Comparison

Alchemist Rose vs variant

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

Head to head
About

Alchemist Rose

This app creates dynamic, interactive mandalas that respond to your movements and music. It offers stunning visuals and can be mirrored to a big screen for parties or performances.

Highlights
  • Interactive animated mandalas
  • Responds to touch and tilt
  • Music visualization
  • AirPlay screen mirroring
  • Video-out support for big screens
  • Adjustable speed and color palettes
Features
Read full description

Five-Stars! ***** "This App is absolutely amazing... Visually stunning. It makes me tingle all over when I use it. Breathtaking!" Five-Stars! ***** "Insane interactivity" Five-Stars! ***** "I have most of the particles apps on my iPad and this one ranks at the top." *** AirPlay Screen Mirroring is amazing !!! *** * Wirelessly stream video from your iPad to your Apple TV and watch Alchemist Rose on your Big Screen HDTV ! * Beautiful, Magical, Colorful, Delightful... • • • ...put on some Music ...pick up your iPad... and DANCE ! Alchemist Rose creates animated Interactive colorful Mandalas that groove and pulsate to your every move. Video-Out supported. Plug into your Big-Screen TV or Video Projector and perform for your friends !!! All Video-Out cables supported (VGA is Best). Great for Parties ! Perfect for VJ-ing. Alchemist Rose is designed to be Intuitive and Exploratory. The Rose is aware of your Posture and Energy. Lying back in Bed with your feet up and iPad in Portrait mode: AR assumes a slow mellow evolution. iPad Resting Flat on its back: AR goes full speed ahead. For the Ultimate… Pick up the iPad… Dance… Tilt… Sway… Touch… Twist… Bounce… The Mandala becomes the Music Visualized through your movements… ( … when you find that moment… it is really fun! :^) Controls: • Speed : Tilt Up & Down. Up for Slow and Down for Fast. • Color Palette change : Double-Click • Clear Screen : Double-Click • 10 Finger MultiTouch • Spin Adjust : Tilt Left & Right • Gravity Tilt affects Touches after release • Bounce the iPad up and down to Visualize the Beat • Video-Out Aspect Ratio in Settings : 16x9 widescreen & 4x3 standard - both supported Settings: • AlchemistRose Settings are in the iOS Settings app. • Video Out - Plug into a Video Projector or HDTV for the Big Screen AR Experience. All Aspect Ratios are supported: 4x3 standard; 16x10 wide Computer Monitor; 16x9 wide HDTV. • Vertical Video-Out - An External Monitor placed in Vertical Portrait orientation is now supported. A 16x9 vertical external monitor is Especially Beautiful. • Keep Display On - Disables the Auto-Lock feature on your iPad, which automatically turns off the display after a certain amount of time.* ( *Note: Remember the longer the iPad Display is on, the more Battery is used. ) • Touch for New Color: Every Touch will change to a new Color Palette. • Speed - "Always Fast" is the full-on pedal-to-the-metal experience all the time. At 60Hz it can be quite intense. - "Variable Control" gives you a more relaxed, subtle and controllable experience. Slow down the pace by Tilting the iPad. Upright in Portrait mode is Slowest. iPad Flat on it's Back Fastest. Tilt anywhere in-between for just the perfect speed for you! Alchemist Rose is an ongoing project, drawing on 25 years of visual music making experience. Enjoy the ride. Tell your Friends :^) Love to hear from you ! Email us at: alchemistrose [at] opticalalchemy [dot] com

About

variant

This app generates ever-changing music and imagery based on user input and randomness. Experience a unique audiovisual artwork that evolves with every interaction, enhanced by 3D Touch pressure sensitivity.

Highlights
  • Generative audiovisual artwork
  • Evolving music and imagery
  • 3D Touch pressure sensitivity
  • Multi-finger interaction
  • Interactive controls
  • Screenshot functionality
Features
Read full description

variant:cascade is an audiovisual artwork that creates beautiful, ever-changing music and imagery. The app combines user input and built-in randomness to create images and music that will continually change, grow and evolve, offering a new and different experience every time. For users of all ages, variant:cascade is a chance to explore and experience a unique work of generative art. variant:cascade was specifically designed to take advantage of the 3D Touch sensor on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus: increased pressure on the phone’s screen will intensify and transform the visual and musical experience. To interact with variant:cascade, draw a line with your finger on the screen and the visuals will respond to your drawing. Pressing more deeply on the 3D Touch screen will change the width and speed of the visuals as well as transform the music. (Users on devices without 3D Touch can vary how much of their finger touches the screen to trigger this effect.) You can use multiple fingers to interact with variant:cascade, and each will independently influence the visuals and music. You can view the indeterminate audio engine by tapping the dot in the lower right. The display shows the different elements of the musical composition as they are loaded by the engine through a combination of chance and user input. The center button opens a menu of settings for the app, and the button to the right allows you to take screenshots of the visuals, automatically saving them to your photo library. The Variant apps are a new series of generative audiovisual artworks from Interval Studios featuring visuals by Joshue Ott and music by Kenneth Kirschner. Each Variant features a unique visual composition by Ott based on his superDraw visual performance software, as well as a new indeterminate musical composition by Kirschner. Each Variant app also offers a different set of interactive controls for the user, ranging from the ability to subtly influence the development of the piece to total interactive control over both visuals and sound. All of the Variants are generative artworks: through a varying combination of built-in randomness and user input, each Variant will continually grow and evolve over time without ever directly repeating itself either visually or musically, offering the user an ever-changing, ever-evolving audiovisual experience.

Screenshots

variant4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: variant at free against Alchemist Rose's paid. variant also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 68%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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

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

variant holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Alchemist Rose's written reviews are positive against 100% of variant's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Alchemist Rose versus variant: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlchemist Rosevariant
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMark BuchananInterval Studios

Customer experience

Alchemist Rose

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive67.5%
Neutral8.8%
Negative23.8%

variant

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Alchemist Rose

No in-app purchases

None

variant

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Alchemist Rose free?
Alchemist Rose is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is variant free?
variant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Alchemist Rose or variant?
variant is rated higher. Alchemist Rose averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while variant averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Alchemist Rose or variant have ads?
Neither Alchemist Rose nor variant shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Alchemist Rose or variant?
Alchemist Rose ships an update every 3 weeks, and variant every 3 weeks. Most recently, Alchemist Rose was updated on October 18, 2026 and variant on October 22, 2026.

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