Comparison

Onyx Remote vs Vectorworks Nomad

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

Head to head
About

Onyx Remote

Control Obsidian Onyx lighting systems remotely from your iPhone or iPod touch. Manipulate fixtures, presets, and DMX values with a user-friendly interface. Features include automatic device discovery, color control, and cuelist triggering.

Highlights
  • Automatic device discovery
  • Remote control of fixtures and presets
  • DMX channel manipulation
  • Accelerometer-based pan/tilt control
  • CMY and RGB color control with Lee filters
  • Cuelist triggering (Go, Pause, Release)
  • Offline mode for practice
Features
Read full description

Onyx Remote is your personal assistant to remotely control lighting devices straight from your iPhone or iPod touch. It is the ultimate remote tool for the Obsidian Onyx™ lighting platform with a beautiful user interface and original features. Onyx Remote will discover your remote lighting devices automatically. It allows you to manipulate the fixtures, presets, channels and more on your show when you connect to an Obsidian Onyx™ controller. The belts in the parameter view allow you to manipulate all the DMX values. The pan/tilt control even allows you to manipulate the pan and tilt of the moving head via the built-in accelerometer of you iPhone or iPod touch. You can also control the color values in both CMY and RGB modes with support for Lee filters. This application is the ultimate remote tool to update your presets on stage. Using Onyx Remote, users can also trigger cuelists with Go, Pause and Release commands. An offline mode allows anyone to experience Onyx Remote without the need to have it connected to an Obsidian Onyx™ controller. Requires an Obsidian Onyx™ controller (Version 4 or higher) and Wi-Fi connection. Features: - Automatic discovery - Black skin for dark environment - Integrated help - Control Obsidian Onyx™ and M-Series controllers remotely - Passcode protected - Saves show data so that synchronisation will be faster the next time - Control all fixtures in your show - Virtual console in landscape mode - Integrated fixture search - Create and edit presets - Pan/Tilt view with built-in accelerometer support under sensor mode - Color picker with support for Lee filters - Easy manipulation of all DMX channels - The fast menu will appear when you shake your device so that you can clear values quickly - Start, pause and release cuelists, chases, etc... - Exclusively for iPhone and iPod touch

About

Vectorworks Nomad

Access and manage your design documents from anywhere with your mobile device. Share files, make design decisions on the go, and synchronize changes automatically to your cloud library. View, mark up, and share your latest designs with colleagues and clients.

Highlights
  • Access Vectorworks documents on mobile
  • Synchronize files to private cloud
  • View and navigate 3D models
  • Augmented reality model viewing
  • Mark up PDF files
  • Share files with clients and collaborators
  • Integrate with third-party cloud storage
Read full description

The Vectorworks® Nomad app allows you to access your Vectorworks documents wherever you are—whenever you need them—with your mobile device. It gives you more freedom not only to share files, but also to make design decisions from any location. Changes you make to Vectorworks files are automatically synchronized to your private cloud library, allowing you to browse and share your latest designs from any web-enabled device. Vectorworks Cloud Services saves time by freeing up local computing power. Use cloud technology to automate and decouple resource-heavy workflows, shifting calculations needed to generate sections, elevations, renderings, and BIM data to the cloud. Whether you're in a meeting, on the job site, or on vacation, the Vectorworks Nomad app allows you to view, mark up, share, and synchronize your Vectorworks files across your devices and with your colleagues—all from the convenience of your mobile device. • View and navigate 3D models of Vectorworks files in the cloud library • View 3D models of Vectorworks files in a real-world setting, using augmented reality (AR) technology (requires an AR-compatible device) • View rendered panoramic images or animation movies of Vectorworks files • Extend your cloud library through integration with third-party cloud storage providers • Share files with clients or collaborators • Mark up PDF files with Text, Freehand, Oval, Rectangle, and Line tools and save the marked up files to the cloud library The Vectorworks Nomad app is a part of Vectorworks Cloud Services, and is available to anyone who registers for a free account, as well as all Vectorworks Service Select members. Guest access is available for viewing shared files without creating an account. Vectorworks Service Select members have access to additional features, such as: • Increased storage capacity • Manual or scheduled Sheet layer to PDF cloud processing • Cloud processing options in Vectorworks • Ability to measure objects in the PDF drawings generated on the cloud • And more ... Operating Prerequisites • Vectorworks files uploaded to your Vectorworks Cloud Services storage library, or to an integrated third-party cloud storage provider

Screenshots

Onyx Remote4 screens
Vectorworks Nomad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Onyx Remote at 70% against Vectorworks Nomad's 27%. Onyx Remote also leads on rating (3.9 vs 2.4) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Vectorworks Nomad's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Onyx Remote holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 23 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Onyx Remote's written reviews are positive against 27% of Vectorworks Nomad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Onyx Remote ships an update every 3 months, Vectorworks Nomad every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Onyx Remote versus Vectorworks Nomad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnyx RemoteVectorworks Nomad
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (19 ratings) — better2.4 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews69.6% of reviews — better26.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1923 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB299 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperObsidian Control SystemsVectorworks, Inc.

Customer experience

Onyx Remote

All ratings19 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral21.1%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive69.6%
Neutral17.4%
Negative13.0%

Vectorworks Nomad

All ratings23 ratings
Positive30.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative60.9%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive26.8%
Neutral1.4%
Negative71.8%

In-app purchases

None

Onyx Remote

No in-app purchases

None

Vectorworks Nomad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Onyx Remote free?
Onyx Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vectorworks Nomad free?
Vectorworks Nomad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Onyx Remote or Vectorworks Nomad?
Onyx Remote is rated higher. Onyx Remote averages 3.9 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Vectorworks Nomad averages 2.4 from 23 ratings.
Do Onyx Remote or Vectorworks Nomad have ads?
Neither Onyx Remote nor Vectorworks Nomad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Onyx Remote or Vectorworks Nomad?
Onyx Remote ships an update every 3 months, and Vectorworks Nomad every 6 weeks. Most recently, Onyx Remote was updated on June 4, 2026 and Vectorworks Nomad on September 20, 2026.

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