Comparison

Spa Control vs HearLift

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

Head to head
About

Spa Control

Control your portable hot tub's lighting, water temperature, and massage pumps remotely via WiFi. Adjust your spa settings from your iPhone or iPad before you even get in.

Highlights
  • Remote spa control
  • Adjust lighting
  • Control water temperature
  • Manage massage pumps
  • WiFi connectivity
  • iPhone/iPad compatible
Read full description

Set the mood of your spa by ensuring your have the right lighting, water temperature, and your massage pumps running just like you like, all from the convenience of your iPhone® or iPad®. Remotely control the operations of your portable hot tub via a local WiFi connection prior to you entering your spa. Spa Hardware Requirements Balboa BP Series Spa Control Pack bwa™ Wi-Fi module (Part Number: 50350) Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.balboawater.com/privacy-policy/

About

HearLift

Practice combining sounds from a cochlear implant and natural hearing. This app helps users with single-sided deafness train their brain to integrate audio from both sources. Explore simulated implant modes and listen to classic stories or your own files.

Highlights
  • Simulated implant mode for evaluation
  • Guided listening setup
  • Adjustable natural hearing support
  • Alternating ears mode
  • Offline book downloads
  • Import EPUB/text files
  • Background listening
Read full description

Make room for implant sound—without leaving natural hearing behind. HearLift is listening practice for people with single-sided deafness who have a cochlear implant in their deaf ear and natural hearing in the other. Help your brain practice combining both inputs. Lower-volume natural hearing support offers a middle ground between relying mainly on natural hearing and listening through your implant alone. Keep that support steady or let HearLift vary it automatically. EXPLORE SIMULATED IMPLANT MODE Family, friends, and audiologists with natural hearing in both ears can try Simulated implant mode to evaluate HearLift for someone who may benefit. Hear simulated implant sound alongside natural sound, and explore different ways of combining them. Simulation is an illustrative demo, not an exact recreation of anyone’s implant hearing or a practice mode for implant users. HEAR HOW IT WORKS Start with an included listening sample after setup—no title download or narrator choice needed. Explore the listening patterns before choosing your own content. BOOKS AND MUSIC, ONE LISTEN AT A TIME Explore classic stories and novels while practicing with your implant and natural hearing. Read along one passage at a time, or simply listen. If something isn’t clear, go back and hear it again. HearLift saves your place in books and albums, with chapter or track navigation, background listening, and lock-screen playback controls. iOS chooses which controls appear on the lock screen. MAKE THE PRACTICE YOUR OWN • Find a comfortable personal starting point with guided listening setup. • Keep natural hearing support steady, vary it with a regular rhythm or random timing, or let it fade as passages begin. • Try Alternating ears, where one ear’s volume rises as the other’s falls. • Adjust support while you listen, and change reading speed for narration. CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR • Download pre-recorded books with selected synthetic narrators and listen offline. • Discover free books through Project Gutenberg and Wikisource. • Bring your own EPUB or text files and hear them read aloud. • On iPhone, choose downloaded, unprotected tracks from your Music library after personal setup. Save each album as one library entry and resume the same track and position. Music plays at its original speed. Stereo tracks are mixed to mono, then your listening pattern and natural hearing support are applied to the same music in both earcups. Original Music files stay unchanged. Music is not yet available in Simulated implant mode. Choose included HearLift voices on supported devices or available built-in Apple voices. Optional Microsoft Azure voices require separate setup and internet access; service charges may apply. YOUR LISTENING SETUP For implant practice, over-ear headphones deliver the same audio to your natural ear and your implant processor’s microphone. HearLift adjusts each side separately. Another setup must deliver the same audio to both ears with clear left/right separation. No HearLift account is required. Book availability and permissions vary by source and country. HearLift is a listening-practice aid, not a substitute for professional care. Results vary and aren’t guaranteed. Consult your audiologist for guidance on practice with your cochlear implant.

Screenshots

Spa Control4 screens
HearLift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HearLift at 5.0 against Spa Control's 2.7. HearLift also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). Spa Control's advantage is ratings volume (622 vs 3). On price, ads, device support 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

Both are free to download. Spa Control sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. HearLift asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HearLift holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spa Control has 622 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spa Control ships an update every 2 months, HearLift daily. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Spa Control versus HearLift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpa ControlHearLift
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (622 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings622 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB213 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperBalboa Water GroupJames Griesmer

Customer experience

Spa Control

All ratings620 ratings
Positive39.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative55.5%
Written reviews452 reviews
Positive10.8%
Neutral7.1%
Negative82.1%

HearLift

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Spa Control

Subscriptions10
  • Cloud Mode – Monthly$2.491 Month
  • Cloud Mode – Monthly1 Year trial$2.491 Month
  • Cloud Mode – Monthly1 Month trial$2.491 Month
Show 7 more
  • Cloud Mode – Monthly6 Months trial$2.491 Month
  • Cloud Mode – Monthly3 Months trial$2.491 Month
  • Cloud Mode – Yearly$24.991 Year
  • Cloud Mode – Yearly1 Month trial$24.991 Year
  • Cloud Mode – Yearly1 Year trial$24.991 Year
  • Cloud Mode – Yearly3 Months trial$24.991 Year
  • Cloud Mode – Yearly6 Months trial$24.991 Year
None

HearLift

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spa Control free?
Spa Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HearLift free?
HearLift is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Spa Control or HearLift?
HearLift is rated higher. Spa Control averages 2.7 out of 5 from 622 ratings, while HearLift averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Spa Control or HearLift have ads?
Neither Spa Control nor HearLift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spa Control or HearLift?
Spa Control ships an update every 2 months, and HearLift daily. Most recently, Spa Control was updated on October 26, 2026 and HearLift on October 26, 2026.

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