Comparison

Orphion vs Samplr

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

Head to head
About

Orphion

Create expressive music and melodies with a unique virtual instrument. Explore your creativity through intuitive finger movements on virtual pads, generating sounds between string and percussion. Ideal for both beginners and experienced musicians.

Highlights
  • Unique string and percussion sound
  • Expressive polyphonic music
  • Intuitive finger pad interaction
  • Customizable pad layouts
  • MIDI and Audiobus support
  • Multiple articulations
Features
Read full description

## Featured by Apple as "Band in your Hand" and 'Explore your creativity' ## Orphion is a musical instrument with a unique sound between string instrument and percussion. Everyone can play expressive, wonderful sounds and easy or virtuosic melodies on it just by moving fingers on virtual pads. This video shows you more: https://vimeo.com/35131490 What can I do with it? • Express the sounds you feel • Play polyphonic music very expressively • Crazy drumming • Dream and relax • Create soundscapes and melodies without musical knowledge • Visually explore music and music theory Features: • Different articulations from soft to plucked to hardly slapped • Natural interaction • Extend your ways of expression as a percussionist, guitarist, pianist or other musician • 15 transposable pad layouts with different tonalities from easy to complex • 8 individual voices for 8 fingers • MIDI support: Play your favorite synth with the revolutionary Orphion interface • Audiobus support: Stream live audio from Orphion directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps • Orphion Editor (availible as upgrade): Create and share your own custom pad layouts. Download new pad layouts from Orphion Universe What others say about Orphion: "We love this instrument! So cool. Great for Deep House, IDM, Ambient, and whatever!" - iPadloops "A simple but profoundly beautiful and expressive music app" - Evolutionaryarts.org "Orphion is very customizable and flexible — truly functioning as a full-fledged electronic instrument" - Harrison Weber, The next web Follow on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Orphion or Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrphionApp

About

Samplr

This app offers a unique multitouch interface for exploring and manipulating audio samples. Create music through various play modes, record gestures for sequencing, and experiment with audio effects. It's designed for audio experimentation, composition, and live performance.

Highlights
  • 8 distinct play modes (Slicer, Looper, Granular, etc.)
  • Gesture recorder for sequencing
  • Audio input recording and resampling
  • 6 sample slots with 16 voices each
  • 5 per-sample effects (Distortion, Reverb, etc.)
  • Import audio from cloud storage and other apps
Read full description

The app used by renowned musicians like Fred again.., Richard Devine, Apparat, Weval or Matmos live and in the studio. Samplr introduced a brand new way to make music, only possible on multitouch devices. Explore the samples melody and texture using the different play modes and create compositions with the gesture recorder. Samplr is the ideal tool for audio experimentation, music composition and live performance. USER REVIEWS “The most profound audio manipulation tool on iOS” 5 stars “There is NOTHING on the market hardware or software like this” 5 stars “Stunningly beautiful interface and exceptionally easy to use” 5 stars “This is the most musical app I've ever used. It's polished, it's musical, it's fun, it's inspiring” 5 stars “It’s the best realization of what touch screen sampling should be” 5 stars FEATURES • 8 play modes: Slicer, Looper, Granular, Tape, Scratch, Arpeggiator, Keyboard and Loop Player • Gesture recorder for sequencing • Audio input recording and resampling • 6 sample slots (x16 voices) • 5 effects per sample: Distortion, Filter, Amplitude Modulator, Feedback Delay and Reverb COMPATIBILITY • Ableton Link • MIDI Keyboard, Controller and Sync input • IAA (Inter-App Audio) • Audiobus Input and Output • WAV and AIFF file support • Import files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, AudioShare, etc Learn more and see how it works on samplr.net. For feedback or support please reach out to support@samplr.net

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Orphion at $3.99 against Samplr's $19.99. Orphion also leads on iOS requirement (7.0 vs 12.0). Samplr's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads 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

Orphion costs $3.99 and Samplr $19.99 up front. Orphion sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Samplr asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Samplr holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 149 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of Orphion's written reviews are positive against 79% of Samplr's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Orphion ships an update every 2 months, Samplr every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 2, 2026 and July 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Orphion versus Samplr: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrphionSamplr
Price$3.99 — better$19.99
Rating4.0 (31 ratings)4.7 (149 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.7% of reviews — better79.5% of reviews
Number of ratings31149 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS7.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBastus TrumpMarcos Alonso

Customer experience

Orphion

All ratings31 ratings
Positive71.0%
Neutral9.7%
Negative19.4%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive84.7%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.0%

Samplr

All ratings149 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral1.3%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews404 reviews
Positive79.5%
Neutral7.2%
Negative13.4%

User reviews

Orphion

From 31 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎵 Unique and expressive musical instrument design
  • 👍 Intuitive touch interface for playing music
  • 🎛️ Customizable pad layouts and configurations
  • 🔌 Works well as MIDI controller for other apps
  • 🎨 Beautiful, simple, and elegant user interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio crackling and distortion issues on recent iPadOS versions
  • ❌ App crashes and fails to launch on newer devices
  • 📱 UI rendering problems on iPad mini and newer iPad models
  • 🔧 Abandoned by developer - no updates or support
  • 🚫 Incompatible with latest iPadOS (18+)

Samplr

From 149 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and responsive interface
  • 🎨 Powerful sample manipulation capabilities
  • 🎶 Excellent for live performance and sound design
  • 💰 Great value for the price
  • 🎉 Inspiring and creative app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🔌 Lack of audio import/export options
  • 🔀 Difficulty with sample organization and management
  • 🔇 Missing features like panning, MIDI support, and AUv3

Bugs and requests

Orphion

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Audio crackling and distortion on iPadOS 18 and M4 devices
  • App crashes on startup with recent iPad OS versions
  • UI elements out of place on iPad mini
  • MIDI not working in AUM and other DAWs
  • Virtual MIDI instruments not detected when loaded as IAA
Show 9 more
  • App stops playing audio when iPad is closed
  • Bluetooth headphone connectivity issues
  • Orientation stuck on iOS 11+
  • Pad sensitivity issues after iOS 8 update
  • Velocity feature removed after forced Apple update
  • App crashes intermittently even after reboot
  • Incompatibility with newer iPad models (10.5 inch)
  • SoundCloud upload function non-functional
  • Forum support page returns errors

Requested features

15 requests
  • Recording and export functionality
  • Additional sound patches and voices
  • Custom scale and layout editor
  • Pitch bend and modulation wheel controls
  • AudioCopy/Paste support
Show 10 more
  • AirPlay support for wireless speaker output
  • More velocity increment options
  • Adjustable timbre per touch type
  • Finer sensitivity slider adjustment
  • Support for different scales (Dorian, Hijazkiar, etc.)
  • Sequencing and arranging features
  • iPhone version of the app
  • More pad layout options
  • CC support for different synths
  • Mono output option

Samplr

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Recording functionality not working as expected
  • Dropbox integration causing crashes
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Implement Ableton Link for better sync
  • Add support for more audio file formats
  • Improve sample import/export workflow
  • Introduce a more robust sequencing and automation system
  • Provide multi-channel audio output

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Orphion

One-time1
  • Orphion Editor$0.99
None

Samplr

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Orphion free?
Orphion costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Samplr free?
Samplr costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Orphion or Samplr?
Samplr is rated higher. Orphion averages 4.0 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Samplr averages 4.7 from 149 ratings.
Do Orphion or Samplr have ads?
Neither Orphion nor Samplr shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Orphion or Samplr?
Orphion ships an update every 2 months, and Samplr every 3 months. Most recently, Orphion was updated on August 2, 2026 and Samplr on July 25, 2026.

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