help the cause, we have decided to donate 1% of our monthly revenue to mental health organizations across the world.”
Lofi is synonymous with the music style, which basically means low-fidelity in contrast to hi-fi. Part of that is then music and sound elements that are somewhat distorted and not that clear. All of that is part of the style and not just bad production quality. So what does Lofi offer now to people who create accounts in the beta?
What functions are available now in Lofi?
The early access content of Lofi is very limited, but even before they truly launched, they directly advertise their premium version of the tool. This already gives their users a feeling like they need to pay for something and that anything on the free tier is just there to pitch the “full version.” Working right now is that instead of watching a video stream with a virtual DJ doing the music and atmospheric sound loops, the Lofi user could arrange their own wellbeing background music.
What’s currently working in the free tier? As of now, they offer two background artworks, three ambiance sounds, and a few tracks that you can skip through. If you go for the premium plan of Lofi, you’ll have to pay $35.88 upfront for a year, and you’ll get access to a “growing catalog” of eight artworks and 10+ ambient noises. As features are named, the option to save templates, setting timers, managing tasks, adding notes, and checking session history.
A bit too pricey?
While I am generally happy to pay for something in order to support the creators and makers, I think the offering of Lofi for both free and premium tiers is currently a bit thin. I understand this is currently in beta and early access stage, but this is nothing I’d find more compelling than just browsing existing material on YouTube or using similar apps that already exist.
Personally, I would prefer using CoSleep over Lofi since it has much more options to choose sounds and mix moods. Currently, I would suggest you to compare such apps and tools well before you decide to purchase a 12-month subscription for any of the candidates and make sure they provide you the features you’re looking for.
If Lofi keeps working on their offering, I am sure they will manage to get many fans in the future, but I am unsure if many of those would opt to pay this sort of money for this little content.
YouTube: Lofi Sound Mixer Now Opens Beta (Demo Footage)
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Jake Schumacher. The Screenshot in the body of the article is owned by Lofi.
