SEGA Play AR vs SameBoy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SEGA Play AR
Experience augmented reality with special effects and immersive soundscapes. Capture and save your favorite AR scenes as images or videos. Requires compatible products to unlock the full experience.
- Augmented reality effects
- Immersive soundscape
- Scene saving (images/videos)
- ARKit integration
- Compatible product integration
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Purchase compatible products to enjoy an all-new AR experience. - Special effects that transcend reality Integrated seamlessly into the real world, the special effects can be enjoyed from any angle. - An immersive soundscape Become enveloped in realistic sounds shaped by the direction and distance of objects from the camera. - Save your favorite scenes As you experience the AR world, you can save scenes as images or videos. This application is distributed with the permission of rights holders. Check our official site for details. https://s-fire.net/arapps System Requirements Devices compatible with ARKit on iOS 13 or higher. Precautions Compatible products are required to enjoy this application. AR effects may vary depending on the filming environment. A Wi-Fi connection is recommended when using this application. Contact Us https://segacustomer.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/6957582260889
SameBoy
Experience classic handheld gaming with a highly accurate emulator for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy. Enjoy advanced features like save states, rumble support, and controller compatibility. Play on your Apple Watch and customize your experience with various filters and themes.
- Accurate Game Boy emulation
- Save states with gesture support
- Rumble support
- Apple Watch playability
- Scaling filters
- Game Boy Camera emulation
- Controller support
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SameBoy is a user friendly, powerful and open source Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy emulator. Features: - World's most accurate Game Boy emulation core - Save states, with gesture support for quick saving and loading - Rumble support, even for games without a Rumble Pak - Play on your Apple Watch - A wide range of scaling filters - Game Boy Camera emulation - Motion controls emulation - Fast forward, rewind, and slow motion - Game Boy Printer emulation - Use cheat codes - Support for MFi, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox controllers - Interface themes - No ads, no tracking - A lot more! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sameboy.github.io/privacy/ SameBoy is in no way affiliated with Nintendo. Game Boy is a trademark of Nintendo.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SameBoy at 4.5 against SEGA Play AR's 3.0. SameBoy also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 50%) and ratings volume (110 vs 4). SEGA Play AR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. SameBoy sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. SEGA Play AR asks for nothing beyond the download.
SameBoy holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SameBoy has 110 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of SEGA Play AR's written reviews are positive against 84% of SameBoy's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SEGA Play AR | SameBoy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (4 ratings) | 4.5 (110 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 83.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 110 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 221 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SEGA CORPORATION | Lior Halphon |
Customer experience
SEGA Play AR
SameBoy
Bugs and requests
SEGA Play AR
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
SameBoy
Reported bugs
12 issues- iPad portrait mode triggers menu on A button/Up arrow press
- Game Boy Camera crashes on iPhone 17 Pro Max when switching cameras
- Rewind function causes game data loss in some titles
- 200% and 400% speed boost settings don't work
- Cheats don't function properly for certain games
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- ROM import fails with .zip files
- GBA ROM files show 'not in ROM archive' error
- Auto-save/auto-load switches between emulator cores unexpectedly
- Turbo feature doesn't work without screen swiping
- Tips popup appears too frequently during gameplay
- PS4 controller recognized but non-functional in games
- ROM sharing from Files app doesn't always work
Requested features
18 requests- Game Boy Advance emulation support
- Cheat code functionality
- Multiplayer/wireless linking for Pokémon games
- Online multiplayer support
- Adjustable screen and button sizes
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- Separate save/load toggle options
- Slow-motion feature (free version)
- Game Boy Printer output to photo gallery
- iCloud synchronization
- Retro achievements system
- One-time theme purchase option instead of subscription
- Apple Watch complication support
- Turbo button hold functionality
- ZIP and 7z file format support
- Fullscreen mode with scaling options
- Language selection for interface
- Super Game Boy border display
- PS4/Backbone controller improvements
In-app purchases
SEGA Play AR
No in-app purchases
SameBoy
- Supporter$0.991 Month
- Supporter Plus$2.991 Month
- Supporter Premium$7.991 Month
- Lifetime Theme Access$4.99
- SameBoy for Apple Watch$4.99
