Comparison

ca vs sleepy vidOS

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

Head to head
About

ca

This app transforms your camera's live feed into unique, pixelated images and videos using cellular automata. Customize patterns with various color palettes, directions, rules, and resolutions for a retro aesthetic.

Highlights
  • Cellular automaton image interpretation
  • Pixelated output with unique patterns
  • Black and white or retro color palettes
  • Selfie and split camera modes
  • Video recording
  • Customizable automaton parameters
Features
Read full description

The successor of probably the nerdiest camera app ever made, ca-mera+ uses a cellular automaton to interpret the colors of your camera stream. The resulting images are pixelated and contain unique patterns created by cellular automata. The output can be black and white, or one of several retro color palettes (CGA 4 and 16 colors, 1-bit RGB, etc.). This app provides "selfie" and "split" modes, records video, and lets you change the appearance of the pictures by controlling the automaton application direction, its rules, the resolution, the input brightness, and the input fidelity (i.e. to which extent the cellular automaton is allowed to run freely).

About

sleepy vidOS

Create unique 3D visuals for performances, music videos, or personal enjoyment. This app is designed to be controlled by a MIDI controller, offering extensive customization of shapes, colors, and effects.

Highlights
  • 3D SDF Oscillators with shape sculpting
  • Per-Shape 3D Domain Repetition
  • Live Shape Orientation Control
  • OKLab Colorizer/Selector
  • Internal Modulations for every control
  • Audio Follower for every parameter
Features
Read full description

vidOS is sleepy's flagship video synthesis ecosystem. It is able to create novel 3D visuals that are great for preforming on stage, creating music videos or just for fun. It is a companion app to Mezzz our wireless haptic midi controller, check out sleepycircuits.com/mezzz for more info about this app and how to purchase our controller. See our Mezzz video guide for a detailed walkthrough of what this app is all about: https://youtu.be/dzWRLWQJRaw Please Note: This app does not (yet) have any touchscreen controls, it is made to be controlled by Mezzz or another MIDI controller (CC Maps can be found @ docs.sleepycircuits.com/mezzz) Features: - 2x 3D SDF Oscillators with parametrized shape sculpting & smooth intersection modes - Per-Shape 3D Domain Repetition Modes - Contextual Help Mode Shows Open Page's Controls - Live Shape Orientation Control w/ Mezzz Gyroscope - Internal Feedback Modes - OKLab Colorizer/Selector (Perceptually Uniform for smooth transitions!) - Internal Modulations for every control with selectable wave shape - Per-Shape Rotation, Offsets, Mirroring & Twisting - Every parameter has an Audio Follower (via mic or USB audio input) More free and premium features on the way!

Screenshots

ca4 screens
sleepy vidOS1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: sleepy vidOS at Free against ca's $2.99. ca's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (89% vs 75%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

sleepy vidOS is free to download; ca costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for ca against 4.7 for sleepy vidOS. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ca has 54 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of ca's written reviews are positive against 75% of sleepy vidOS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ca ships an update monthly, sleepy vidOS every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ca versus sleepy vidOS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametercasleepy vidOS
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (54 ratings) — better4.7 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings54 — better9
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFritz MenzerRonald Sardarian

Customer experience

ca

All ratings52 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative0.0%

sleepy vidOS

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ca

No in-app purchases

None

sleepy vidOS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ca free?
ca costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is sleepy vidOS free?
sleepy vidOS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ca or sleepy vidOS?
ca is rated higher. ca averages 4.8 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while sleepy vidOS averages 4.7 from 9 ratings.
Do ca or sleepy vidOS have ads?
Neither ca nor sleepy vidOS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ca or sleepy vidOS?
ca ships an update monthly, and sleepy vidOS every 3 months. Most recently, ca was updated on November 3, 2026 and sleepy vidOS on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons