Sleevewise, a Vinyl-Collection App Built on Discogs Data, Reaches iPhone on 27 October

Cataloguing a record collection has always been the chore that collectors mean to get round to and rarely do. Sleevewise, a vinyl-collection app that has spent recent months in a TestFlight beta, is scheduled to arrive on the iPhone on 27 October 2026 with a pitch aimed squarely at that backlog: point the phone at a barcode, or at the cover itself, and let the app work out what the record is.

Both StereoNET and Gear Patrol give the same launch date. Gear Patrol notes the app requires iOS 15.5 or later. An Android version is expected to follow on Google Play, but no date has been given for it.

Scanning: barcode first, cover photo second

The core workflow is identification. Scanning a record's barcode matches it against the Discogs database and pulls the release in. Where there is no barcode — which covers a great deal of older stock — the app attempts to identify the release from a photograph of the sleeve instead. Because a single title can exist in a dozen pressings with different catalogue numbers and territories, the app presents the candidates and the collector picks the exact edition.

StereoNET reports that scans made without a signal are queued locally and matched once the phone reconnects, which is a sensible concession to the basements and warehouse units where second-hand records tend to live. Sleevewise uses Discogs data and the Goldmine grading scale; nothing in the available reporting indicates any partnership with or endorsement by either.

Two grades per record

Once a release is in the collection, Sleevewise grades the disc and the sleeve separately on the Goldmine scale, running from Mint down to Poor — the convention most of the second-hand trade already uses, and the reason a near-perfect pressing in a ring-worn jacket is described with two values rather than one.

Around that sit the usual collection-management fields: where a record was bought, the date, the price paid, free-text notes, tags, folders, and a log of when an album was last played. iphone-ticker.de describes that last feature as a listening diary.

Value tracking, wantlist alerts and a PDF inventory

The app surfaces current Discogs Marketplace prices for each record and estimates the total value of a collection over time. There are wantlist alerts, too: flag a record you are chasing, set a target price, and the app watches for it appearing on Discogs below that figure.

Sleevewise can also export a PDF inventory listing grades and purchase prices. StereoNET and Gear Patrol both note that this is useful as an insurance record — a point that will land with anyone whose collection has quietly crossed from hobby into a line item worth documenting.

Shops, dig planning and fairs

Beyond the shelf at home, Sleevewise includes a record-shop map, a multi-stop "dig planner" that builds a route between several shops, and a record-fair calendar.

The numbers come from two directions. Gear Patrol and StereoNET both cite 2,810 US record shops in the map. iphone-ticker.de, citing the developer, gives a worldwide figure of around 7,000 shops across 160 countries plus more than 900 record fairs in 19 countries — the developer's own count, and the German outlet adds that the shop data is drawn from OpenStreetMap and is not a complete directory. The two sets of figures are not in conflict; one is a US tally, the other global.

Social features

Collectors can follow one another, see what other people have added, and compare how much of a collection overlaps with someone else's. StereoNET reports that profiles are public by default with a private option available, and that the app carries no advertising.

What it costs

Sleevewise is free to download, with a capped free tier and a paid Premium tier above it — Gear Patrol's headline calls the app free, which is true of the download but not of the full feature set.

• Free: up to 100 records and five cover scans per day. StereoNET adds that the free tier allows three folders and three lists, and that no account is needed to start.
• Premium: US$4 per month or US$23 per year. In Europe the equivalents are about $4 (EUR 3.99) monthly or about $28 (EUR 24.99) annually. StereoNET says both paid options include a seven-day free trial.

Premium removes the record and scan limits and, per StereoNET, adds collection-value tracking, Discogs syncing, custom tags and CSV export. Gear Patrol's breakdown lists Discogs integration and overall collection value as the premium additions.

The shape of it

What Sleevewise is attempting is less a new idea than a tidier assembly of familiar ones: identification against the largest public release database, a grading vocabulary the trade already shares, a value estimate drawn from live marketplace listings, and a map for the Saturday afternoon part of the hobby. The free ceiling of 100 records is low enough that anyone with a serious shelf will hit it quickly, which is plainly the point of the tier.

Whether the cover-photo matching holds up against obscure pressings, and how well the OpenStreetMap-derived shop data reflects what is actually trading in any given city, are the questions that only a populated database answers. Both will be easier to judge once the app is out of beta and on the App Store from 27 October.

Dollar figures converted from euro prices at the ECB reference rate of 23 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Sleevewise app launch and what does it run on?

Sleevewise is scheduled to launch on iPhone on 27 October 2026, following a TestFlight beta period. Gear Patrol reports it requires iOS 15.5 or later. An Android version is expected to follow on Google Play, but no release date has been announced for it.

How much does Sleevewise cost?

Sleevewise is free to download. The free tier covers up to 100 records, five cover scans per day, three folders and three lists, with no account required to start. Premium costs US$4 per month or US$23 per year, and StereoNET reports both paid options include a seven-day free trial.

How does Sleevewise identify a record without a barcode?

When a record has no barcode, Sleevewise identifies the release from a photograph of its cover, matching it against the Discogs database. If several pressings match the same title, the app presents the candidates and the collector selects the exact edition they own.

What grading scale does Sleevewise use?

Sleevewise grades the record and the sleeve separately using the Goldmine grading scale, which runs from Mint down to Poor. The app is not stated to be affiliated with or endorsed by Goldmine; it simply uses the grading vocabulary that the second-hand record trade already shares.

What record-shop features does Sleevewise include?

Sleevewise includes a record-shop map, a multi-stop "dig planner" route tool and a record-fair calendar. Gear Patrol and StereoNET cite 2,810 US shops in the map. iphone-ticker.de cites the developer's own worldwide figure of roughly 7,000 shops in 160 countries and over 900 fairs in 19 countries.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: StereoNET — Sleevewise Drops a Smarter Vinyl-Collecting Companion, Gear Patrol — This Free iPhone App Is a Must-Have for New Vinyl Collectors, iphone-ticker.de — Sleevewise: Platten katalogisieren und Plattenläden finden.