Therimax vs Polywave
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Therimax
Create music using hand gestures, the camera, or touch screen. No prior musical knowledge or physical contact is required. Experience the future of gestural music creation.
- Gesture-based music creation
- Camera input
- Touch screen control
- Magnet input
- No prior musical knowledge needed
- Intuitive hand-waving interface
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Therimax is a musical instrument designed for the iOS. Using the camera, a hand-held magnet, or the touch screen, Therimax allows you to create music without physical touch, without frustrating callouses or irritating music lessons, and without knowing a lick of music. All simply by waving your hands in the air. The era of gestural music is at hand!
Polywave
Create unique, evolving sonic experiences with a novel wavetable sequencer inspired by vintage synths. Draw your own waveforms, explore a vast library, and connect to external keyboards or DAWs. Record your creations directly within the app.
- Wavetable sequencer
- Custom waveform drawing
- Expansive waveform library
- 100+ factory presets
- MIDI and Audio Unit support
- Live recording module
- 8-voice polyphony
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From Fingerlab (multiple-time winner of Music App of the Week, 2012 Apple Design Award) and Jordan Rudess (keyboardist of Dream Theater), comes Polywave — a revolutionary wavetable sequencer synthesizer for iPhone, iPad & Mac. Inspired by the legendary Korg Wavestation, Polywave lets you draw your own waveforms with your finger and create unique, ever-evolving sounds that are truly yours. Draw your own waveforms directly on screen 100+ factory presets: leads, pads, loops & FX Connect any MIDI keyboard or load as AUv3 in your DAW Live recording built-in Free version includes 12 factory presets and a selection of core features. Get the Full Version IAP to unlock everything. Features: • 8-voice polyphony & 6 octaves • Wavetable & waveform sequencer • VCO & FM Oscillators • FM Modulation & Detune • ADSR Envelope editor • Moog Ladder filter with ADSR • 2 LFOs with custom modulation waveform • LFO Sync & Loop mode • Waveform drawing editor & library (100 waveforms) • Preset Randomizer & export/import • 5 FX: Tube Amp, Vibrato, Chorus, Delay & Reverb • Live recording & export • Full MIDI & MIDI Mapping support • AudioBus & Inter-App Audio (iOS) • Full AudioUnit AUv3 support • iCloud Family Sharing Questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: contact@fingerlab.net Stay tuned! The Fingerlab Team
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Polywave at 4.7 against Therimax's 4.2. Polywave also leads on ratings volume (34 vs 9). Therimax's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Therimax sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Polywave sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Polywave holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 34 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Therimax's written reviews are positive against 80% of Polywave's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Therimax ships an update every 2 months, Polywave every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Therimax | Polywave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (9 ratings) | 4.7 (34 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 34 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 3rd Street Productions LLC | Fingerlab |
Customer experience
Therimax
Polywave
In-app purchases
Therimax
- Banners Off$1.99
- Sound Effects On$1.99
- Enable Therimax as a Midi controller$1.99
Polywave
- Full Version$11.99
