Comparison

shobonizer vs Ceau Player

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

Head to head
About

shobonizer

This app detects rectangular objects in your camera view and overlays them with "shobon" faces. You can capture photos or record videos with these sad faces baked in, and customize them with different presets or your own images.

Highlights
  • Real-time rectangle detection
  • Rounded-quad stickers follow perspective
  • Photo and video capture with baked-in faces
  • 9 built-in emoticon presets
  • Add custom emoticons
  • Randomize mode for multiple faces
  • Save to history and Camera Roll
  • Share to messaging and social apps
Features
Read full description

Shobonizer spots everyday rectangles — keyboard keys, sticky notes, screens, signs, boxes — and stamps them with the classic Japanese "shobon" face ω. The result: any boring view becomes an army of gently disappointed ω stickers. ■ Features ・ Real-time rectangle detection powered by the Vision framework, with rounded-quad stickers that follow tilt and perspective ・ Tap the shutter for a photo, hold it to record video — the ω overlay is baked into the saved video ・ 9 built-in emoticon presets, plus add your own ・ Randomize mode puts a different face on each detected object ・ Saves to both an in-app history and the Camera Roll ・ Share sheet for sending straight to Messages, email, or social apps ・ Pick any text color from the color picker ■ Great for ・ Spicing up dull meeting slides ・ Turning a whole keyboard into a parade of ω faces ・ Making a stack of sticky notes look appropriately defeated ・ Giving any everyday scene a shot of quiet despair

About

Ceau Player

A private-first media player for live TV and personal media servers. Organize and play content from various sources like IPTV playlists, Emby/Jellyfin libraries, and local files across Apple devices. Features multi-view playback and native interfaces.

Highlights
  • Multi-view playback (up to 4 channels)
  • Supports M3U, Emby, Jellyfin, WebDAV, local files
  • Native interfaces for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac
  • Private by design with no ads or analytics
  • Powered by VLC for broad format support
Features
Read full description

Your media. Your sources. One player across Apple devices. Ceau Player is a private-first media player for live TV, personal media servers, network storage, and local files. Add sources you are authorized to use, then browse, search, organize, and play them in a native interface designed for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac. MULTI-VIEW Watch up to four live channels or videos at once. Choose a layout, focus a tile, and switch audio without leaving the wall. BRING YOUR OWN SOURCES • M3U, M3U8, and TXT IPTV playlists • Emby and Jellyfin libraries • WebDAV and SMB network storage • Local video files on supported devices MADE FOR APPLE SCREENS Use touch on iPhone and iPad, the Siri Remote on Apple TV, and keyboard and pointer controls on Mac. Favorites, recents, search, channel groups, program guide, and playback controls stay consistent across devices. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Credentials remain in the device Keychain. Ceau Player contains no advertising or cross-app tracking. Remote notifications use Firebase. Basic usage statistics use Google Analytics for Firebase and can be turned off in Settings > About > Share usage statistics. Media URLs, playlist contents, credentials and viewing history are not included in analytics. See our privacy policy for details. Optional iCloud sync is limited to credential-free source descriptions and app preferences. PLAYBACK FOR REAL-WORLD MEDIA Powered by VLC for broad support across common live-stream and video formats. Ceau Player does not provide, host, curate, or sell media content. You must only connect sources and media you own or are authorized to use. Apple Watch: browse your IPTV sources, groups, favorites and recents on your wrist. Supported HTTP(S) HLS and video streams use the system player; other supported HTTP(S) streams offer audio playback. The Watch app can run independently of iPhone. Optional iCloud sync and the shared Ceau Pro purchase are available. Media-server libraries, local files and Multi-View are available on other supported devices. Add, browse, and manage unlimited media sources for free. Each device includes 45 minutes of single-screen playback daily; iPhone and iPad also include a separate 6 minutes of Multi-View. Apple Watch supports single-screen playback. Live TV, media servers, network files, and local videos count toward playback time. The allowances reset at local midnight. Ceau Pro is an optional one-time in-app purchase for unlimited playback. View remaining time in Settings > Ceau Pro and restore purchases with the same App Store account. CARPLAY AUDIO Listen to audio from your authorized IPTV sources on CarPlay. Browse sources, favorites, and recents, then control playback with the native Now Playing screen. CarPlay browsing is limited to IPTV sources; media-server libraries, network files, and local files are not included. Requires a compatible CarPlay vehicle.

Screenshots

shobonizer2 screens
Ceau Player3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ceau Player at 100% against shobonizer's 50%. Ceau Player also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Ceau Player is free to download; shobonizer costs $0.99 up front. shobonizer sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Ceau Player sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

shobonizer ships an update every 6 weeks, Ceau Player every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
shobonizer versus Ceau Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametershobonizerCeau Player
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB95 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developericot曙光 乐

Customer experience

shobonizer

Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative42.9%

Ceau Player

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

shobonizer

One-time3
  • Small tip$0.99
  • Medium tip$2.99
  • Big tip$9.99
1 purchases

Ceau Player

One-time1
  • Ceau Pro Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is shobonizer free?
shobonizer costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Ceau Player free?
Ceau Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do shobonizer or Ceau Player have ads?
Neither shobonizer nor Ceau Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, shobonizer or Ceau Player?
shobonizer ships an update every 6 weeks, and Ceau Player every 2 days. Most recently, shobonizer was updated on October 31, 2026 and Ceau Player on October 26, 2026.

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