Banner vs Thunderstorm Simulator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Banner
Create custom LED-matrix-style displays for messages, time, date, tweets, and music information. Personalize your display with adjustable speeds, orientations, and element styles. Ideal for unique visual notifications and information sharing.
- Customizable messages
- Display time and date
- Show tweet feeds
- Display music info
- Adjustable scroll/blink speed
- Customizable LED appearance
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Banner is an LED-matrix-like display with which you can show custom messages. The following items can be shown: - 5 user-defined messages - 35 types of symbol characters - Date (3 formats) - Time (3 formats) - Bluesky (3 defined feeds based on user's timeline or keyword search) - Music (Artist, Song, Album) The application has the following settings: - Scroll speed - Blink speed - Landscape-only mode - Upside-down display - Mirror display - Double-tap editing - Sleep disable - Character size (3 sizes) - Element (LED) size (3 sizes) - Element (LED) shape (6 shapes) - Element (LED) color (Hue, Saturation) - Element (LED) color randomization Note - Bluesky posts will be updated every minutes or every posts displayed. - "Banner Basic" is a free version with ads; "Banner" and "Banner Extreme" are paid versions with no ad. - "Banner Extreme" has a little bit different from the others on the style and the speed.
Thunderstorm Simulator
Create a personalized thunderstorm experience with adjustable rain, thunder, and lightning effects. Customize sound volumes, lightning occurrences, and light colors to relax or fall asleep. Includes a sleep timer and options for background nature sounds.
- Adjustable rain sounds and volume
- Customizable thunder and lightning occurrences
- Screen or camera flash lightning effects
- Background nature sounds
- Sleep timer with fade-out
- Keep Awake mode
- Lightning on Demand control
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Summon a thunderstorm on your smart device. Relax and fall fast asleep to the sounds of rain and thunder. The screen or camera flashes when lightning strikes.* *Defaults to screen for lightning light effects if camera flash is not available. THUNDERSTORMS • Strong Thunderstorm — Heavy rain with frequent lightning and thunder nearby • Normal Thunderstorm — Steady rain with a full range of lightning and thunder • Weak Thunderstorm — Light rain with occasional lightning and thunder far off • Passing Thunderstorms — Rain and lightning intensity changes as the storms pass SETTINGS Rain • Toggle rain sound effects • Change rain audio: Default, Heavy, Steady, Light, On Tin Roof • Change rain volume Lightning/Thunder • Toggle thunder sound effects • Change thunder volume • Change delay lightning (Wireless audio delay offset) • Toggle delay thunder • Toggle lightning light effects • Change lightning output: Camera Flash, Screen • Change lightning transition effects • Change lightning/thunder occurrence: Default, Occasional, Normal, Frequent • Change color and max brightness of lightning light effects (Screen only) Passing Thunderstorms • Change starting storm for Passing Thunderstorms: Weak, Normal, Strong • Change cycle time for Passing Thunderstorms: 15m, 30m, 60m Background Sounds • Toggle background sounds: Birds, Cicadas, Crickets, Frogs • Change background sounds volume General • Keep Awake to prevent your device from going to sleep so lightning effects remain visible • Hide Status Bar to maximize screen space for lightning effects • Select a mode to automatically start when the app opens • Choose a time to automatically stop the selected mode • Choose a time to automatically restart the selected mode when the sleep timer ends, enabling a recurring cycle ADDITIONAL FEATURES • Sleep Timer — Set a timer with a gradual audio fade-out. • Turn Screen Black — Adds a black overlay and sets the device to minimum brightness. Use the Screen Brightness Delay setting to compensate for brightness ramp-up on some devices. Set to 0.25–1 second if lightning effects do not reach peak brightness when thunder is loudest. • Lightning on Demand — Start a storm and use the lightning buttons at the bottom of the screen for manual control. • Bluetooth Support — Connect to Bluetooth speakers. Adjust the Delay Lightning setting to offset wireless audio delay. Please contact me at support@thunderstorm.scottdodson.dev if you experience any issues. I'd love to hear your thoughts and appreciate you taking the time to rate and review the app. I want to continue to improve Thunderstorm Simulator and create a great experience for you and future users. Thank you! —Scott Ad-supported version: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/thunderstorm-simulator-w-ads/id1482707561
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Thunderstorm Simulator at 4.5 against Banner's 3.0. Thunderstorm Simulator also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 69%) and iOS requirement (13.0.0 vs 15.0). Banner's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 5 months) and price ($0.99 vs $1.99). On ratings volume, 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
Banner costs $0.99 and Thunderstorm Simulator $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thunderstorm Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Banner's written reviews are positive against 100% of Thunderstorm Simulator's.
Banner ships an update every 3 months, Thunderstorm Simulator every 5 months. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Banner | Thunderstorm Simulator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Masayuki Akamatsu | Scott Dodson |
Customer experience
Banner
Thunderstorm Simulator
Bugs and requests
Banner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Text editing cursor issues
- Orientation-related bugs
- Freezing or crashing
Requested features
5 requests- More color and font options
- Ability to add symbols like heart
- Vertical scrolling or screen saver mode
- Random message playback
- Ability to manipulate individual pixels
Thunderstorm Simulator
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Banner
No in-app purchases
Thunderstorm Simulator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Banner free?
Is Thunderstorm Simulator free?
Which has better reviews, Banner or Thunderstorm Simulator?
Do Banner or Thunderstorm Simulator have ads?
Which is updated more often, Banner or Thunderstorm Simulator?
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