Comparison

Retinal vs Transcam

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

Head to head
About

Retinal

Features
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Not all displays for Mac are well suited to display the user interface in a non-scaled resolution. A pixel density of about 110 pixels per inch (PPI) for non-Retina, and about 220 PPI for Retina is comfortable for most people. Use Retinal to work out the pixel density of any display.

About

Transcam

Features
Read full description

Transcam is the translator that goes where you go: into the keyboard of any app, across a table or across two phones, onto a menu through the camera, and onto a plane with no signal. TRANSLATE INSIDE ANY APP Turn on the Transcam keyboard and translate as you type, right where you are chatting, booking or replying. Write in your language, tap once, and the message goes out in theirs. No copying, no switching apps. TALK, ONE PHONE OR TWO Put one phone on the table and each side reads their own language the right way up. Or give each person their own: Talk Together pairs two phones with a six letter code, and each side speaks into its own microphone in its own language, wherever you actually are. Every reply is read aloud. POINT THE CAMERA AT IT Hold it up to a menu, a sign, a label or a ticket machine. Transcam reads the words where they sit and lays the translation over them, live or from a photo. On a menu, Menu mode goes further: the price by every dish, a flagged allergen where the wording suggests one, and a tap to put the dish's name on a full screen you can hand to the waiter. WORKS WITHOUT A SIGNAL Download a language pack and Transcam keeps translating on the plane, in the metro, or wherever roaming gives up. On-device translation is instant, private and never counted against a limit. A DICTIONARY, NOT A SECOND BOX Look a word up and get a real entry: meanings by part of speech, example sentences people actually say, synonyms, antonyms, and a conjugation table for verbs. Star it and Transcam brings it back for practice, word by word against what you actually say into the microphone. A PHRASEBOOK FOR THE AWKWARD MOMENTS More than a hundred phrases across twelve situations, from arriving and getting around to hotels, restaurants, shopping and money. Tap to hear one, or show it full screen and hold it out. Star the ones you use and they turn into flashcards you can practise saying, not just reading. WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG An Emergency screen with the right local number for the country you are actually in, one tap from dialling it, and the same help and medical phrases from the phrasebook underneath it. Built to be found in seconds, not browsed to. HEY SIRI, TRANSLATE THIS Ask Siri to translate a sentence or whatever you last copied, or jump straight to the camera, without opening the app. Siri itself speaks only a couple of dozen languages; typed Shortcuts work regardless. SAY IT THE RIGHT WAY Choose formal for the visa office, casual for a friend, concise when the character limit bites. Transcam also offers other valid wordings, so you can pick the one that sounds like you. Every translation into a non-Latin script comes with its romanisation, so you can try it out loud. 152 LANGUAGES, MANY WAYS IN Type, speak, talk in turns, scan or photograph. Auto-detect works out what it is reading. Widgets put a phrase of the day on the home screen, and a searchable history keeps everything you translated on a trip, with favourites for the phrases you need every day and a phrase sheet you can export as a PDF. TRANSCAM PRO Pro removes the daily limits on AI translation, the camera, the dictionary and conversation mode, unlocks every offline language and drops the length cap. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel any time in your store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://app.dngsoft.com/transcam/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://app.dngsoft.com/apps/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Retinal1 screens
Transcam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Retinal at none against Transcam's 2. Transcam's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Transcam sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Retinal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retinal ships an update fortnightly, Transcam every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Retinal versus Transcam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetinalTranscam
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNico RohrbachDNG SOFT COMPANY LIMITED

In-app purchases

None

Retinal

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Transcam

Subscriptions2
  • Transcam Pro · Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Transcam Pro · Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Retinal free?
Retinal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Transcam free?
Transcam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Retinal or Transcam have ads?
Neither Retinal nor Transcam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Retinal or Transcam?
Retinal ships an update fortnightly, and Transcam every 5 days. Most recently, Retinal was updated on October 27, 2026 and Transcam on October 29, 2026.

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