# Cymatica: Music Visualizer — Chladni Audio & Sand Art

> Interactive physics simulation visualizing sound waves as geometric sand patterns. (iPhone/iPad app by Shridhar Gupta.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cymatica-music-visualizer/id6748863721 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Shridhar Gupta](https://appshunter.io/developer/386865394)
- Category: Music, Entertainment
- Price: Free with in-app purchases (on sale, was $1.99)
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 26 App Store ratings · 12 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.5 · 19 MB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish, Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)
- Released: 2025-07-22
- Data updated: 2026-08-21
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cymatica-music-visualizer/id6748863721/reviews.md

## What is Cymatica?

Transform sound into stunning visual art. Cymatica is an interactive physics simulation that brings Ernst Chladni's 18th-century discovery to life on your iPhone.

Watch as invisible sound waves sculpt thousands of sand particles into mesmerizing geometric patterns, revealing the hidden mathematics that shapes our universe.

CREATE & EXPLORE
- Draw sand with one finger, erase with two
- Adjust pattern complexity with the intuitive XY pad
- Switch between square and circular plates
- Control pattern modes from 1 to 16
- Up to 100,000 particles flowing in real-time
- Shake your device to disturb the sand
- Tap the plate to cycle display modes

AUDIO MODES
- Tone — singing bowl synthesis with frequency dial
- Mic — patterns react to your voice or environment
- Sounds — 9 procedural ambient instruments that never repeat
- Music — play from Apple Music with live waveform visualization
- Import — load your own audio or video files (advanced)

TONE EFFECTS
- Noise — adds grit and organic texture
- Reverb — spacious, resonant depth
- Decay — longer sustain and release
- Detune — shimmering chorus effect

GENERATIVE SOUNDSCAPES
- Singing bowl, drone, pad, sub bass, piano, rain, shakuhachi, cello, flute
- Evolving chord progressions that never repeat
- Nordic ambient inspired soundscapes

APPLE MUSIC
- Search and browse your library
- Play any song or playlist
- Live waveform and particle visualization from speaker audio

VIDEO RECORDING
- Record and share videos of your patterns
- Optimized for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube
- Pro subscribers record without watermark

FEEL THE SOUND
- Synchronized haptic feedback matching visual patterns
- Real-time frequency display
- 6 color themes with glow effects

ADVANCED MODE
- Glow — soft bloom on particles
- Streak — motion trails behind particles
- Stereo 3D — cross-eye stereoscopic view
- Open and closed plate boundaries

Whether you're a physicist, musician, meditator, or simply someone who appreciates the elegant patterns underlying reality, Cymatica offers a journey into the profound connection between sound and form.

Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Key features

- Interactive sand pattern simulation
- Sound wave visualization
- Haptic feedback
- Real-time frequency calculations
- Adjustable pattern complexity
- Pattern saving
- Dark mode

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cymatica Pro | $19.99 | per year |
| Cymatica Pro | $3.99 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Sounds | $4.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 12)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cymatica-music-visualizer/id6748863721/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Very realistic visualizer!

*2026-07-02*

The visuals are looking very realistic, and the overall UI feels intuitive. Unfortunately there is no option where I can manually type in the frequency because the dial is to sensitive to get to the frequency you want. And when I record a video the quality gets massive reduced compared to the preview in full screen, it feels not so sharp and blurry. Maybe there is something wrong in compression behind the hood? But overall it’s a great app if you want to dive into cymatics! Thanks for creating this!

**Developer response:** Hi, thanks for your review!

I’m glad you’re enjoying the app :) for the tone frequency, did you try swiping with you finger left-right on the number itself? You can adjust finely like that. You can also tap the number to switch between Hz and KHz.

As for the quality issues, it records in 4k but might look blurry if there is a lot of motion, due to compression. I’ll take a look at the issue anyway!

### 3/5 — Doesn’t export audio with video record

*2026-05-27*

Wanted to input audio to visualize bit it only exports video…also limited canned images mostly

**Developer response:** Hi, please check the newest version! Mic and music modes will now record the mic input when doing a video recording. Make sure on music mode that you're not using headphones, as the phone needs to listen to it's own speakers to work.

### 1/5 — Subscription   NO

*2026-05-13*

I would buy this app for $6. But a monthly subscription. NOPE

**Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback! I've added a one-time Lifetime unlock so you can get the full app without a subscription. As a solo dev I set it at a one-time $25, a bit more than the $6 you had in mind, but you pay once and it's yours for good. And if you'd rather not buy, you can always use it free in unlimited 2-minute sessions. Hope you'll give it another look.

### 5/5 — The Best Chladni Plate Simulator

*2026-04-22*

UPDATE: I love the new changes. More like using a real signal generator.

I can’t believe someone took the time to create this. This is the best Chladni Plate simulator in the App Store. Really, it’s the ONLY ONE. There’s a difference between a Chladni and Cymatics. Cymatics mainly uses water & light whereas Chladni Plates uses sand on a plate. If this developer could make a Cymatics app like this, I’d be over the moon! Either way, big props to the developer of this app!

**Developer response:** Thanks for your review! I've added back the m/n graph input. “clamped vs unclamped” is still there, simply renamed to "open/closed" in the app. Enjoy!

### 5/5 — Great app would be great as an auv3

*2026-02-24*

I wish it could import your own sounds or music to be played back and reacted to.
It would be amazing if you could render the combined audio and video to your photos app


I wish this could be loaded into AUM as an auv3 plugin to combine record with audio

### 4/5 — The Best Chladni Plate Simulator

*2026-02-20*

UPDATE: I love the new changes. More like using a real signal generator. BUT I really miss the graph at the bottom to adjust the tone. It was a way to explore frequency that you can’t in reality. Learned a lot from that mode. Is it possible to add it back in as a secondary option? And I miss the “clamped vs unclamped” option as well. But I’m just being picky, this is a really great app. 

I can’t believe someone took the time to create this. This is the best Chladni Plate simulator in the App Store. Really, it’s the ONLY ONE. There’s a difference between a Chladni and Cymatics. Cymatics mainly uses water & light whereas Chladni Plates uses sand on a plate. If this developer could make a Cymatics app like this, I’d be over the moon! Either way, big props to the developer of this app!

**Developer response:** Hi! So I've updated the simulation with a more accurate equation - which just uses a single frequency like in reality. the previous pad was an approximation and not as accurate. The "clamped vs unclamped" still exists -- it's just renamed to "open" and "closed", you can still make the same patterns as before. Let me know this explanation helps get a 5 star ;)

### 5/5 — Great app

*2026-02-08*

I wish it could import your own sounds

### 5/5 — The Best Chladni Plate Simulator

*2026-02-07*

I can’t believe someone took the time to create this. This is the best Chladni Plate simulator in the App Store. Really, it’s the ONLY ONE. There’s a difference between a Chladni and Cymatics. Cymatics mainly uses water & light whereas Chladni Plates uses sand on a plate. If this developer could make a Cymatics app like this, I’d be over the moon! Either way, big props to the developer of this app!

### 5/5 — Saved me a small fortune

*2025-12-12*

I was about to spend a lot more for a physical Chladni plate and came across this app. It is nearly perfect. I have only 2 asks that I think would make it even better:
1) an option to switch to sliders for the M and N values (and maybe manually enter them),
2) an option to “normalize” the spread of the sand because drawing is fine, but the assymetric spreads really triggers something in me.

### 5/5 — Very Cool little app

*2025-09-14*

Just randomly bought and played around with this, and as a sound designer / (visual) artist, plus someone who’s fascinated with physics, including quantum mechanics, which this absolutely relates to in terms of fields of probability, this is great. 

A couple features I’d really love to see in addition to the mic input suggested in another comment, would be to feed Audio Unit app sound into it, or at least be able to choose from some other basic waveforms (i.e.: pure sine, triangle, saw, and square waves - ideally with pulse width modification as a bonus). That could really elevate the reusability of the app. Also being a software/web developer as a day job, I could see expanding this in plenty of other fun ways, like color gradients/themes for the digital “sand” particles here, and so on. 

Anyway, great work so far and hats off - hope this continues to be developed!

**Developer response:** Added mic input and color themes/effects!

## Frequently asked questions about Cymatica

### What is Cymatica?

Cymatica is an interactive physics simulation that transforms sound into stunning geometric sand patterns, revealing the mathematics behind vibration and frequency.

### How does Cymatica work?

It uses a physics simulation to sculpt thousands of sand particles into mesmerizing patterns based on sound waves, inspired by Ernst Chladni's discovery.

### Does Cymatica have ads?

No, Cymatica is ad-free, allowing for an uninterrupted visual and auditory experience.

### What devices does Cymatica support?

Cymatica is available for iPhone and iPad devices.

### What is the age rating for Cymatica?

Cymatica has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users.

### How often is Cymatica updated?

The latest version is 2.1, and the app was last updated on February 7, 2026, indicating active development.

### Can I save my Cymatica patterns?

Yes, Cymatica allows you to save your created patterns for later viewing or sharing.

### What makes Cymatica's simulation unique?

It features Metal-powered simulation for 60-120 FPS performance, synchronized haptic feedback, and real-time frequency calculations for an immersive experience.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.5 — 2026-06-16

• Mic and Music modes now start instantly — fixed a brief freeze when switching into them.
• Fixed Mic and Music not responding when switched directly from Sounds mode.
• Tap play on the mini player to jump straight to the now-playing track.
• Stability and polish.

### 2.4 — 2026-06-13

• Record with sound in every mode — videos now capture audio everywhere, including Microphone and Apple Music modes. Share clips where you can actually hear the music moving the sand.

• Lifetime unlock — a new pay-once option alongside monthly and yearly, localized in every supported language.

• Now available in French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), and Traditional Chinese.

• Better fit on smaller screens — the interface now adapts cleanly to compact devices like the iPhone SE, with no more clipped content.

• Fixed: subscribers briefly saw the demo banner on launch — your unlock now shows instantly.

• Smoother audio — fixed a memory leak in microphone mode and rare glitches when adjusting tone, decay, and reverb while a sound is playing.

• Lots of under-the-hood cleanup for faster, more reliable performance.

### 2.3 — 2026-04-15

- Improved physics accuracy
- Brings back X/Y pad to adjust m and n inputs individually
- Bug fixes and improvements

### 2.2 — 2026-04-14

- Apple Music with live waveform visualization
- Import your own audio and video files
- Save video recordings
- Noise, reverb, decay & detune tone effects
- Shazam song detection in mic mode
- Every mode free to try

### 2.1 — 2026-02-07

- generative soundscapes
- improved UI / UX
- stereoscopic 3D mode

## Apps similar to Cymatica

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [ArchersPlayer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/archersplayer/id6759069819) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Music |
| [Tenney – JI Tuner & Lattice](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tenney-ji-tuner-and-lattice/id6753315813) | — | Free | Music |
| [CymaScope Cymatics Visualizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cymascope-cymatics-visualizer/id6739616148) | 4.1 (9) | $12.99 | Music |
| [SongDetect - Music Recognition](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/songdetect-music-recognition/id6753138898) | 4.2 (5) | Free | Music |
| [Mint Offline Music Player](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mint-offline-music-player/id6749923396) | — | $0.99 | Music |
| [Cymatics Lab](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cymatics-lab/id6759083381) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Music |

## More apps by Shridhar Gupta

- [Fitloop: Calisthenics & Gym](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fitloop-calisthenics-and-gym/id1474941254)
- [Flickseeker - Discover Movies](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flickseeker-discover-movies/id1573829812)
- [Up Next - TV Time & Movies](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/up-next-tv-time-and-movies/id6786803491)

All apps by Shridhar Gupta: https://appshunter.io/developer/386865394

## Related topics

[cymascope](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cymascope) · [cymatics](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cymatics) · [chladni](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chladni) · [free music visualizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/free-music-visualizer) · [apps for sound wave visualization](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/apps-for-sound-wave-visualization)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-21.*