Comparison

hi vs mconnect Player Lite

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • High-end audio reviews
  • Latest digital audio technology
  • Turntable and amplifier features
  • Music server insights
  • Music discovery
  • Expert audiophile writers
Features
Read full description

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

About

mconnect Player Lite

Stream your videos, photos, and music to various devices like smart TVs and speakers. Enjoy gapless playback and support for high-quality audio formats. This version offers core media streaming functionalities.

Highlights
  • Stream video, photo, and music
  • Support for UPnP and Google Cast
  • Gapless playback
  • DSD and FLAC audio playback
  • Stream from cloud services
  • Send media to AirPlay devices
Features
Read full description

mconnect Player is a media player app to support UPnP/DLNA and Google Cast(Chromecast). - Send Video/Photo/Music to UPnP and Google Cast (Chromecast) devices. - Gapless Playback by App and to UPnP renderers. - DSD and FLAC music playback by App. - Play TIDAL, Qobuz and Bugs music & video to UPnP and Google Cast devices. - Send media files to Apple AirPlay compatible devices from PC, NAS and Internet. === mconnect Player Lite is a compact version of mconnect Player. This version does not have full functions of mconnect Player, such as Track Sorting, Folder Bookmarking, and Remembering Renderer. === You can play media files from any Servers to any Playback Devices with mconnect Player. [Media Servers] - Your iPhone and iPad. - UPnP compatible servers: PC and NAS. - Internet Music integrated into App: TIDAL, Qobuz and Bugs. - Cloud Server integrated into App: OneDrive and Dropbox. [Playback Devices] - Your iPhone and iPad. - UPnP compatible renderers: Smart TV, UPnP supported Audio, UPnP receivers. - Google Cast: Chromecast, Google Cast compatible Audio. - AirPlay compatible devices: Apple TV, Airport Express, AirPlay Audio. Note: If you send a media file to a remote playback device, the playable media format depends on the media decoder in the remote playback device. iPhone, iPad, AirPlay, Apple TV, and AirPort Express are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Cast and Chromecast are registered trademarks of Google Inc. DLNA is a trademark of Digital Living Network Alliance. UPnP is a certification mark of the UPnP Forum in the United States and other countries. TIDAL is a trademark of ASPIRO AB. Qobuz is a trademark of XANDRIE SA. Bugs is a trademark of NHN Bugs Corp.

Screenshots

hi4 screens
mconnect Player Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: hi at 4.8 against mconnect Player Lite's 3.5. hi also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). mconnect Player Lite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. hi sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per 6 months. mconnect Player Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

hi holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 56 and 42 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of hi's written reviews are positive against 61% of mconnect Player Lite's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

hi ships an update every 6 months, mconnect Player Lite every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
hi versus mconnect Player Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterhimconnect Player Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (56 ratings) — better3.5 (42 ratings)
Positive reviews51.1% of reviews61.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings56 — better42
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB88 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbsolute Multimedia UK LtdConversDigital Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

hi

All ratings56 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive51.1%
Neutral8.5%
Negative40.4%

mconnect Player Lite

All ratings42 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral9.5%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews257 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral9.7%
Negative28.8%

User reviews

hi

From 56 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent content and reviews
  • 👍 Good value for money
  • 👍 Easy to use app (for some)
  • 👍 Great audiophile magazine
  • 👍 Keeps users informed on new Hifi

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Poor app performance
  • 🐛 Difficult to read on iPad
  • 🐛 Blurry text/low resolution
  • 🐛 Clumsy digital version

mconnect Player Lite

From 42 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 💡 Supports DLNA and UPnP streaming
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Quickly finds media servers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Playback issues after app updates
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes on some devices
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with certain devices/renderers
  • 🐛 Tidal playback not working for some users
  • 🐛 DSD file playback not supported

Bugs and requests

hi

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • Cannot retrieve purchased issues
  • Subscription not delivering new issues
  • Pages freeze, won't expand, or bottom not visible
  • App asks to pay for already subscribed magazines
Show 19 more
  • Empty pages in the magazine
  • Poor interface and slow reaction to zoom
  • Cannot view cover
  • Low-res page turning animation
  • Blurry text at default zoom
  • App crushes every time trying to log in
  • Viewer is slow and painful
  • Control for resizing page doesn't work consistently
  • App crashes after downloading one edition
  • No support available
  • Animated page turning is frustrating
  • No print function
  • Cannot highlight or copy text
  • Pulsating circle on web links is distracting
  • Subscription problems
  • Digital version is clumsy
  • App is unstable
  • PDFs are not clear enough
  • App is awful

Requested features

15 requests
  • Improve app controls for iPhone
  • Present content in a more e-native format
  • Add portrait orientation on iPad
  • Disable animated page turning
  • Allow highlighting and copying text
Show 10 more
  • Improve app reliability and performance
  • Fix subscription issues
  • Improve text resizing and display
  • Make the app more user-friendly and less sloppy
  • Add more functionality
  • Improve download speeds
  • Fix the pulsating circle on web links
  • Make the app work on newer devices (e.g., iPad Pro)
  • Improve the interface to be more intuitive
  • Increase the music section

mconnect Player Lite

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Tracks not playing in correct order
  • Unable to connect to some NAS devices
  • Album art not displaying properly
  • Streaming issues after long periods of use

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add gapless playback
  • Implement playlist/queue management features
  • Add support for landscape mode on iPad
  • Integrate Spotify support
  • Improve Chromecast video casting

In-app purchases

10 purchases

hi

Subscriptions2
  • Hi-Fi Plus$14.996 Months
  • Hi-Fi Plus1 Month trial$24.991 Year
One-time8
  • 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 5 more
  • issue134$2.99
  • Hi-Fi+ & TAS Ul... (id:446013)$3.99
  • HiFiPlus 6 back issue bundle$14.99
  • 8 issue subscription$17.99
  • 16 issue subscription$29.99
None

mconnect Player Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is hi free?
hi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is mconnect Player Lite free?
mconnect Player Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, hi or mconnect Player Lite?
hi is rated higher. hi averages 4.8 out of 5 from 56 ratings, while mconnect Player Lite averages 3.5 from 42 ratings.
Do hi or mconnect Player Lite have ads?
mconnect Player Lite shows ads; hi does not.
Which is updated more often, hi or mconnect Player Lite?
hi ships an update every 6 months, and mconnect Player Lite every 3 weeks. Most recently, hi was updated on November 11, 2026 and mconnect Player Lite on November 10, 2026.

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