CUBE vs SketchLife
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CUBE
Create visually stunning videos and photos with unique, real-time effects inspired by popular movies. Apply motion trails, LiDAR-generated particles, and liquid metal transformations to your content. Easily customize and capture in Full HD.
- Motion Trail Effect
- LiDAR Scanning Effect
- Matrix Effect
- Liquid Metal Effect
- Real-time effect application
- Customizable effects
- Full HD video capture
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Motion Trail Effect: Inspired by "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners", CUBE copies the trail effect when David using the Sandevistan implant. LiDAR Scanning Effect: Sample real-time images and depth maps created by LiDAR Scanner to generate 3D particles (point clouds). Up to 3,000,000 points can be generated. Mixing the 3D particles with real-world scenes will make you feel like entering a surreal world. Matrix Effect: Inspired by Code Rain from the movie "The Matrix". This time, blue pill or red pill? Liquid Metal Effect: Take a trip back to 1991 and become the Terminator T-1000 of the movie "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" by James Cameron. CUBE is an app that combines the powerful capabilities of Metal and ARKit, allowing you to easily create fun videos and photos with real-time effects. Using CUBE, you can: - Instantly switch between effects - Apply effects to people, background or entire image - Customize effects with a range of options - Capture Full HD & High Bitrate Videos Body segmentation is only supported on iPhone XR/XS (A12) and above. LiDAR Scanning is supported on devices with LiDAR Scanner. Support for new features of iOS 16: - Enable HDR by default: HDR is enabled by default on devices running iOS 16, allowing photos and videos to have improved dynamic range. - Introduce 2K photo mode: Photos can be taken at a resolution of 2880 * 1620 for improved clarity.
SketchLife
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SketchLife turns your camera into a live art studio. Using on-device person segmentation, SketchLife automatically separates you from your background and applies sketch effects to each layer independently. Your portrait can look like a pencil drawing while the world behind you turns into bold ink lines — or any combination you choose, all in real time. It's simple to use. Point your camera, pick a style for the foreground and a style for the background, and watch your scene transform instantly. Record video with sound and save it straight to your photo library. Features - Automatically separate the subject and background, and style each one independently - A range of hand-drawn looks: pencil, ink, outline, and more - Real-time preview, processed entirely on your device - Record video with audio and save to Photos - Fast, smooth, and private — nothing leaves your device Whether you're making creative selfies, stylish clips for social media, or just having fun, SketchLife gives every shot a hand-drawn life of its own. Note: Frame rate (FPS) depends on your device's performance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SketchLife at none against CUBE's 3. SketchLife also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly). 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
Both are free to download. CUBE sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. SketchLife asks for nothing beyond the download.
CUBE ships an update monthly, SketchLife weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CUBE | SketchLife |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (16 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 银凯 朱 | Kubo FUMIO |
In-app purchases
CUBE
- Matrix Effect$1.99
- LiDAR Scanning Effect$1.99
- Liquid Metal Effect$1.99
SketchLife
No in-app purchases









