Sampletoy vs AudioKit Digital D1 Synth
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sampletoy
Capture and manipulate sounds using a unique musical instrument and plaything. This app allows you to record audio, then loop, pitch, and distort it live with multitouch controls. Explore creative sound design with filters, delays, and envelopes, and export your performances as high-quality audio files.
- Capture sounds via microphone
- Live playback, looping, pitching, and distortion
- Multitouch control for up to 5 notes
- Resonant filters, delays, and envelopes
- Stepped and free playback modes
- Record and email performances as WAV files
- Import audio from various sources
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Sampletoy is a radical new musical instrument/plaything; part sampler, part granular synthesiser. Use it to capture sounds through the microphone, then play, loop, pitch and distort them live on the screen. There are plenty of features under the hood, such as resonant filters, delays and envelope. You can enable "stepped" mode to play your sounds like a traditional keyboard, or keep it in "free" mode for some microtonal madness. Once you've recorded a sound, use the main area of the screen to play it back at different pitches (up to 5 fingers at a time). You can crop the sound by dragging a selection over the waveform. The crop area is also multitouch and you can adjust the crop while playing the sound too. The y-axis is pitch of the sound, and the x-axis is configurable to control filters or envelope. You can record your performances on Sampletoy and send them via email within the app as a CD-quality wav file (mono or stereo) FEATURES ------- * Create your own instruments out of any sound. * Email your performances as audio files straight from the app. * Built-in resonant filters, delay and envelope. * Auto-saves current recording and state and recalls it again on next launch. * Stepped mode allows chromatic, major, minor, pentatonic and whole-tone scales to be played. * Totally multitouch - play up to 5 notes at once. * 44kHz/16bit - professional quality sound. * AudioBus3 output * Import any audio file to Sampletoy from Files, Voice memos, DropBox etc * Open non-audio files and hear what they sound like * Bluetooth / Airplay support * Built-in comprehensive manual.
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth
This app is a virtual analog and PCM synthesizer for iPad, inspired by the digital synthesizers of the 80s and 90s. It offers a vast library of presets, advanced synthesis features, and built-in effects for creating rich, retro-inspired sounds.
- 64-voice hybrid digital poly synthesis
- 1GB+ of original samples
- Stand-alone, IAA, and AUv3 support
- Vintage-style arp/step sequencer
- 3 LFOs with fun routings
- Dual independent per-layer filters
- Built-in FX suite
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Epic 64-voice Virtual Analog / PCM iPad Synth Inspired by the Digital Synths of the 80s and 90s - ** TOP 3 iOS MUSIC APPS OF 2018 *** - Music Radar Awards (Computer Music & Future Music Magazine) - * Featured By Apple in "New Apps We Love!" ** "Fans of the D-50, JD-990, 01/W, Wavestation... Rejoice!" - Music Radar FULLY LOADED w/ 500+ presets by Brice Beasley, Matthew Fecher, Red Sky Lullaby, Jakob Haq, Dean Daughters (Electronisounds), Sound of Izrael, Brian Funk, and more DIGITAL D1 is AWESOME: - 64-voice Hybrid Digital Poly Synthesis. - Full 1+ Gigabyte of original samples recorded from analog & fm synths over 30+ years old - Stand-alone iPad Synth, plus IAA & Audiobus - Basic AUv3 Plugin support. Works best with AUM. We're working on upgrading Audio Unit support. - Space-saving Compression - The whole app is under 200mb! - Dual layers per voice. Keyboard splits. Velocity Scaling. - Vintage-style Arp/Step Sequencer that can be routed to specific layers. - 3 LFOs. Fun Routings. LFOs can modify other LFOs. - Dual Independent per-Layer filters - Plus, per-voice Harmonic key-tracked Envelope filters. "Digital D1 Sounds and plays AMAZING!" - The Sound Test Room "Rad retro synth sounds" - Cult of Mac, App of the Week "AudioKit Digital D1 is a beautiful Synthesizer app that recreates the spirit of legendary synths" - Synth Anatomy ADDITIONAL FEATURES: - FX: Glorious Reverb, Phaser, Digital Delay, Distortion, Flanger, Chorus, Crush, and more. - Perfect with a MIDI Keyboard - Ableton Link - All kinds of awesome stuff - The Sound. Oh, the sound. You won't believe it. "Digital D1 synth is pure ‘80s and ‘90s digital lushness" - Computer Music/Music Radar "Beautiful. Lush. Modern and Amazing… An Instant Classic." REQUIREMENTS: Requires newer iPads for best performance. May be slow on iPad 4. IAA is being deprecated by Apple in iOS 13. We're moving to AUv3 as well. Please replace IAA with AUv3 in your projects. GarageBand Audio Unit (AUv3): You can run one instance of D1 as an AUv3 in GarageBand. With a host like AUM, you can run 3 or more instances at once. TROUBLESHOOTING: For iPad 4 - Open the "Settings" button (to the upper left above the keyboard). Turn the buffer to 512 or above. And turn the "CPU Efficient" toggle to on. If still having trouble, try closing other music apps and/or rebooting your iPad. Thanks! - * NOMINATED: Best iOS Music Apps of 2018 ** by Computer Music & Future Music magazine. Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: weekly or yearly - Free trial: only on selected subscriptions - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms & Conditions: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=21) Privacy Policy: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=21) - * NOTE: This app has no official affiliation with AudioKit Pro, LLC. It was built using the free AudioKit source code.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth at 4.8 against Sampletoy's 4.2. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 104). Sampletoy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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
Both are free to download. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Sampletoy asks for nothing beyond the download.
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth has 2.1K ratings behind it against 104, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 90% of Sampletoy's written reviews are positive against 76% of AudioKit Digital D1 Synth's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Sampletoy ships an update every 7 months, AudioKit Digital D1 Synth every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sampletoy | AudioKit Digital D1 Synth |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (104 ratings) | 4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.8% of reviews — better | 76.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 104 | 2.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 636 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mazbox Limited | Audiobus Pty Ltd |
Customer experience
Sampletoy
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth
Bugs and requests
Sampletoy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth
Reported bugs
4 issues- Presets not loading correctly
- MIDI note dropouts and latency
- Crashes when used with certain DAWs
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add Audio Unit (AUv3) support
- Improve MIDI integration and responsiveness
- Implement a built-in recording/sampling feature
- Expand preset library with more genres and styles
- Add more sound design controls and modulation options
In-app purchases
Sampletoy
No in-app purchases
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth
- Weekly premium$4.997 Days
- Weekly premium7 Days trial$4.997 Days
- Yearly premium7 Days trial$9.991 Year
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- Yearly premium$9.991 Year
- D1 PCM Expansion-01Free
- Platinum Expansion PCM EXP-01Free
Questions
Is Sampletoy free?
Is AudioKit Digital D1 Synth free?
Which has better reviews, Sampletoy or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?
Do Sampletoy or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sampletoy or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?
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