Magic vs ION Sound Control™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic
Control your RGBIC LED strips with this app. Adjust brightness, colors, dynamic modes, and scenes. Sync lights to music, set timers, and customize pixel configurations for a personalized lighting experience.
- Color control
- Dimming and grading
- Dynamic modes and scenes
- Music rhythm sync
- Timer settings
- Pixel and line sequence customization
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MagicLantern is an App that can be used to control color RGBIC LED strip(s). You can use it to do some controls and settings , such as dimming and grading, setting various dynamic modes and scenes, music rhythms of several sound sources and optional rhythm styles, timer setting for lights on/off, pixel setting, line sequence setting, etc. MagicLantern App is designed to be fun and easy to use, with a certain degree of professionalism and ease of use.
ION Sound Control™
Control compatible ION speakers remotely to adjust volume, lighting, and equalizer settings. Stream music from other apps, manage radio stations, and check battery status from up to 100 feet away. Requires Bluetooth connection.
- Remote volume control
- Adjust lighting effects
- Customize equalizer settings
- Change input sources
- Check battery status
- Manage radio stations and presets
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Enhance your Sound Experiences™ with the ION Sound Control™ app. Quickly access the functionality of your compatible* ION speaker from anywhere up to 100 feet away to adjust volume, lighting, equalizer settings, change input sources, check your battery status, dial in your favorite radio stations, save radio presets, and more! *Note: Please refer to list below for compatible product. Some features in the app may not be available for all products. This app controls music that streams from other apps on your device. You must first connect your device to speaker via Bluetooth® before connecting with the app to control your streaming music remotely. Compatible Products: • Pro Glow Ultra • Pro Glow Express • Total PA Ultimate • Game Day Primetime • Sport Boom • Party Boom Plus • Block Rocker • Total PA Titan • Sport 320 • Party Splash • Uber Boom • Pathfinder Go • Explorer Express • Geode Rock Speaker • Tailgater Tough • Total PA Freedom • Tailgater Boom • Aquaboom X • Trouper 100 • Trouper 300 • Tahiti Link • Party Splash Link • Sol Stone Link • Trailblazer Roar • Block Rocker Icon • Glow Stone Link • Wave Rider X • Tailgater TD • Total PA Apex • Luma Duo • Trailblazer Summit • Tailgater XL • Glow Tone • Total PA Quake • Tailgater Classic
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ION Sound Control™ at 2.5 against Magic's 2.3. Magic's advantage is chart position (#189 vs unranked) and ratings volume (819 vs 94). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ION Sound Control™ holds the better App Store score, 2.5 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic has 819 ratings behind it against 94, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 30% of Magic's written reviews are positive against 20% of ION Sound Control™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Magic ships an update every 5 weeks, ION Sound Control™ every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.
| Parameter | Magic | ION Sound Control™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (819 ratings) | 2.5 (94 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 29.9% of reviews — better | 20.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 819 — better | 94 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #189 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 80 MB | 79 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | shenzhen ELK Technology Co., Ltd. | ION Audio |
Customer experience
Magic
ION Sound Control™
User reviews
Magic
From 819 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great product
- 👍 Lots of color options and effects
- 🎨 Decent app functionality
- 💡 Music sync feature
Room to improve
- 🐛 Connection issues
- 🔌 Unreliable remote and app control
- 🎨 Limited color customization
- 🤔 Confusing UI and settings
- 🔒 Security/privacy concerns
ION Sound Control™
From 94 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Works with Bluetooth
- 👍 Good speaker quality
- 👍 Can control volume
- 👍 App works as expected for some users
- 👍 Reliable connection for some
Room to improve
- 🐛 FM input bugs
- 🐛 App features not working
- 🐛 Connectivity issues
- 🐛 LED control locked
- 🐛 Pairing issues
Bugs and requests
Magic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Colors not displaying correctly
- Lights not responding to app commands
- App crashing or not connecting
- Scheduled timers not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add holiday-themed color presets
- Allow custom color/pattern creation
- Improve music integration
- Add Siri/HomeKit support
- Provide better instructions and troubleshooting
ION Sound Control™
Reported bugs
25 issues- App hops back and forth in FM frequency
- App loses mind in FM input
- App loses functionality after update
- Cannot change LED color/pattern
- App doesn't work with specific speakers
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- App interferes with Bluetooth pairing
- App distorts audio
- App locks out without location services
- App requires location services but no setting
- App doesn't connect to speaker
- App shows 'can't find speaker' when connected
- App settings don't save
- Sound gets choppy after 10 minutes
- App doesn't support older speakers
- App doesn't find speaker even when phone is connected
- App asks for purchase date and store
- App has connection issues
- App doesn't pair
- App gets stuck on loading/bluetooth screen
- App doesn't sync two speakers
- App has glitches/stutters when playing music
- App indicates firmware available when it's not
- App takes multiple tries to connect
- App is incompatible with specific models
- App charges for a paid version without clear pricing
Requested features
11 requests- Improve EQ with more bands
- Allow editing device names
- Make lights react to music
- Show volume number
- Turn speaker on from app
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Add ability to turn on speaker voice
- Improve speaker light sync to music
- Add firmware update option
- Allow control without location services
- Add 5-7 band EQ
- Make volume slider live
In-app purchases
Magic
No in-app purchases
ION Sound Control™
No in-app purchases
