Alchemist Rose vs Episodic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Alchemist Rose
Create stunning, interactive animated mandalas that respond to your touch and movement. Wirelessly stream your creations to a big screen for parties or ambient display. Experience a visually captivating and relaxing visualizer.
- Interactive animated mandalas
- AirPlay screen mirroring
- Video-out to TV/projector
- Multi-touch controls
- Tilt and gravity effects
- Ambient Gallery mode
- Adjustable speed and color palettes
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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 iPhone and this one ranks at the top." *** AirPlay Screen Mirroring works fantastic !!! *** * Wirelessly stream iPhone screen to your Apple TV. Watch on your Big Screen TV ! * Alchemist Rose looks gorgeous optimized for the high resolution Retina Display on your iPhone 4. This small screen version of Alchemist Rose has all the capabilities of the original five star rated grand-daddy version on the iPad. (*note: does not include all the new 2.0 features found on the current iPad version.) Best of all, plug your iPhone 4 into a Big Screen TV or Video Projector and you'll get the full iPad high resolution video output… straight from your iPhone. Also compatible with iPod Touch 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 3 !! Beautiful, Magical, Colorful, Delightful... • • • ...put on some Music ...pick up your iPhone... 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. "Ambient Gallery" mode: Worthy of any Art Gallery or Executive's Desk… [ Switch to "Variable Speed" in the iPhone settings, to enable the "Ambient Gallery" mode. ] …for a Subtle progression of Color and Motion, place The Alchemist Rose upright in your iPhone dock… …let the unfolding rose relax your mind and carry you to another dimension. Controls: • Color Palette change : Touch Screen • Clear Screen : Double-Click • 10 Finger MultiTouch • Spin Adjust : Tilt Left & Right • Gravity Tilt affects Touches after release • Bounce your iPhone up and down to Visualize the Beat • Video-Out Aspect Ratio in Settings : 16x9 widescreen & 4x3 standard - both supported • Variable Speed : Tilt Up & Down. Up for Slow and Down for Fast. [Turn on in iPhone Settings ] Settings: ( AlchemistRose Settings are in the iPhone 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 iPhone, which automatically turns off the display after a certain amount of time.* ( *Note: Remember the longer the iPhone 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 iPhone. Upright in Portrait mode is Slowest. iPhone Flat on it's Back Fastest. Tilt anywhere in-between for just the perfect speed for you! Alchemist Rose is designed to be Intuitive and Exploratory. For the Ultimate… Pick up the iPhone… Dance… Tilt… Sway… Touch… Twist… Bounce… The Colorful Mandala becomes the Music! ...Visualized through your movements… … when you find that moment… it's an experience like no other! :^) Alchemist Rose is an ongoing project, drawing on 25 years of visual music making experience. Get in early and enjoy the ride. Tell your Friends :^) Love to hear from you ! Email us at: alchemistrose [at] opticalalchemy [dot] com
Episodic
Create dynamic, moving collages from black and white looping animations. Reposition and scale these "episodes" to build unique narratives and explore new visual relationships.
- Create moving collages
- Utilize black and white looping animations
- Reposition and scale animation fragments
- Build unique narratives
- Explore new visual relationships
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Episodic is an artwork that allows users to create a moving collage from disparate fragments. Contained within the app are black and white looping animations. Each animation is a short episode that can be repositioned and scaled allowing users to link together different segments to create a narrative and explore new relationships. The app reconfigures pop-up windows containing Flash animations originally created for the website www.urban fragments.net
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Episodic at free against Alchemist Rose's paid. Episodic also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 months). Alchemist Rose's advantage is ratings volume (24 vs 3) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 17.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Episodic holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Alchemist Rose has 24 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Alchemist Rose's written reviews are positive against 100% of Episodic's.
Alchemist Rose ships an update every 5 months, Episodic every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Alchemist Rose | Episodic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (24 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 24 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 17.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mark Buchanan | jody zellen |
Customer experience
Alchemist Rose
Episodic
In-app purchases
Alchemist Rose
No in-app purchases
Episodic
No in-app purchases









