Oscillator vs X/Y PAL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Oscillator
Generate simple audio tones with four distinct waveforms including sine, square, saw, and white noise. Control frequency, panning, and amplitude with intuitive sliders and numeric input. Ideal for testing audio or creating experimental music.
- Four waveforms (sine, square, saw, white noise)
- Exponential frequency control
- Numeric frequency input
- Panning control
- Amplitude control
- Multi-touch controls
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Oscillator is a simple and rough audio generator application which has the following functions. You can use it as a test tone and play it as a strange musical instrument. - Four waveforms. (i.e. sine wave, square wave, saw wave and white noise.) - Exponential Frequency control using the slider. - Frequency numeric input using the software keyboard. - Equal distance panning control using the slider. - dB style amplitude control using the slider. - Sound output on/off button. - All sliders and buttons are multi-touch controlled. Please note the limitations below before you purchase/use this application. - The frequency control is not effective with the white noise oscillator. - The panning control is not effective with an iPhone internal speaker because it is monophonic. Use headphones or stereo speakers. - The audio output might be interrupted on a keyboard input, a view change and so on. - The accuracy of the audio output is not very high but it is reasonable.
X/Y PAL
This app serves as an X/Y pad MIDI controller, allowing users to manage up to 8 parameters per pad. Customize MIDI channels, control change messages, value ranges, colors, and names for each parameter. Visualize CC value changes with on-screen bars.
- X/Y pad MIDI controller
- Control up to 8 parameters per pad
- Customizable MIDI channel and CC messages
- Configurable CC value range
- Parameter naming and coloring
- MIDI output device selection
- Visualized CC value changes
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X/Y PAL is your handsome X/Y pad MIDI controller. Control up to 8 parameters per pad. Each parameter can be configured: - set MIDI Channel and control change message, - set the CC value range, - set a color and a name - pick the MIDI output device and - inverse the CC value mapping. On the iPad up to 4 pads can be visible in landscape mode and up to 2 in portrait mode. On the iPhone there can be 2 pads visible and controlled at once. Pick CC value mappings from a list of predefined devices to help create your custom pads. CC value change is visualized using bars on the side of each pad. ** CONFIGURE PARAMETERS ** - configure the X/Y Pads in the settings section - configure each of the 8 parameters by clicking on the sidebar in the settings section - pick from a predefined list of devices to easily set the CC value and name or just set some custom name and CC value - set the color of the parameter by clicking on the color button - inverse the CC value mapping by selecting the inverse button for the parameter - select the MIDI output for each parameter - configure the CC value range for each parameter.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: X/Y PAL at 4.6 against Oscillator's 3.7. X/Y PAL also leads on update cadence (every 8 months vs every 30 months) and ratings volume (9 vs 3). Oscillator's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $1.99). On review sentiment, ads, 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
Oscillator costs $0.99 and X/Y PAL $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
X/Y PAL holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Oscillator's written reviews are positive against 78% of X/Y PAL's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Oscillator ships an update every 30 months, X/Y PAL every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Oscillator | X/Y PAL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.6% of reviews — better | 77.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 30 months | Every 8 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 9.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Masayuki Akamatsu | DANIEL BRUEGGE |
Customer experience
Oscillator
X/Y PAL
In-app purchases
Oscillator
No in-app purchases
X/Y PAL
No in-app purchases
