Magic Starㅤ vs PlayBack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic Starㅤ
Engage in a rhythm-based game with a simple breakthrough mode. Experience a strong musical beat and challenging click operations that enhance the fun.
- Simple breakthrough mode
- Strong music rhythm
- Slightly difficult click operation
- Engaging gameplay
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Simple breakthrough mode, strong music rhythm and slightly difficult click operation make this game more fun.
PlayBack
Engage in a daily 4-minute ear training competition to test your musical instincts. Compete against others worldwide on identical challenges, climb leaderboards, and improve your note and melody recognition. Practice modes and computer opponents are also available.
- Daily 4-minute music challenges
- Competitive Silver & Gold leagues
- Global daily and monthly leaderboards
- Practice mode for skill improvement
- Play against computer opponents
- Progress tracking for aural skills
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Welcome to PlayBack, the ultimate daily competition for your ears. Every day, musicians from around the world face the exact same challenge. You have 4 minutes and one goal: the top of the leaderboard. PlayBack is a high-stakes arena designed to sharpen your ears and test your musical instincts under pressure. Every 24 hours, a new set of questions is released. Everyone plays the same session. Do you have what it takes to get gold? THE RULES 4 MINUTES: The clock is ticking. Answer as many questions as you can. MISTAKES COST TIME: Precision matters. Each wrong note costs you 10 seconds. SILVER & GOLD LEAGUES: Not an expert yet? Start in Silver League and compete against players at your level. Ready for the ultimate challenge? Aim for Gold. INFINITE GLORY: Climb the daily and monthly leaderboards to prove your skills. WHY PLAYBACK? COMPETITIVE EAR TRAINING: Turn your practice into a sport. QUICK & ADDICTIVE: A high-intensity 4-minute sprint-perfect for your daily musical warm-up. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS: Watch your scores improve as your melody and note recognition becomes second nature. MORE WAYS TO PLAY PLAY AGAINST THE COMPUTER: Want a head-to-head challenge anytime? Face off against a computer opponent and see if you can come out on top. PRACTICE MODE: Missed a note? Practice your mistakes, sharpen weak spots, and build the skills you need for your next run. STUDENT READY Preparing for ABRSM, AP Music Theory, or Conservatory classes? PlayBack is the ultimate tool to sharpen your aural skills. One daily session. One leaderboard. One chance to win. Are you ready to hit PlayBack? TERMS OF USE Please see https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PlayBack at 100% against Magic Starㅤ's 56%. PlayBack also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 31 months). Magic Starㅤ's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Magic Starㅤ sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and PlayBack sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Magic Starㅤ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 22 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Magic Starㅤ's written reviews are positive against 100% of PlayBack's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Magic Starㅤ ships an update every 31 months, PlayBack fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic Starㅤ | PlayBack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (31 ratings) — better | 4.3 (22 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 31 — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Every 31 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #54 — better | #135 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 299 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Shanghai Guangxiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. | Ensemble Education |
Customer experience
Magic Starㅤ
PlayBack
Bugs and requests
Magic Starㅤ
Reported bugs
4 issues- Account login failures and data errors
- Freezing and crashing during gameplay
- Disappearing/resetting of purchased items
- Inability to access account after device change
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to change skin color/tone of characters
- Option to choose song BPM range
- Trading/gifting system for in-game items
- More free diamond/currency earning opportunities
- Extend event durations
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- Add gender swap/customization options
- Improve tutorial and onboarding process
PlayBack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Magic Starㅤ
- 60 Diamond$0.99
- $1 Time Limited$0.99
- $2 Time Limited$1.99
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- 300 Diamond$4.99
- $5 Time Limited$4.99
- $5 Discount Pack$4.99
- 600 Diamond$9.99
- $10 Time Limited$9.99
- $16 Time Limited$15.99
- 1280 Diamond$20.99
PlayBack
- Monthly7 Days trial$2.001 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$12.001 Year
