zFuse vs Flex Samba Player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
zFuse
Play any video format and encoding directly from your device or network storage without conversion. Enjoy advanced subtitle effects, gesture controls, and file management features. Supports media servers, TV casting, and privacy protection.
- Plays all video formats and encodings
- Supports ASS/SSA/SUP effect subtitles
- Network playback from PC/NAS
- Gesture controls for playback and settings
- Folder encryption for privacy
- File download and decompression
- TV casting and media server support
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- zFuse can play all video formats and encodings, allowing you to play video files on your mobile device without the need to convert to MP4. - zFuse supports ASS/SSA/SUP effect subtitles, enabling you to experience full subtitle effects just like on your PC/Mac. - zFuse features powerful networking technologies that allow you to play media from your PC or NAS directly, without occupying any space on your limited device storage and without needing to download anything. - zFuse also allows you to easily download files or directories directly from your PC or NAS, making it the perfect companion for your trips. - zFuse supports a variety of gestures - simply move your fingers to adjust playback position, font size, volume, and brightness. - zFuse carefully protects your privacy with folder encryption, so you no longer need to worry about privacy issues. - zFuse's detailed features include: * SMB/CIFS playback and discovery (easily play media files from your PC). * Download media files or directories from SAMBA/DLNA/WebDAV/FTP directly. * UPnP/DLNA playback and discovery. * Emby and Jellyfin media server support. * AirPlay playback. * Picture-in-Picture mode support. * iPad split-screen multitasking support. * Hardware acceleration. * HDR Tone Mapping support on non-HDR displays. * Subtitle effects support. * 0.5x-3.0x playback speed control. * 0.5x-5.0x screen zoom. * Media preview while seeking. * Built-in audio enhancement. * Multi-soundtrack selection. * Embedded/external subtitle track selection. * Subtitle synchronization. * Audio synchronization. * External subtitle font selection support. * Playlist file preview before playback. * Blu-ray directory playback. * Real-time playlist management and editing. * Screen mirroring. * File Management: - Delete, move, rename, create folders. - Wi-Fi file transfer support without USB cable connection. - Streaming media playlist creation support. - File decompression support: 7z, zip, rar, tar, bz, bz2, etc. * Gesture Controls: - Horizontal drag: adjust playback position. - Vertical drag on left side: adjust volume. - Vertical drag on right side: adjust brightness. - Pinch to zoom: adjust screen size. - Double-tap: play/pause. - Two-finger double-tap: change video aspect ratio. * External Keyboard Support: - Space: pause/play. - Left Arrow: backward seek. - Right Arrow: forward seek. - Esc: exit playback. - S: change playback speed. - B: play previous. - N: play next. - Z: change screen scale. * Supported Video Formats: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV, RMVB, ASF, OGV, Blu-ray ISO and more. * Supported Audio Formats: MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, APE and more. * Supported Subtitle Formats: SRT, SSA, ASS, SUP, VTT. * Supported Image Formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, HEIC and more. * Supported eBook Formats: EPUB, TXT, PDF. * Code Editor Supported Languages: JSON, HTML, XML, C/C++, Lua, Java, Objective-C, Swift, Python, JavaScript. * Supported Document Formats: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Numbers, Keynote, Pages, RTF, CSV.
Flex Samba Player
Stream video content directly from your Samba (SMB) network shares. This app offers a powerful built-in player for various formats and allows easy management of files and folders on your network. It also includes parental controls for secure access.
- Play video from Samba (SMB) shares
- Supports all popular video formats
- Fast access to favorite network folders
- Discover SMB devices on network
- List, create, and delete directories/files
- Upload files to network folders
- Parental control with Touch ID/PIN
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Flex Samba Player allows you to play video from Samba (SMB) network shares Features: ► Powerful built-in player supports all popular formats ► Fast access to favourite network folders ► Discover SMB devices on your network ► List/create/delete directories and files ► Uploading files to network folders ► Parental control with Touch ID and pin
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: zFuse at 4.7 against Flex Samba Player's 1.0. zFuse also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 40%) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 1). Flex Samba Player's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. zFuse sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Flex Samba Player sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
zFuse holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: zFuse has 1.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of zFuse's written reviews are positive against 40% of Flex Samba Player's.
zFuse ships an update every 4 weeks, Flex Samba Player fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | zFuse | Flex Samba Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.4% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 156 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | s-joys Co., Ltd. | artur tagirov |
Customer experience
zFuse
Flex Samba Player
Bugs and requests
zFuse
Reported bugs
4 issues- Playback issues with certain video codecs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between files
- Inability to remember last playback position
- Compatibility problems on older devices
Requested features
5 requests- Add picture-in-picture mode
- Implement a more robust subtitle management system
- Provide more video customization options
- Improve network file sharing stability and speed
- Optimize UI for better user experience
Flex Samba Player
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
zFuse
- Remove ads$9.99
Flex Samba Player
- Pro Version$0.99
