Comparison

Generator vs Oscilloscope

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

Head to head
About

Generator

Generate professional-grade audio signals like sine waves, square waves, and various noise types. Offers precise frequency control and remote operation via WiFi. Ideal for audio testing and production.

Highlights
  • Sine, square, white noise, and pink noise generation
  • Precise frequency control (20Hz-20kHz)
  • Octave, 1/3 octave, and fine frequency resolution
  • Remote control over WiFi via AudioTools app
  • Warble-tone signal generation
  • Stereo or mono output options
Features
Read full description

A high-quality audio Signal Generator for the iPhone. Now you can have a professional grade signal generator for your iPhone. Create sine waves, square waves, white noise, and pink noise. Don't let the well-worn look of this classic audio must-have fool you, Generator is accurate, reliable, precise, and clean. ** NEW! Now supports remote control over WiFi from our AudioTools app. Connect an iOS device running Generator to your audio system, link to AudioTools on another device, and control Generator from AudioTools as you are free to move around. Requires that both devices be on the same LAN. In sine and square wave mode, you can select between 20Hz and 20kHz using a controller that has three resolutions: octave, 1/3 octave, and fine. Frequency selection is controlled by smooth-gliding interlocking control wheels. Just spin to change frequency, by octaves, 1/3 octaves, or select fine mode to sweep through any value. *** NEW: Tap the frequency screen to pop up a keyboard so that you can enter any exact frequency. *** NEW: Tap the Wobble button to create a warble-tone signal for acoustics work. Doubles as an emergency siren! When you are generating pink noise and white noise, you can select full band (20Hz-20kHz), or octave band limited noise for acoustical testing. All waveforms are laboratory accurate, and use ANSI / IEC spec filters where appropriate. The frequency sweeps smoothly, with no glitches. The mute is soft, to prevent loud impulses when mute or turning on a lower-frequency signal. This signal can be sent to both channels (stereo), just the right or left channel, or the right channel output phase can be inverted for pseudo-balanced mode. This mode can be used with our iPhone Balanced Cable Adapter to get a balanced signal from your iPhone. See our web site for more information. On an iPhone 3G, we have measured distortion at .006% THD at 1000Hz at full volume (+6.5dBu balanced). See our web site for more level details. Note that digital square waves suffer from aliasing problems, and sound very strange above about 1500Hz. Future versions will have options to select different skins. Check out out other great professional-grade audio and acoustics apps: SPL, the iPhone professional-grade sound level meter, SPL Graph, for recording SPL over time, RTA, a 1/3 octave real time analyzer, FFT, for detailed audio analysis, ETC, the iPhone energy-time curve and decay app, RT60, for automated octave-band decay measurement, and Speaker Pop, the speaker polarity tester. Email us within any questions, problems, or suggestions, we answer all emails promptly.

About

Oscilloscope

Analyze audio and analog signals with a portable oscilloscope. Features include waveform display, triggering controls, and a built-in signal generator for various waveforms. Supports external input for more advanced measurements.

Highlights
  • Real-time waveform display
  • Triggering modes
  • Signal measurement cursors
  • Built-in signal generator
  • Dual channel input support
  • Reference signal calibration
  • Export traces as text file
Read full description

"I use this for analog, and audio measurements. Attach an Apple USB adapter and a $40 stereo A-D converter available online, and my iPad is like a $300 O'Scope." -thymeout- Oscilloscope app is great for analyzing audio range signals, or learning oscilloscope measurement basics. The interface includes many standard oscilloscope controls, such as: triggering, time and voltage per division, signal measurement cursors, and more. The app incorporates a signal (function) generator capable of generating sine, square, triangle, and sawtooth waveforms of up to 22 KHz. Calibration to an external reference signal is supported, guaranteeing the accuracy of measurements. Input can be acquired via the built-in microphone or an external mic/probe connected to the headset connector. For best results, use an external audio interface connected to your device dock. This allows for standard audio equipment to be connected, as well as for dual channel input. Oscilloscope probes also be connected (using a BNC connector). When feeding external signals via probes, you should take care not to exceed 1V AC voltage. Currently iDevices support only AC input. For up-to-date information on feeding signals and currently supported audio interfaces, please visit http://oa.onyx3.com Feature Highlights: ● Real-time waveform display (60 FPS) ● Triggering modes: Normal, Auto, Single ● Set trigger level and pre-trigger time ● Dual channel signal generator ● Reference signal calibration ● Pause function to get a screen capture ● Export traces as text file for further analysis ● Measure signal data using cursors ● Use "finger pinch" on screen to set voltage and time base ● Double tap screen to enter Black Panel mode ● Three color themes to choose from ● XY mode for viewing Lissajous figures ● Frequency range 20Hz-22KHz ● iPhone X ready

Screenshots

Generator2 screens
Oscilloscope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Generator at $8.99 against Oscilloscope's $19.99. Oscilloscope's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (72% vs 56%). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Generator costs $8.99 and Oscilloscope $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Oscilloscope holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Oscilloscope has 19 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Generator's written reviews are positive against 72% of Oscilloscope's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Generator ships an update every 5 months, Oscilloscope every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Generator versus Oscilloscope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGeneratorOscilloscope
Price$8.99 — better$19.99
Rating3.3 (3 ratings)4.1 (19 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.6% of reviews71.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings319 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better16
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew SmithONYX Apps

Customer experience

Generator

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral22.2%
Negative22.2%

Oscilloscope

All ratings19 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive71.7%
Neutral9.4%
Negative18.9%

In-app purchases

None

Generator

No in-app purchases

None

Oscilloscope

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Generator free?
Generator costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Oscilloscope free?
Oscilloscope costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Generator or Oscilloscope?
Oscilloscope is rated higher. Generator averages 3.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Oscilloscope averages 4.1 from 19 ratings.
Do Generator or Oscilloscope have ads?
Neither Generator nor Oscilloscope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Generator or Oscilloscope?
Generator ships an update every 5 months, and Oscilloscope every 8 months. Most recently, Generator was updated on September 20, 2026 and Oscilloscope on September 22, 2026.

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