Cycle vs Polywave
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cycle
This app creates evolving musical textures by repeating notes that gradually fade. It offers a meditative experience and is ideal for ambient music creation. Users can record and export their creations in various formats.
- Time lag accumulation for sonic textures
- Meditative and ambient music creation
- Record and export to WAV/MIDI
- Inter-App Audio and Audiobus support
- 12 sound options
- Controllable tempo and reverb
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Cycle is a time lag accumulator - a musical system that repeats the notes you play over and over until they gradually fade into silence. It's a simple but very powerful idea, allowing you easily create fascinating and often unexpected sonic textures. Cycle can be a delightful meditative experience. The system naturally lends itself well to long and slowly evolving musical ideas, which encourages you to slow down and listen carefully as notes gradually fade in and out. Cycle can also be a great starting point for creating ambient music. Cycle features easy recording and exporting to both wav and midi files, as well as Inter-App Audio (IAA) and Audiobus support. Easily Airdrop or email recordings to your computer, and use them right away in your favorite DAW. Features: - 12 sound options. Samples by @electronisounds. - 3 octave MIDI keyboard - Inter-App Audio (IAA) and Audiobus support - Controllable tempo - Controllable reverb wet/dry mix - Built-in metronome - 5 colors Comments or suggestions? Send me an email at daniel@codalabs.io!
Polywave
Create unique, evolving sonic experiences with a novel wavetable sequencer inspired by vintage synths. Draw your own waveforms, explore a vast library, and connect to external keyboards or DAWs. Record your creations directly within the app.
- Wavetable sequencer
- Custom waveform drawing
- Expansive waveform library
- 100+ factory presets
- MIDI and Audio Unit support
- Live recording module
- 8-voice polyphony
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From Fingerlab (multiple-time winner of Music App of the Week, 2012 Apple Design Award) and Jordan Rudess (keyboardist of Dream Theater), comes Polywave — a revolutionary wavetable sequencer synthesizer for iPhone, iPad & Mac. Inspired by the legendary Korg Wavestation, Polywave lets you draw your own waveforms with your finger and create unique, ever-evolving sounds that are truly yours. Draw your own waveforms directly on screen 100+ factory presets: leads, pads, loops & FX Connect any MIDI keyboard or load as AUv3 in your DAW Live recording built-in Free version includes 12 factory presets and a selection of core features. Get the Full Version IAP to unlock everything. Features: • 8-voice polyphony & 6 octaves • Wavetable & waveform sequencer • VCO & FM Oscillators • FM Modulation & Detune • ADSR Envelope editor • Moog Ladder filter with ADSR • 2 LFOs with custom modulation waveform • LFO Sync & Loop mode • Waveform drawing editor & library (100 waveforms) • Preset Randomizer & export/import • 5 FX: Tube Amp, Vibrato, Chorus, Delay & Reverb • Live recording & export • Full MIDI & MIDI Mapping support • AudioBus & Inter-App Audio (iOS) • Full AudioUnit AUv3 support • iCloud Family Sharing Questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: contact@fingerlab.net Stay tuned! The Fingerlab Team
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cycle at none against Polywave's 1. Cycle also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (507 vs 34). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Polywave sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cycle asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Cycle against 4.7 for Polywave. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cycle has 507 ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Cycle's written reviews are positive against 80% of Polywave's.
Cycle ships an update weekly, Polywave every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cycle | Polywave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (507 ratings) | 4.7 (34 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.5% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 507 — better | 34 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Coda Labs Incorporated | Fingerlab |
Customer experience
Cycle
Polywave
Bugs and requests
Cycle
Reported bugs
4 issues- No sound output on some devices
- WAV export generates zero data files
- UI extends beyond screen boundaries
- Audio playback issues requiring hard reload
Requested features
15 requests- Ableton Link synchronization support
- Precise BPM display and control
- VST plugin version for DAW integration
- AU (Audio Unit) support for iOS apps
- MIDI input for keyboard triggering
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- Real-time MIDI CC output control
- Octave up/down controls
- Scale/key limiting (major, minor, etc.)
- More instrument sound options
- Multiple simultaneous tracks
- Loop recording functionality
- Volume and filter control during playback
- Variable fade rate control
- Freeze individual loops while others fade
- IAA (Inter-App Audio) support
Polywave
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cycle
No in-app purchases
Polywave
- Full Version$11.99
