ca vs CUBE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ca
This app transforms your camera's live feed into unique, black and white pixelated images using a cellular automaton. Customize the output by adjusting automaton direction, resolution, brightness, and fidelity. Unlock advanced features through optional ad viewing.
- Cellular automaton image generation
- Black and white pixelated output
- Adjustable automaton direction
- Customizable resolution
- Control input brightness
- Adjust input fidelity
- Selfie mode
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Probably the nerdiest camera app ever made, ca-mera uses a cellular automaton to interpret the brightness values of your camera stream. The resulting images are black/white and pixelated, and contain unique patterns created by the cellular automaton (Wolfram rule 126). This app provides a "selfie" mode, and lets you change the appearance of the pictures by controlling the automaton application direction, the resolution, the input brightness, and the input fidelity (i.e. to which extent the cellular automaton is allowed to run freely). Furthermore, features from the more advanced ca-mera+ app can be unlocked inside ca-mera by tapping the "+" button and watching our handcrafted ads.
CUBE
Apply real-time augmented reality video effects to your photos and videos. Features include LiDAR scanning for 3D particle clouds, liquid metal camouflage, and motion trails. Offers fine-tuning of effects and high-resolution recording.
- Real-time AR video effects
- LiDAR 3D particle cloud scanning
- Liquid metal camouflage effect
- Motion trail effect
- Slit scan for time bending
- Adjustable effects for people/background/frame
- Full HD video recording
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UBE brings real-time AR video effects to your iPhone camera. Built on Metal and ARKit, it lets you shoot eye-catching videos and photos with effects applied live as you film. LIDAR SCANNING CUBE combines the live camera image with the depth map from the LiDAR Scanner to build a 3D particle cloud of up to 3,000,000 points. Blend it with the real world and step into a surreal version of your surroundings. LIQUID METAL CAMOUFLAGE Go back to 1991 and become the T-1000 from James Cameron's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". Your body turns into shimmering, see-through liquid metal that blends into the scene behind you. CODE RAIN Inspired by the falling code from "The Matrix". Blue pill or red pill? MOTION TRAIL Inspired by "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners", CUBE recreates the afterimage trail David leaves behind when he activates his Sandevistan. SLIT SCAN Stretch and bend time by capturing the scene one slice at a time. WITH CUBE YOU CAN - Switch between effects instantly - Apply effects to people, the background or the whole frame - Fine-tune each effect with its own settings - Record Full HD video at a high bitrate - Take high-resolution photos at 2880 × 1620 COMPATIBILITY - Body segmentation requires iPhone XS / XR (A12 Bionic) or later. - LiDAR Scanning requires a device with a LiDAR Scanner.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ca at none against CUBE's 3. ca also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). CUBE's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 58 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. CUBE sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. ca asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for ca against 4.7 for CUBE. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 16 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of ca's written reviews are positive against 83% of CUBE's.
ca ships an update every 58 months, CUBE monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ca | CUBE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (30 ratings) — better | 4.7 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better | 83.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 30 — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 58 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fritz Menzer | 银凯 朱 |
Customer experience
ca
CUBE
Bugs and requests
ca
Reported bugs
6 issues- App crashes on launch with iOS 14 (iPhone XS)
- Black screen on startup (some devices)
- Crashes on iPhone X
- Display issues on iPhone 6s with iOS 12.1
- Incompatibility with older iOS versions
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- Inconsistent filter performance
Requested features
12 requests- Video recording functionality
- Import and process photos from camera roll
- Remove watermark option (premium feature)
- Post-processing for existing images and videos
- Auto mode for quicker photo capture
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- Automatic album organization for saved photos
- Old OS window border frame option
- Additional color options (RGB palette)
- API access for personal projects
- Clearer/higher quality output
- More language support
- iPhone X/XS Max interface optimization
CUBE
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ca
No in-app purchases
CUBE
- Matrix Effect$1.99
- LiDAR Scanning Effect$1.99
- Liquid Metal Effect$1.99









