iON Classic vs RetroGuide.TV
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iON Classic
This app helps automotive enthusiasts digitally document their vehicle's restoration and modifications. It allows users to create a digital diary of their car projects, enhancing their investment value and showcasing craftsmanship.
- Digital vehicle documentation
- Restoration and modification tracking
- Automotive digital diary
- Cloud-based storage
- Social networking integration
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iONclassic, the first and only mobile application designed with you the automotive enthusiast in mind! As an automotive enthusiast you recognize the need for great documentation of your vehicle’s restoration and or modifications. It’s iONclassics mission to bring that process into the digital and cloud age! iONclassic was designed from the start with a focus on helping owners get more value out of their investments of time and money. By bringing together the power of a purpose-built mobile application, amazon web services and best practices in social networking, iONclassic is helping its users create an automotive digital diary that its users and fellow enthusiasts will enjoy using. iONclassic thanks you for your consideration and welcomes the opportunity to help you increase your vehicle’s value by supporting all of your automotive digital documentation needs. As an automotive enthusiast, your investment time, money and the craftsmanship should be valued and on display. iONclassic - Making Automotive Digital Documentation fun and easy!
RetroGuide.TV
Transform your Plex media library into a live TV experience with automatically generated channels. Enjoy curated content, a program guide, and a built-in player that supports various media formats. Customize your viewing with themes and advanced scheduling options.
- Automatic channel creation from Plex library
- Customizable genre, decade, and show channels
- Cable-style program guide with live preview
- Built-in player for various media formats
- Multiple themes and CRT scanline options
- Support for multiple Plex servers (Pro)
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RetroGuide.TV turns your Plex library into live TV. It builds dozens of always-on channels from the shows and movies you already have: comedy, anime, sci-fi, 90s TV, 24/7 marathons of your favorite series, and more. Turn it on and something is already playing. Flip channels with a swipe or the Siri Remote, drop into whatever's on mid-episode, and browse what's next in a cable-style program guide. AUTOMATIC CHANNELS Genre, decade and format channels, plus channels for each library, TV network, collection and long-running show. The lineup scales to the size of your library and skips channels with too little to air. CUSTOM CHANNELS Combine genres, shows, networks, collections, decades and libraries, with a live preview of what your channel will air. One custom channel is free; RetroGuide Pro adds as many as you like. REAL TV SCHEDULING Every channel runs on a fixed clock, with Shuffle, Block Shuffle, Show Rotation or Marathon ordering and optional start times on the half hour. PROGRAM GUIDE AND SEARCH A focus-driven guide with a live preview, show logos and artwork, and search with live results that tells you what's on now and when it airs next. PLAYS NEARLY ANYTHING A built-in player handles MKV, HEVC, AV1, Dolby Vision, DTS, TrueHD and styled subtitles. Compatible files play directly; playback requirements depend on the file, device and server settings. Audio and subtitle tracks follow your Plex language preferences. MULTIPLE SERVERS (PRO) Mix your own server with ones shared with you. Titles on more than one server are kept once, and each server has its own quality settings for watching away from home. MAKE IT YOURS Twelve themes, from Classic Cable to Local Forecast, VHS and Teletext, and optional CRT scanlines on menus. FREE AND PRO RetroGuide.TV is free, with a small banner under the menus and an occasional full-screen ad between programs on iPhone and iPad. RetroGuide Pro, a one-time purchase, removes ads and adds multiple servers, unlimited custom channels, every theme, and schedule order and start-time controls, on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Works on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Requires access to a Plex Media Server you own or that is shared with you. No media is included. Link your Plex account to get started; no separate RetroGuide.TV account is required. The free iPhone and iPad app uses Google AdMob for ads and related measurement. Apple TV and RetroGuide Pro show no ads. See the Privacy Policy for details. RetroGuide.TV is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Plex, Inc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RetroGuide.TV at 5.0 against iON Classic's 3.7. RetroGuide.TV also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months). iON Classic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. RetroGuide.TV sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iON Classic asks for nothing beyond the download.
RetroGuide.TV holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.
iON Classic ships an update every 3 months, RetroGuide.TV every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iON Classic | RetroGuide.TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 13.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | IONCLASSIC LLC | Adam Hunt |
Customer experience
iON Classic
RetroGuide.TV
In-app purchases
iON Classic
No in-app purchases
RetroGuide.TV
- RetroGuide Pro: Ad-Free Live TV$9.99









