Comparison

variant vs LīnArt (LineArt)

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

variant

Experience a unique audiovisual artwork that generates ever-changing music and imagery. Interact by tapping to trigger musical fragments and responsive visuals, or drag to steer the visuals. Build complex combinations of sound and visuals through interactive controls.

Highlights
  • Generative audiovisual artwork
  • Interactive music generation
  • Evolving visual imagery
  • User input for control
  • Screenshot functionality
  • Indeterminate audio engine display
Features
Read full description

variant:SONiC is an audiovisual artwork that creates beautiful, ever-changing music and imagery. The app combines user input and built-in randomness to create images and music that will continually change, grow and evolve, offering a new and different experience every time. For users of all ages, variant:SONiC is a chance to explore and experience a unique work of generative art. variant:SONiC was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra for the 2015 SONiC Festival. The musical composition is built entirely from individual notes played by different participants in the festival, including: Andy Akiho Alarm Will Sound (Miles Brown, Michael Clayville, Erin Lesser, Courtney Orlando, Jason Price) Clarice Assad Christopher Cerrone The Crossing Melody Eötvös Angelica Negron Nieuw Amsterdams Peil (Gerard Bouwhuis, Heleen Hulst) Nina C. Young To interact with variant:SONiC, tap the screen; each tap will trigger a randomly selected fragment of the musical composition, as well as a visual element that responds to it. You can steer the visuals by dragging after tapping, and you can trigger up to 10 sounds at one time. To repeat a sound, keep your finger held down and that sound will loop. By using some fingers to loop sounds and others to trigger individual elements, you can build up complex combinations of sound and visuals. You can view the indeterminate audio engine by tapping the dot in the lower right. The display shows the different elements of the musical composition as they are loaded by the engine through a combination of chance and user input. The center button opens a menu of settings for the app, and the button to the right allows you to take screenshots of the visuals, automatically saving them to your photo library. The Variant apps are a new series of generative audiovisual artworks from Interval Studios featuring visuals by Joshue Ott and music by Kenneth Kirschner. Each Variant features a unique visual composition by Ott based on his superDraw visual performance software, as well as a new indeterminate musical composition by Kirschner. Each Variant app also offers a different set of interactive controls for the user, ranging from the ability to subtly influence the development of the piece to total interactive control over both visuals and sound. All of the Variants are generative artworks: through a varying combination of built-in randomness and user input, each Variant will continually grow and evolve over time without ever directly repeating itself either visually or musically, offering the user an ever-changing, ever-evolving audiovisual experience.

About

LīnArt (LineArt)

Easily create beautiful 3D art by simply tapping and dragging your finger. Customize colors and line thickness with 3D Touch support. Save your creations to your photo library to keep them forever.

Highlights
  • Tap and drag drawing
  • 3D Touch line size adjustment
  • Vibrant color selection
  • Customizable canvas color
  • Save artwork to photos
  • Minimalist interface
Features
Read full description

Just tap and drag your finger across the canvas to start drawing. Within seconds you can create beautiful images. 3D Touch is supported allowing you to adjust the size of your lines. • Pick from a handful of vibrant colors. • Change the color of the canvas to your liking. • Supports 3D Touch to allow maximum artistic ability. • Save all of your works to your photos so you can cherish them forever. • No menus or settings, just you and your canvas.

Screenshots

variant4 screens
LīnArt (LineArt)3 screens

Verdict

The call

variant and LīnArt (LineArt) both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of variant's written reviews are positive against 33% of LīnArt (LineArt)'s. variant also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. LīnArt (LineArt) sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. variant asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for variant against 4.3 for LīnArt (LineArt). Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of variant's written reviews are positive against 33% of LīnArt (LineArt)'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

variant ships an update monthly, LīnArt (LineArt) every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
variant versus LīnArt (LineArt): the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametervariantLīnArt (LineArt)
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (9 ratings) — better4.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings9 — better3
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 19 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInterval StudiosNicholas Giarraputo

Customer experience

variant

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

LīnArt (LineArt)

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

variant

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

LīnArt (LineArt)

One-time1
  • LīnArt Pro$0.99

Questions

Is variant free?
variant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is LīnArt (LineArt) free?
LīnArt (LineArt) is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, variant or LīnArt (LineArt)?
variant is rated higher. variant averages 4.4 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while LīnArt (LineArt) averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do variant or LīnArt (LineArt) have ads?
LīnArt (LineArt) shows ads; variant does not.
Which is updated more often, variant or LīnArt (LineArt)?
variant ships an update monthly, and LīnArt (LineArt) every 19 months. Most recently, variant was updated on November 1, 2026 and LīnArt (LineArt) on November 2, 2026.

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