Comparison

DS vs Dromio

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

Head to head
About

DS

Manage your music server directly from your smartphone. Adjust volume, connect speakers to your wireless network, and check for firmware updates to access the latest features. Ensure your device is updated for optimal performance.

Highlights
  • Control music server from phone
  • Adjust output volume
  • Connect speaker to wireless network
  • Check for new firmware
  • Update to newest features
Features
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Control your music server from your phone. This app will allow you to adjust output volume. It will help you to put the speaker on your wireless network. No more need to look for Ethernet cables. You can also use this app to check for new firmware and stay updated with the newest features. If you have an old firmware version, especially after you did a factory reset you have to update the firmware for the app to work properly. In order to do a firmware update 1. make sure you connect the device to an ethernet internet connection 2. Use the app to connect to the device and go to the about page 3. Click firmware update, the message will say there was a problem checking for update then tap yes to update firmware anyway

About

Dromio

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Dromio is a free open-source Navidrome client for iPhone. It does not support any other type of Subsonic server — it is Navidrome-only. Small and simple, typically occupying just 2MB of your iPhone’s storage, Dromio adopts a minimalist attitude. Its goal is to let you survey, select, and play your music — and that’s all. It is oriented particularly towards Classical music collections, fully displaying long track titles and artist information, and supporting tagging for Composer and Year. Unlike some Subsonic clients, sequential playback of multiple tracks is gapless. Requirements: Dromio requires iOS 18 and a Navidrome server running the “BFR” (0.55.0) or later. You will need to have Subsonic.ArtistParticipations set to true in your configuration; otherwise, Dromio’s artist and composer support will not work. Interface ======= Dromio displays the following information: * Albums and their tracks. * Random albums and their tracks. * Artists and their albums (and those albums’ tracks). * Composers and their albums (and those albums’ tracks). * The current queue (tracks to be played, or currently playing). * Albums, artists, and composers are properly alphabetized, and searchable. Album tracks are searchable. No information is fetched from the server unless you ask for it by navigating to that screen. Full Display ======== Titles and artists can be lengthy, especially for Classical music. Unlike many Subsonic clients, Dromio does _not_ truncate this information. Dromio provides a full display of the information that it fetches — album title and artist; track title, artist, composer, year, and duration. Minimalism ========= Dromio doesn't waste of your time, your space, or your attention: * There is no account administration (e.g. creation of users), because you can do that with Navidrome’s web interface. * There is no creation and storage of named playlists. * Secondary features like favorites, play counts, genres and so forth are unsupported. * No artwork is fetched or displayed. * No “database” is stored on disk! Dromio works by talking to the Navidrome server, not by creating a database and consulting that database. Navidrome is the database. You never need to “update” Dromio’s copy of the database; there is no such copy. Unlike some Subsonic clients, Dromio lets you store credentials for multiple accounts on multiple servers. There is no difficulty or delay switching servers, because no track information has been stored. How to Use ========= Launch the app. The first time, you will be asked to enter your Navidrome server information. You are then taken to the list of Albums. The “page-turn” button at the top left lets you switch between All Albums, Random Albums, Artists, and Composers. You can also use it to return to the app’s initial screen to manage the app’s list of Navidrome servers. Tapping an album takes you to the list of its tracks. Tap a track to add it to the Queue. Nothing will appear to happen. But now, on any screen, tap the “list” button at the top right, to see the Queue. The tracks that you have tapped are here! Now you can tap a track to start listening. About the Queue Screen ================== On the Queue screen, tap a track to begin listening to the Queue, starting with the track you tapped. Download progress is displayed; a downloaded track is fully marked in yellow. Once Dromio has started playing, the currently playing track is marked with a “note” icon in the Queue, and the “playpause” button is enabled, allowing you to pause and resume play. The “scissors” button at the top left makes the queue editable. You can delete a track from the queue, and you can rearrange the order or tracks. While you are editing, the “scissors” changes to a “checkmark”; tap the “checkmark” when you are done editing. The “x” button at the top right clears the queue and erases the downloads. Issues? Suggestions? ================ https://github.com/mattneub/dromio

Screenshots

DS4 screens
Dromio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Dromio at every 2 months against DS's every 5 months. DS's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 26.0). 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

DS ships an update every 5 months, Dromio every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
DS versus Dromio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDSDromio
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS9.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperELAC Americas Inc.Matt Neuburg

In-app purchases

None

DS

No in-app purchases

None

Dromio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DS free?
DS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dromio free?
Dromio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do DS or Dromio have ads?
Neither DS nor Dromio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DS or Dromio?
DS ships an update every 5 months, and Dromio every 2 months. Most recently, DS was updated on November 2, 2026 and Dromio on October 30, 2026.

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