TapWidget vs Retinal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TapWidget
This utility app allows users to measure and fine-tune tapping tempos directly from their device's lock screen using a notification center widget. It provides visual and auditory feedback to match specific song tempos with high accuracy.
- QuickTap widget in Notification Center
- Start tapping from lock screen
- Display current tapping tempo
- Visual and auditory tempo feedback
- Fine-tune tempo by sliding
- Match specific song tempos accurately
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TapWidget features the QuickTap widget in Notification Center, so you can start tapping right from the lock screen. The widget and app show at which tempo you are tapping. As soon as you stop tapping, TapWidget keeps flashing and/or clicking in the same tempo. In the app, this tempo can then be fine-tuned by sliding across the bottom section of the screen. This allows you to match a specific tempo of a song much more accurately than only tapping along.
Retinal
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Not all displays for Mac are well suited to display the user interface in a non-scaled resolution. A pixel density of about 110 pixels per inch (PPI) for non-Retina, and about 220 PPI for Retina is comfortable for most people. Use Retinal to work out the pixel density of any display.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: TapWidget at every 3 days against Retinal's fortnightly. TapWidget also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
TapWidget ships an update every 3 days, Retinal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TapWidget | Retinal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oscar Bouwmans | Nico Rohrbach |
In-app purchases
TapWidget
No in-app purchases
Retinal
No in-app purchases
