Comparison

watAR vs subflow

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

Head to head
About

watAR

Transform real-world surfaces into dynamic water features using augmented reality. Add realistic waves and raindrops, interact with the effects, and capture unique images and videos.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality water effects
  • Wave and rain simulations
  • Interactive water effects
  • Capture images and videos
  • Adjustable effect scale
  • Hand/foot interaction with water (LiDAR required)
  • Foreground occlusion (LiDAR required)
Read full description

Use augmented reality to distort real world surfaces as if they were made of water. Add waves and raindrops to any flat vertical or horizontal surfaces. watAR is great for creating unique images and videos to share. Or you can just have fun trying the effects on different surfaces around you. Highlights: • Add waves and rain effects to the real world surfaces around you using AR. watAR's unique AR really makes it look like the surface is being distorted! • Fine grained control over wave and rain effects. Create everything from a light drizzle to a downpour. • Interact with the water effect on your screen by touching and dragging. • Capture ready to share images and videos of the water effect in action. • Scale the water effect up to epic sizes! • Use your hands, feet, or anything else to physically interact with the water effect (note that this requires a device with a LiDAR sensor and you must enable the "interactive surface" option) • Adjust lighting and optionally enable "foreground occlusion" so that the water effect blends into the world (note that foreground occlusion requires a device with a LiDAR sensor) So give watAR a try and let us know if you create anything cool using it!

About

subflow

Create dynamic music visualizations for any setting. Control modes, speed, and beat patterns with intuitive screen gestures. Advanced users can leverage UDP and OS2L for complex control with DJ software.

Highlights
  • Gesture-based control for modes, speed, and beats
  • Beat pattern customization
  • UDP command sequencing
  • OS2L integration with DJ software
  • Color customization via long press
Features
Read full description

Crisp visualizations for your music stage or living room. Tap left or right edge of screen to change modes. Vertical swipes change speed. Tap the upper half of the screen several times to set a beat pattern. Tap the lower half to cancel or to add single beats. Horizontal swipes fine-tune the beat alignment. Long press will change color. You can also send more complex command sequences over UDP, and you can control via OS2L using most DJ software. See http://subflow.org/

Screenshots

watAR4 screens
subflow2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: subflow at 67% against watAR's 0%. watAR's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (14.5 vs 16.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

watAR holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 17 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of watAR's written reviews are positive against 67% of subflow's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

watAR ships an update every 11 days, subflow every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
watAR versus subflow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterwatARsubflow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (11 ratings) — better4.3 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1117 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS14.5 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRare Realities, LLCEllo Skelling Productions

Customer experience

watAR

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

subflow

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

watAR

No in-app purchases

None

subflow

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is watAR free?
watAR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is subflow free?
subflow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, watAR or subflow?
watAR is rated higher. watAR averages 4.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while subflow averages 4.3 from 17 ratings.
Do watAR or subflow have ads?
Neither watAR nor subflow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, watAR or subflow?
watAR ships an update every 11 days, and subflow every 6 days. Most recently, watAR was updated on October 6, 2026 and subflow on September 9, 2026.

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