Comparison

waveOut vs Sonar LiDAR

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

Head to head
About

waveOut

Navigate your surroundings using immersive spatial audio cues and virtual waypoints. This app offers a hands-free, intuitive experience by guiding you with sound, allowing you to focus on the world around you.

Highlights
  • Audio Augmented Reality waypoints
  • Spatial audio guidance
  • Hands-free navigation by hearing
  • Multiple view modes (cards, map, AR)
  • Save favorite places and routes
  • Indoor and outdoor navigation
  • Explore nearby places
Features
Read full description

The world's first spatial audio navigation app - See the world through your ears. Our mission is to make navigation easy for everyone. **Features at a glance: 1. Audio Augmented Reality - Virtual waypoints are placed in the real world around you 2. Spatial Audio - You can hear the waypoints as if a friend was calling 3. Navigation by Hearing - Follow the sounds until the destination. Simple and hands-free 4. Three views: descriptive cards, map view (classic) and AR view 5. Save favourite places and routes 6. Three different guiding sounds 7. Explore nearby places with “Around Me” 8. Navigate indoors as easily as outdoor **What to do -Wear headphones -Start a route -The phone’s back camera must be facing the same direction you are looking at as images of the streets and house walls are analysed locally on your phone to improve localization (data is not stored or processed for anything else). -Follow the audio: no need to look at the screen -To get the best experience, please check out our tutorials **Route planning can be done: -Directly on the app -In your (desktop) browser with the web planner at: https://app.waveout.app/map -Places and routes can saved on your account and can be user later for navigation. ** Help us improve All feedback is welcome! It is the way by which we will improve. If you have any suggestions, questions or need help, please write us at support@dreamwaves.io With your help, we create the navigation of the future! ** Free version and premium features The app has all the features in place for audio navigation and is currently completely free. In the future we will introduce premium features including higher localization accuracy and these will be part of a subscription plan. ** App details Headphones are needed to hear the waypoints. Even though we use spatial audio, any headphone model will work. For the best experience, we recommend open headphones so you are always aware of the world around you. For an amazing experience we will support selected hearables. Stay tuned! ** Behind the scenes An intuitive experience requires that the virtual content is displayed flawlessly. We use state-of-the art computer vision methods to determine the location of the user within the world. We take the latest augmented reality toolkits, global positioning advances and machine learning methods, combine them with some magic and obtain the position with incredible accuracy. **Spatial audio Spatial audio simulates the way people naturally understand sound locations. When a phone rings, or a friend calls, you immediately turn your head. Spatial audio does the same and we use this to help you find the next waypoint in the easiest way. Terms of service: Privacy policy: https://www.dreamwaves.io/impressum.html Website: https://www.dreamwaves.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamwaves.io/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamwaves.io Twitter: https://twitter.com/dreamwaves_io LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dreamwaves Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvX11E-zUioNxhqEl2PLBZg/featured

About

Sonar LiDAR

This app transforms your iPhone Pro's LiDAR sensor into a real-time sonar, providing audio and haptic feedback about your surroundings. It detects walls, furniture, steps, and doorways, aiding navigation in familiar environments.

Highlights
  • Real-time sonar feedback
  • Audio and haptic alerts
  • Obstacle detection (walls, furniture, steps)
  • Posture guidance
  • Optional night vision depth view
  • VoiceOver support
Features
Read full description

IMPORTANT: This app works EXCLUSIVELY on iPhone Pro (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) with a LiDAR sensor. Standard models without LiDAR are not supported. Sonar Lidar — feel your surroundings. Sonar Lidar turns the LiDAR sensor on your iPhone Pro (or iPad Pro) into a real-time sonar. As you point your phone ahead, it translates distance into sound and vibration, giving you instant feedback about what's around you. What it detects • Walls and obstacles in front of you • Low furniture — sofas, benches, tables • Steps and drop-offs ("cliffs") • Narrow passages and doorways How it works • Audio sonar: beeps get faster as you get closer, panning left/right toward the obstacle • Haptic feedback: feel the proximity through vibration • Posture guide: a gentle tone helps you hold the phone at the right angle • Night vision: an optional on-screen depth view • The screen stays awake while scanning Made to fit you Simple, essential controls up front — distances, sonar spread, low-obstacle and drop sensitivity — with an "Advanced Settings" section for fine-tuning. Full VoiceOver support. Important: Sonar Lidar is an experimental support tool. It does NOT replace the white cane, a guide dog, medical aids, or your own attention. Use it only in known environments and always stay alert. Requires a device with a LiDAR sensor. We strongly recommend testing the app in a safe, known environment to find the best tilt angle and sensitivity setting (adjustable in Settings) for your height and walking style.

Screenshots

waveOut4 screens
Sonar LiDAR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sonar LiDAR at 5.0 against waveOut's 3.0. Sonar LiDAR also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). waveOut's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ratings volume, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sonar LiDAR sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. waveOut asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sonar LiDAR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

waveOut ships an update every 5 weeks, Sonar LiDAR weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
waveOut versus Sonar LiDAR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterwaveOutSonar LiDAR
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better16
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDreamwaves GmbHFederico Di Francesco

In-app purchases

None

waveOut

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Sonar LiDAR

One-time2
  • Offer me a coffee$0.99
  • Offer me a beer.$3.99

Questions

Is waveOut free?
waveOut is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sonar LiDAR free?
Sonar LiDAR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, waveOut or Sonar LiDAR?
Sonar LiDAR is rated higher. waveOut averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Sonar LiDAR averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do waveOut or Sonar LiDAR have ads?
Neither waveOut nor Sonar LiDAR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, waveOut or Sonar LiDAR?
waveOut ships an update every 5 weeks, and Sonar LiDAR weekly. Most recently, waveOut was updated on October 3, 2026 and Sonar LiDAR on October 4, 2026.

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