Comparison

TapWidget vs Retinal

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Retinal

Features
Read full description

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

TapWidget2 screens
Retinal1 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TapWidget ships an update every 3 days, Retinal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
TapWidget versus Retinal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTapWidgetRetinal
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOscar BouwmansNico Rohrbach

In-app purchases

None

TapWidget

No in-app purchases

None

Retinal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TapWidget free?
TapWidget is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retinal free?
Retinal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do TapWidget or Retinal have ads?
Neither TapWidget nor Retinal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TapWidget or Retinal?
TapWidget ships an update every 3 days, and Retinal fortnightly. Most recently, TapWidget was updated on June 11, 2026 and Retinal on September 24, 2026.

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