Comparison

iRetroPhone vs MemDatStack

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

Head to head
About

iRetroPhone

Relive the charm of old-fashioned communication with a realistic rotary dialer simulation. Experience the tactile and auditory sensations of vintage phones, complete with authentic sound effects and customizable designs.

Highlights
  • Authentic rotary interface
  • Dial-up sound effects
  • Customizable skins
  • Nostalgic calling experience
Read full description

Take your iPhone back to the 20th Century. "And iRetroPhone, the goofiest $2.99 I've spent so far, draws an old-fashioned rotary dial on the screen." - Saul Hansell (New York Times - Bits Blog) A real rotary dial for your iPhone. And it really calls. Put your finger in a hole, turn the dial to the metal stop and let go. It spins back on its governor, clicking ten times a second, and lands with a clack. Dial the number, tap the green button, and your iPhone places the call. Or pick someone from Contacts and watch the dial do it for you, digit by digit. Never used a rotary phone? Tap the question mark and a ghost finger shows you how: into the hole, round to the stop, let go. iRetroPhone went on sale on July 10, 2008, the day the App Store opened. Version 3 rebuilds it from the dial up. THE DIAL - Drawn, not photographed, so it is sharp on every iPhone - The letters above the numbers, as on the classic dial: ABC, DEF, GHI, JKL, MNO, PRS, TUV, WXY, and OPERATOR over 0 - A brass finger stop and a paper slip under the centre cap - You pull every digit yourself, as on a real phone. Prefer to tap a hole and let it dial? Turn on Tap to Dial in Settings. THE SOUND - Every tooth of the ratchet clicks as you turn, so a quick turn zips and a slow one ticks - A pulse every 30 degrees on the way back, then the clack of the dial landing - The landing clack and the hang-up are the original 2008 recordings - Haptics follow every click, the stop and the landing - Plays with the ring switch off, like a music app. Sound and haptics can each be switched off in Settings. MAKE IT YOURS - Type your own exchange and number on the slip in the middle, the way real dials carried them, like LAkewood 3697 - Set the dial on black, graphite, green felt, oxblood or navy - Letters on the dial, or digits only IN YOUR LANGUAGE English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. NOTHING COLLECTED No account, no ads, no analytics, no network requests. Contacts are chosen with the system picker, which hands the app only the number you pick. Calls go through the Phone app.

About

MemDatStack

This tool assists magicians in memorizing card stacks with customizable quizzes. It supports various popular stacks and question types, offering detailed feedback on incorrect answers to improve learning.

Highlights
  • Supports multiple popular card stacks
  • Variety of quiz settings
  • Customizable quiz questions
  • Tracks recent quiz results
  • Reviews incorrect answers
  • Audio feedback option
Features
Read full description

A highly configurable tool to help magicians trying to memorize a stack of cards. Pick from multiple commonly used stacks, indicate which cards in the stack you believe you already know, choose from a variety of quiz settings, and take quizzes to help you learn your stack. You can see your recent quiz results, and review any questions you got incorrect. Supported stacks: Mnemonica, Aragon, Aronson, Particle System, Redford, Joyal Supported questions: Card to Location, Location to Card, Card Before, Card After Quiz options: multiple choice, number of multiple choices, questions per quiz, optional time limit to answer, delay after correct/incorrect answers, audio feedback, ask more often about cards/locations you've recently gotten incorrect

Screenshots

iRetroPhone4 screens
MemDatStack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MemDatStack at Free against iRetroPhone's $2.99. MemDatStack also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

MemDatStack is free to download; iRetroPhone 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 — 5.0 for iRetroPhone against 5.0 for MemDatStack. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iRetroPhone ships an update every 3 months, MemDatStack every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
iRetroPhone versus MemDatStack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriRetroPhoneMemDatStack
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews39.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperObjectGraph LLCCirce Apps LLC

Bugs and requests

iRetroPhone

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App does not open on some devices
  • App crashes when calling from contacts
  • App calls after dialing only 3 numbers
  • Dialer does not always rotate correctly
  • Sound effects are not accurate or missing
Show 4 more
  • Update ruined the app's functionality
  • Memo feature not working for German numbers
  • Dialing stops prematurely
  • Incorrect charging amount

Requested features

12 requests
  • Bring back the old retro look/design
  • Option to retain older design
  • More dialer skins/options
  • Add a backspace button
  • Add # and * functionality
Show 7 more
  • Add favorites feature
  • Improve sound quality/options
  • Add a 'hang up' feature
  • Option to have numbers as buttons
  • Support for international prefixes (+)
  • Improve number formatting for home/work numbers
  • Add a lever-like cancel button

MemDatStack

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iRetroPhone

No in-app purchases

None

MemDatStack

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iRetroPhone free?
iRetroPhone costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MemDatStack free?
MemDatStack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iRetroPhone or MemDatStack?
iRetroPhone and MemDatStack are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do iRetroPhone or MemDatStack have ads?
Neither iRetroPhone nor MemDatStack shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iRetroPhone or MemDatStack?
iRetroPhone ships an update every 3 months, and MemDatStack every 9 days. Most recently, iRetroPhone was updated on October 18, 2026 and MemDatStack on October 5, 2026.

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