Comparison

ca vs CUBE

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Cellular automaton image generation
  • Black and white pixelated output
  • Adjustable automaton direction
  • Customizable resolution
  • Control input brightness
  • Adjust input fidelity
  • Selfie mode
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

ca4 screens
CUBE4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CUBE sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. ca asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ca ships an update every 58 months, CUBE monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ca versus CUBE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametercaCUBE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (30 ratings) — better4.7 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings30 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 58 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFritz Menzer银凯 朱

Customer experience

ca

All ratings30 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews121 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral1.7%
Negative7.4%

CUBE

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

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
Show 1 more
  • 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
Show 7 more
  • 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

None

ca

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

CUBE

One-time3
  • Matrix Effect$1.99
  • LiDAR Scanning Effect$1.99
  • Liquid Metal Effect$1.99

Questions

Is ca free?
ca is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CUBE free?
CUBE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ca or CUBE?
ca is rated higher. ca averages 4.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while CUBE averages 4.7 from 16 ratings.
Do ca or CUBE have ads?
Neither ca nor CUBE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ca or CUBE?
ca ships an update every 58 months, and CUBE monthly. Most recently, ca was updated on November 6, 2026 and CUBE on November 7, 2026.

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