Oblivious vs Magic Sound Box
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Oblivious
This app enhances live magic and mentalism performances by connecting to compatible writing boards to display live handwriting and drawings. It offers offline recognition, printing templates for props, and integration with various accessories and performance modes.
- Live handwriting and drawing display
- Offline recognition of text and sketches
- Printable lottery tickets and receipts
- Post-it note and script templates
- Bluetooth printer integration
- Accessory and remote control integration
- Multiple performance modes
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Oblivious is a companion app for magicians and mentalists, designed for entertainment and live performances. Connect compatible Oblivious writing boards to your iPhone or iPad and view live handwriting and drawings. Use multiple boards, recognition tools, manual input and performance modes to prepare and present your routines. OFFLINE HANDWRITING AND SKETCH RECOGNITION Recognise handwriting and sketches directly on your iPhone or iPad. After a one-time download of your chosen recognition models, recognition works offline without an internet connection. Use recognised words, numbers and drawings with supported performance modes, triggers and actions. PRINTING AND TEMPLATES Create, preview and print lottery tickets and retail receipts using the built-in lotto ticket and receipt templates in Printer mode. These printed items are performance props for entertainment, not valid lottery entries or proof of purchase. Choose a template, customise its layout and enter the values for your performance. Printer mode also includes Post-it layouts for text, handwriting and drawings. Confabulation lets you prepare scripts with placeholders, collect inputs and print the completed script. Connect supported Bluetooth printers, including compatible PeriPage and Phomemo models. Available paper sizes and printing features depend on the printer. Printing requires compatible hardware; template setup, manual input and previews can be used without a printer. BOARDS, ACCESSORIES AND PERFORMANCE TOOLS Use supported Oblivious boards, Bridge, Notifier, Reach and T9 remote accessories with connection and battery information, device settings, and triggers and actions. Available features depend on the connected hardware and firmware. Connect a compatible SB Watch and use Inject integration with supported modes. Photo Predict, Apple Watch viewing, C.U.P.P., U.T.P., C.D.P., Search, Comms, Prevision and other modes provide additional tools for your performances. VIDEO MODE SUBSCRIPTION Video Mode is available with an optional auto-renewing monthly subscription. The subscription unlocks all Video Mode effects. Other modes remain available without this subscription. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. For entertainment purposes only. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Magic Sound Box
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Magic Sound Box is a full soundboard and show control system, built specifically for performers and can be operated entirely by gesture, from your iPhone and from your Apple Watch. Load your own music, ambience and sound effects, organise it exactly how your show runs, and trigger every cue with a swish of your hand. No fumbling for cues, no assistant needed, no phone screen to fumble at mid routine. A soundboard and a live Sound FX system. This is the tool a working performer actually needs. Build up to three complete set lists, each holding ten cues in exactly the order your show runs. Mix your own music, ambience and sound effects freely within a set. Delay a cue by up to ten seconds and feel a countdown on your wrist, so it lands exactly on your line. Fade one track into the next rather than cutting hard. Set your own volume per cue. Open a set on your phone and your Apple Watch becomes that show and nothing else, ready to run from your wrist. Your own music and ambience Five music slots let you load your own tracks. Walk on music, ambience under a routine, a stinger for a big reveal, whatever your show needs. Name each one, trigger it with a gesture, and control play, pause and stop with precision. A full sound effects library included On top of everything you bring yourself, Magic Sound Box comes with a built in library of over 20 professional sound effects, ready from the moment you open the app. Magic stings like Zap, Vanish and Reveal. Performer staples like Drum Roll, Fanfare and Applause. A few just for fun. No extra download, no separate pack to buy, it's simply part of the soundboard. Add your own sound effects too Not every sound you need lives in a built in library. My Sounds lets you import any audio file of your own and add it as a sound effect, with a name and an emoji you choose, right alongside the built in ones. Add as many as you like, and remove them just as easily. They sync to your Apple Watch automatically, so a sound you've just added is ready to trigger from your wrist within moments. Sounds that know what comes next Some routines need one sound to lead straight into another. A coin drop followed by a rattle. A reveal followed by applause. Links chain two or three sounds together so the same gesture or tap always fires the next one in the sequence. Set each step to fire on a gesture, a tap, automatically, or after a countdown you feel through a haptic tap on your wrist, never a sound. Once the sequence finishes, it resets itself, ready to go again. Runs exactly how your show needs it to Use your iPhone alone, your Apple Watch alone, or both together. Route audio through your Watch for the intimacy of close up, or through your iPhone and a Bluetooth speaker for parlour and stage. Five sensitivity levels, set independently for cues and music, mean the app only fires on the gesture you actually intend. Hold the screen to disarm gestures completely whenever you need to move freely. No subscriptions. No ads. No account needed. Just a real soundboard, built for a real show.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Magic Sound Box at $4.99 against Oblivious's $399.99. Magic Sound Box also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 months). Oblivious's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). On 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
Oblivious costs $399.99 and Magic Sound Box $4.99 up front. Oblivious sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $10.00 per month. Magic Sound Box asks for nothing beyond the download.
Oblivious ships an update every 5 months, Magic Sound Box every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Oblivious | Magic Sound Box |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $399.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 114 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +17 |
| Developer | Mark Hill | JAMES BUCHANAN COWAN |
In-app purchases
Oblivious
- Video Mode Monthly$10.001 Month
Magic Sound Box
No in-app purchases







