hi vs JPLAY
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
hi
Explore the world of high-end audio with Europe's leading English-language magazine. Discover the finest audio components, from classic amplifiers to state-of-the-art music servers, and find the latest music to enrich your listening experience.
- High-end audio reviews
- Latest digital audio technology
- Turntable and amplifier features
- Music server insights
- Music discovery
- Expert audiophile writers
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Hi-Fi+ is Europe’s premier English-language high-end audio magazine. Whether it’s the latest in digital audio technology or the best turntable you’ve ever heard, Hi-Fi+ magazine is the ultimate audiophile authority. Our goal is clear; to seek out the finest audio components money can buy. Music is the soundtrack to all our lives and we think that the better that soundtrack, sounds the more enriched our lives can be. A good audio system can open up new avenues of music that might surprise you. We don’t differentiate; it could be a classic valve amplifier or a state-of-the-art music server – if it sounds good, we want to know and we want to tell you about it. The difference between good sound and great sound lies in the details… and we are obsessive about detail. We aren’t constrained by measurement or bogged down in stuffy old paradigms. We are relevant and a little bit irreverent. Hi-Fi+ features some of the best writers in the business, all passionate about making music sound as good as it possibly can. We seek out the finest audio components – and the latest and greatest music – and aren’t afraid of finding the best, whatever the cost. ---------------------------------------------- This is a free app download. Within the app users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Subscriptions are also available within the application. A subscription will start from the latest regular issue at the time of purchase. -The subscription will renew automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for the product. -You may turn off the auto-renewal of subscriptions through your Account Settings, however you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period. -Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased. -If a subscription offers a free trial, at the end of the trial period, you will be charged the full price of the subscription. You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription settings on your iTunes account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Users can register for/ login to a pocketmags account in-app. This will protect their issues in the case of a lost device and allow browsing of purchases on multiple platforms. Existing pocketmags users can retrieve their purchases by logging into their account. We recommend loading the app for the first time in a wi-fi area so that all issue data is retrieved. If your app will not load past the splash page after a first install or an update, please delete and reinstall the app from the App Store Help and frequently asked questions can be accessed in-app and on pocketmags. If you have any problems at all please do not hesitate to contact us: help@pocketmags.com -------------------- You can find our privacy policy here: http://www.pocketmags.com/privacy.aspx You can find our terms and conditions here: http://www.pocketmags.com/terms.aspx
JPLAY
This app is a high-fidelity music player designed for audiophiles. It seamlessly integrates streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal with local music files, offering a unified interface for all your audio content. Experience superior sound quality and discover new music through its intuitive design and advanced features.
- Plays Qobuz, Tidal, and local music files
- Works with most streamers and network DACs
- HQPlayer Control API integration
- Dramatically better sound quality
- Radio feature for music discovery
- Extended playlist management
- Artist bios and album reviews
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JPLAY is an award winning music playback app for audiophiles. It works instantly with nearly every streamer or network DAC on the market. It combines Qobuz, Tidal and local content in a single interface allowing user to access each library separately. Main features: • Beautiful, clean and easy to use app allowing you to play music on nearly all streamers/network DACs - no core needed! (UPnP AV/DLNA) • Plays from Qobuz, Tidal and files on local libraries • HQPlayer Control API – Seamlessly integrate and remotely control HQPlayer directly from JPLAY • Dramatically better sound quality thanks to minimizing network traffic • Radio feature discovers new music for you • Single library, individual library and folder views • Extended playlists management • Advanced search, sort, focus • Artists bios, album reviews etc • Highlighted audiophile formats • My Activity, My history keep your playback stats • Native iOS controls from locked screen • Sharing your favorite music on social media • And much, much more! JPLAY requires an active subscription to access its content and features. Sign up for a JPLAY subscription in the app. New users can enjoy a 14-day free trial period that will be automatically converted into a yearly subscription. Subscription is automatically renewed and charged on a yearly basis. You can cancel it at any time up until the day before renewal and you can at any time turn off the auto renewal.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: hi at 4.8 against JPLAY's 4.2. hi also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). JPLAY's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. hi sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per 6 months and JPLAY sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
hi holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 56 and 54 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of hi's written reviews are positive against 59% of JPLAY's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
hi ships an update every 6 months, JPLAY every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | hi | JPLAY |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (56 ratings) — better | 4.2 (54 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.1% of reviews | 58.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 56 — better | 54 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Absolute Multimedia UK Ltd | Marcin Ostapowicz |
Customer experience
hi
JPLAY
Bugs and requests
hi
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
JPLAY
Reported bugs
14 issues- Tracks fail to render or play from Tidal
- App crashes on startup with older iOS versions
- Playback stuttering and lag issues
- Renderer in transition errors
- Device discovery failures
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Missing cover art for local files
- Playback gets stuck at end of songs
- Random track order despite settings
- Skips tracks mid-playback
- Connection drops with certain streamers
- Metadata not syncing properly
- Album art not loading from Synology/Plex servers
- Qobuz favorites import not working
- Tidal playlist suggestions missing
Requested features
16 requests- Monthly subscription option
- Cross-device synchronization for playlists and favorites
- EQ and tone adjustment controls
- DSD file playback support
- Multi-room audio capability
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Apple Watch control support
- AirPlay support
- Android version
- Gapless playback improvement
- Family sharing support
- Apple Music integration
- Internet radio support
- Volume control in player screen
- Automatic iCloud backup between devices
- WebDAV support
- Better error messages for troubleshooting
In-app purchases
hi
- Hi-Fi Plus$14.996 Months
- Hi-Fi Plus1 Month trial$24.991 Year
- Hi-Fi+ Issue 78 (id:353221)$2.99
- Hi-Fi+ Issue 81 (id:353215)$2.99
- Hi-Fi+ Issue 131 (id:410644)$2.99
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- issue134$2.99
- Hi-Fi+ & TAS Ul... (id:446013)$3.99
- hi-fi+ Issue 245 (pp:1114081)$3.99
- hi-fi+ Issue 235 (pp:1009611)$3.99
- hi-fi+ Issue 234 (pp:1009617)$3.99
- hi-fi+ Issue 233 (pp:1009623)$3.99
- HiFiPlus 6 back issue bundle$14.99
- 8 issue subscription$17.99
- 16 issue subscription$29.99
JPLAY
- JPLAY Premium14 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Lifetime$149.00
- JPLAY Lifetime$199.00









