Comparison

Air vs iDensity

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

Head to head
About

Air

This app creates a unique, ever-changing audio-visual experience using vocal and piano samples. Users can influence the composition through different modes and even spread the sound across multiple devices.

Highlights
  • Generative audio-visual composition
  • Vocal and piano sample assembly
  • Four 'Conduct' modes for user control
  • Three 'Listen' modes for arrangement choice
  • Multi-device sound spreading option
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Air is a generative audio-visual work created by musician / software designer Peter Chilvers and Irish vocalist Sandra O’Neill.  Based on concepts developed by Brian Eno, with whom Chilvers created Bloom, Air assembles vocal and piano samples into a beautiful, still and ever changing composition, which is always familiar, but never the same. Air features four ‘Conduct’ modes, which let the user control the composition by tapping different areas on the display, and three ‘Listen’ modes, which provide a choice of arrangement.  For those fortunate enough to have access to multiple iPhones and speakers, an option has been provided to spread the composition over several players. Recommended for headphones and external speakers. "Air is like 'Music for Airports' made endless - which is how I always wanted it to be" - Brian Eno

About

iDensity

This app offers real-time asynchronous sound file granulation, enabling users to create a wide array of audio effects. It provides tools for time/pitch manipulation, texture generation, buffer recording, and complex sound exploration. Designed for musicians and sound designers, it offers flexibility for live performance, studio composition, and on-the-go sound design.

Highlights
  • Real-time sound granulation
  • Time/pitch shifting and jittering
  • Texture generation
  • Buffer recording and manipulation
  • Scrub pad exploration
  • Dynamic envelope shaping
  • Audio Unit (AUv3) support
Features
Read full description

iDensity is rated as a Killer App by Apps4iDevices. iDensity is a new real-time software designed for asynchronous sound file granulation, a genuine granular playground able to generate a wide range of usual and not so usual effects: time/pitch shifting, time/pitch jittering, intricate textures, grain fountain/pulverizer, recording and manipulation of buffers, complex scrub pad exploration, dynamic envelope shape and many more. iDensity for iPad will give you all the basic and advanced tools you need to manipulate sound in subtle and surprising ways. All these features are packed in an optimized, user-friendly, visually sharp interface that is easy to access when fast-improvising live, composing in a studio, or sound designing at home and on the go! You will have the power, freedom, and flexibility to create like never before – on your iPad! Control and shape grains, anytime, anywhere with Density for iPad. + Six Granular Streams + Six Remote Audio Units Host support + Full Instr and FX AudioUnit (AUv3) support + High Density Granulation + Sampled and Live granulation + In-Stream Echo and RM post Fx + Multichannels Audiobus Inter-App Audio support + MIDI, Virtual Midi and Network + Sharing common audio files via iTunes, Dropbox AudioCopy etc... + Snapshots Presets Morphing Pad + Post Fx chain: Parametric and High Shelf Filters, Classic Reverb and Dynamics Processor + Scrub Recording and playback + etc.

Screenshots

Air4 screens
iDensity4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Air at $1.99 against iDensity's $9.99. Air also leads on chart position (#168 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). iDensity's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 55%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 12 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Air costs $1.99 and iDensity $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iDensity holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 48 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Air's written reviews are positive against 86% of iDensity's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Air ships an update every 12 months, iDensity monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Air versus iDensity: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAiriDensity
Price$1.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.5 (10 ratings)4.9 (48 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.3% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1048 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#168 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOpal LimitedapeSoft

Customer experience

Air

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive55.3%
Neutral14.9%
Negative29.8%

iDensity

All ratings48 ratings
Positive97.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative11.7%

Bugs and requests

Air

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

iDensity

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Occasional crashes (historically)
  • AudioBus issues (historically)
  • Preset management not working correctly (historically)
  • Transport sync not working (historically)
  • GUI bugs (e.g., maximizing a strand)
Show 5 more
  • Craquements, grésillements (cracking, crackling)
  • X/Y snapshot morphing not working on iPad 1
  • Sample import issues (cut off)
  • Unable to record from microphone (historically)
  • App crashes upon recording (historically)

Requested features

10 requests
  • Independent MIDI note control over pitch for each stream
  • Alphabetical preset sorting
  • Load existing project name into 'Save As'
  • Multi-port output for AUM/Ape Matrix
  • Built-in wave-editor for sample cutting
Show 5 more
  • Ability to determine loop length
  • Motion sequencer or assignable LFOs
  • Sync AU3 transport to host (historically)
  • Add MIDI note and channel select as modifier/controller
  • Dark mode option

In-app purchases

None

Air

No in-app purchases

None

iDensity

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Air free?
Air costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is iDensity free?
iDensity costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Air or iDensity?
iDensity is rated higher. Air averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while iDensity averages 4.9 from 48 ratings.
Do Air or iDensity have ads?
Neither Air nor iDensity shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Air or iDensity?
Air ships an update every 12 months, and iDensity monthly. Most recently, Air was updated on September 27, 2026 and iDensity on September 21, 2026.

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