Comparison

Arpie vs Rhythm Ace

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

Head to head
About

Arpie

This app transforms bouncing balls into a musical experience. Place balls of varying heights to create unique melodies and rhythms. It's an intuitive way for anyone to explore music creation.

Highlights
  • Bouncing ball music generation
  • Adjustable ball height for melody
  • Create musical sequences
  • Intuitive music creation
  • Variety of musical patterns
Features
Read full description

Bouncing balls turn into music! Arpie is a novel musical app that allows anyone to enjoy music. Put balls as many as you like, them watch them playing a beautiful melody. Higher balls hit the keys with long pauses, and lower ones hit them fast and repeatedly. By combining them, you can easily create a wide variety of musical sequences.

About

Rhythm Ace

This app is a faithful simulator of a vintage 1967 drum machine, recreating its authentic analog sounds and rhythm presets. It allows for real-time synthesis of percussion, pattern layering, and individual voice muting for unique groove creation.

Highlights
  • Faithful vintage drum machine simulation
  • Real-time synthesized analog sounds
  • 16 classic rhythm presets
  • Authentic pattern combining
  • Individual voice cancel controls
  • Precision tempo control
Features
Read full description

Rhythm Ace is a faithful simulator of the Ace Tone FR-1 — one of the earliest consumer drum machines, built in Japan in 1967 and the ancestor of the legendary Roland rhythm machines. Every sound is synthesized in real time using classic transistor-style audio circuits — no samples, no loops. Just pure, characterful analog-era percussion the way it was meant to sound. Eight synthesized voices Bass Drum · Snare · Low Conga · High Conga · Cymbal · Claves · Cowbell · Maracas 16 classic rhythm presets Waltz, Bossa Nova, Samba, Rock, Swing, Foxtrot, and more — all faithfully recreated from the original FR-1 diode matrix. Authentic pattern combining Select multiple rhythm buttons to layer patterns exactly like the original hardware — the diode matrix OR-combines their steps, letting you build complex grooves from simple presets. Voice cancel controls Mute individual instruments on the fly with the dedicated cancel buttons, just like the original panel. Precision tempo control Large rotary knob for natural, tactile BPM adjustment. Sample-accurate scheduling Built on a lookahead audio clock for tight, rock-solid timing — no drift, no jitter. Whether you're a vintage gear enthusiast, a music producer hunting for retro textures, or just curious what the dawn of the drum machine sounded like, Rhythm Ace brings a slice of music history to your iPhone.

Screenshots

Arpie3 screens
Rhythm Ace1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Arpie at 93% against Rhythm Ace's 0%. Arpie also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (10 vs 1). Rhythm Ace's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 97 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Arpie holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arpie has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Arpie's written reviews are positive against 0% of Rhythm Ace's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Arpie ships an update every 97 months, Rhythm Ace every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Arpie versus Rhythm Ace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArpieRhythm Ace
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (10 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews92.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 97 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKeijiro TakahashiTero Aarnio

Customer experience

Arpie

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive92.5%
Neutral7.5%
Negative0.0%

Rhythm Ace

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Arpie

No in-app purchases

None

Rhythm Ace

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arpie free?
Arpie is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rhythm Ace free?
Rhythm Ace is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Arpie or Rhythm Ace?
Arpie is rated higher. Arpie averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Rhythm Ace averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Arpie or Rhythm Ace have ads?
Neither Arpie nor Rhythm Ace shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Arpie or Rhythm Ace?
Arpie ships an update every 97 months, and Rhythm Ace every 2 months. Most recently, Arpie was updated on October 19, 2026 and Rhythm Ace on October 8, 2026.

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