iAmDrums vs Now Playing Relay
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iAmDrums
Create and play drum beats anytime, anywhere with a variety of drum kits. Features a loop maker for sequencing custom grooves and realistic drum feel with velocity and expression controls.
- Loop Maker Mode
- Create and sequence custom grooves
- Save grooves to KickStart library
- 20 diverse drum kits
- Velocity and expression controls
- Realistic drum feel
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It actually lets you play the drums. Not watch ads. iAmDrums is a real-feeling drum kit for iPhone and iPad. Open it and play: no ads, no subscription, no account, nothing else to buy. One price unlocks all 20 kits and every feature. SOUNDS LIKE REAL DRUMS Every kit responds to where you hit it: • Hit closer to the center for a louder beat, further out for a softer one • Hit the snare on the edge for a rim shot • Hit the center of the ride to ring the bell • Hit the center of the hi-hat for a pedal mute 20 KITS, ALL INCLUDED • Rock & band: Rock, Acoustic, Punk, Rage, Rebel, Radio, Blue • Electronic: House, Rave, Lo-Fi, Minimal, Trip Hop, 808, Analog, Industrial, Dub Step • Something different: Stomp, Orchestral, BeatBox, DrumCircle DRUMS IN YOUR POCKET For everyone who drums on everything: desks, knees, steering wheels. Long commute, time to kill, or a great beat just came on? Drum out the rhythms in your head, anywhere. MAKE YOUR OWN GROOVES Program a groove in Loop Maker, save it to your KickStart library, and play it back on any kit. PAY ONCE. NO ADS. NO TRACKING. No ads, ever. No subscription. No sign-in. We don't collect any data. Buy it once and it's yours. Tip: for the full punch of the kick and toms, play with headphones or external speakers.
Now Playing Relay
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NowPlaying Relay is a full-featured Apple Music player that does something no other player does: it relays your currently-playing track data to any webhook endpoint in real time. PLAY YOUR MUSIC Browse your entire Apple Music library — playlists, albums, artists, and songs. Search the full Apple Music catalog. View time-synced lyrics as you listen. Manage your queue with play next, play later, and reorder. RELAY YOUR LISTENING Configure up to 5 webhook endpoints and NowPlaying Relay will send track metadata every time playback changes. Power Discord bots, streaming overlays, smart home displays, LED signs, or anything else that accepts an HTTP webhook. FULL CONTROL • Per-endpoint event filtering — choose which events trigger a relay (now playing, paused, resumed, skipped, loved, and more) • Flexible authentication — Bearer tokens, custom headers, or no auth • Automatic retry with exponential backoff on failures • Complete activity log with delivery status, response times, and error details • JSON payload preview so you know exactly what gets sent PRIVACY FIRST NowPlaying Relay has zero analytics, zero tracking, and zero accounts. No data is sent to us — ever. Webhook data goes directly from your device to your endpoints. Your music, your data, your rules. Requires an active Apple Music subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Now Playing Relay at Free against iAmDrums's $3.99. Now Playing Relay also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Now Playing Relay is free to download; iAmDrums costs $3.99 up front. iAmDrums sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Now Playing Relay asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | iAmDrums | Now Playing Relay |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (15 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 58.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Rubotic, Inc. | Caleb VanDerMaas |
Bugs and requests
iAmDrums
Reported bugs
13 issues- Trip Hop drum kit invisible but audio plays
- Drums not loading on download
- Black screen on iPhone 11 Pro
- Restore purchases button non-functional
- Purchased kits becoming locked after update
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- App crashes when selecting demo
- High hat making different noises during recording
- Latency/slow response time
- No sound output on certain devices
- App crashes when overwriting loops
- Incompatibility with iOS 6 and older devices
- Sequencer panel missing play button
- Double-kick and drum roll functionality broken
Requested features
15 requests- Left-handed drum kit option
- Extended bar/measure support (beyond 32 steps)
- Higher BPM limit (above 160)
- Additional cymbal types (China, Stack, Splash)
- Custom drum kit creation
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- More drum kit styles (metal, trap, EDM, techno)
- Double-tap drum roll support
- Adjustable drum kit layout
- Volume mixing in play mode
- Record mode without continuous playback
- Audio export functionality (.wav, AudioBus, IAA, MIDI support)
- Time signature customization (3/4 time, etc.)
- Start/stop/pause controls
- Ability to move drum sections for finger play
- Multiple sequence playback in succession
Now Playing Relay
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iAmDrums
- Unlock All Kits$0.99
Now Playing Relay
No in-app purchases









