Comparison

Know Notes vs Smash The Circles

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

Head to head
About

Know Notes

Develop your musical ear by learning to identify notes and chords by sound. This gamified app makes practicing fun and competitive, allowing you to progress from basic notes to sharps and flats.

Highlights
  • Ear training
  • Note recognition
  • Chord recognition
  • Gamified learning
  • Progressive difficulty
  • Natural notes, sharps, and flats
Features
Read full description

Train Ears, Master Music. Learn to recognize musical notes and chords by their unique sound. Gamified to make learning fun and competitive. Start small, then work your way up to learn every natural note and their sharp/flat.

About

Smash The Circles

Test your reflexes in this addictive arcade game by tapping to smash circles as they intersect. Compete for high scores on a global leaderboard and master simple controls for endless fun. Easy to learn but challenging to master, it's an ultimate test of precision and speed.

Highlights
  • Quick reflex smashing
  • Intuitive controls
  • Addictive gameplay
  • High score competition
  • Global leaderboard
  • Challenging modes
Features
Read full description

Tap at the exact moment your ring meets a target. Smash The Circles is a one tap timing game. Your ring moves out from the center of the screen, or back in toward it, across the colored target rings. Tap while your ring overlaps a target to smash it. Tap at the wrong moment, or run out of room with targets still left, and the run is over. HOW TO PLAY • Watch your ring move across the screen • Tap while it overlaps a target ring to smash it • Some targets send your ring back the other way • Smash every target before your ring runs out of room ALWAYS CHANGING Every round has up to four targets, and the patterns keep changing. Your ring gets faster as you go. HARD MODE In Hard Mode your ring moves faster, the targets are thinner and the timing is tighter. COMPETE • Normal and Hard Mode leaderboards • 15 achievements to earn, up to 5,000 lifetime smashes • Share your high score and challenge your friends to beat it PLAY OFFLINE No wifi needed. Smash The Circles plays offline, so it's ready for flights, road trips and waiting rooms. Easy to learn, hard to master, and made for one finger. How many circles can you smash?

Screenshots

Know Notes4 screens
Smash The Circles4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Know Notes at none against Smash The Circles's shown. Know Notes also leads on ratings volume (31 vs 1). Smash The Circles's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Know Notes sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Smash The Circles sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Know Notes against 5.0 for Smash The Circles. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Know Notes has 31 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Know Notes ships an update fortnightly, Smash The Circles every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Know Notes versus Smash The Circles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKnow NotesSmash The Circles
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (31 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings31 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size107 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerwylan neelyPower-Up Game Studios LLC

Customer experience

Know Notes

All ratings32 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive95.7%
Neutral4.3%
Negative0.0%

Smash The Circles

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Know Notes

One-time6
  • Violin Notes$0.99
  • Electronic Keyboard Notes$0.99
  • Grand Piano Notes$0.99
Show 3 more
  • Unlock Violin Instrument$2.99
  • Acoustic Guitar (Major Chords)$2.99
  • Unlock Acoustic Guitar$3.99
1 purchases

Smash The Circles

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Know Notes free?
Know Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Smash The Circles free?
Smash The Circles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Know Notes or Smash The Circles?
Smash The Circles is rated higher. Know Notes averages 4.9 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Smash The Circles averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Know Notes or Smash The Circles have ads?
Smash The Circles shows ads; Know Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Know Notes or Smash The Circles?
Know Notes ships an update fortnightly, and Smash The Circles every 6 days. Most recently, Know Notes was updated on October 25, 2026 and Smash The Circles on October 24, 2026.

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