Comparison

Year One vs YMCK Player 2

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

Head to head
About

Year One

Experience music in a new dimension with augmented reality. Move around your space to uncover hidden sounds, build melodies, and create unique listening experiences by interacting with spatial audio arrangements.

Highlights
  • Spatial album listening
  • Augmented reality soundscapes
  • Interactive music exploration
  • Build melodies and chords
  • Dynamic audio effects
  • Create unique listening experiences
Read full description

Hear different lyrics in the corners of your room; build melodies as you walk around your couch; hear hidden parts and build your own chords just by walking through the space around you. Year One is the first spatial album, utilizing the possibilities of augmented reality technology, by D.C. group and label TCW. Upon launching the Year One app, the different sounds and instruments of the songs will populate and begin moving through the space around you. Your movement, tracked by your smartphone, will affect which sounds you hear and change how individual effects are applied to them, making for a different listening experience each time. This final release of the album contains all eight spatial arrangements from TCW, Wall of Trophies, and N.E. Hertzberg. TCW has released a how-to guide for any musician to build their own similar app independently. Alongside the guide, TCW has begun cataloging spatial composition techniques for other musicians to use and contribute to. This guide and techniques can all be found on tcwav.com. TCW released their first spatial album, Inauguration, in early 2017 using smartphone GPS positional tracking, and released a similar guide for building spatial applications. Contact the group at tcw@tcwav.com Headphones required for proper audio spatialization.

About

YMCK Player 2

This musical instrument app allows you to play solos by sliding or tilting your device. It offers multiple key/scale assignments and scene memory for live performances, with light and dark themes for different stage environments.

Highlights
  • Slide to play solos
  • Tilt for vibrato and scrolling
  • Multiple key/scale assignments
  • Scene memory for live shows
  • Light/Dark color themes
Features
Read full description

YMCK Player 2 is a simple musical instrument. You can play a stunning solo only by sliding on the screen or by tilting the device. This version "2" is more focused on the functionalities useful in your live stage than decorative visuals. * Easy to play Slide on the screen. That's all you need to play a solo. Additionally you can tilt the device vertically to scrool the keyboard and tilt it backward to apply vibrato. * Multiple Key/Scales You can assign multiple key/scales in a single screen, which allows you to use it in a song with key changes. * Scene Memory You can register multiple Scenes, and switch quickly the settings during your live show. * Color Themes Light/Dark color themes. Dark theme will help you operating in a dark stage environment.

Screenshots

Year One4 screens
YMCK Player 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Year One at Free against YMCK Player 2's $1.99. Year One also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 7 months vs every 41 months). YMCK Player 2's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Year One is free to download; YMCK Player 2 costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Year One holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 0% and 0% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Year One ships an update every 7 months, YMCK Player 2 every 41 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Year One versus YMCK Player 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYear OneYMCK Player 2
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 41 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size407 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTCW武志 除村

Customer experience

Year One

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

YMCK Player 2

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Year One

No in-app purchases

None

YMCK Player 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Year One free?
Year One is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is YMCK Player 2 free?
YMCK Player 2 costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Year One or YMCK Player 2?
Year One is rated higher. Year One averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while YMCK Player 2 averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Year One or YMCK Player 2 have ads?
Neither Year One nor YMCK Player 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Year One or YMCK Player 2?
Year One ships an update every 7 months, and YMCK Player 2 every 41 months. Most recently, Year One was updated on October 5, 2026 and YMCK Player 2 on October 2, 2026.

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