Dots (Pixel Art) vs MPEdie
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dots (Pixel Art)
Create pixel art easily by selecting colors and filling dots. Share your creations directly to social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
- Pixel art drawing
- Color selection
- Dot filling
- Social media sharing
- Simple interface
Read full descriptionHide full description
Draw pixel art with Dots. If you are a pixel art lover, you shouldn't miss Dots! Dots doesn't have complex features. It totally focused on real pixel-art. Select a color and fill dots with it. It's so simple and easy! #DotsApp
MPEdie
This app is an expressive MIDI keyboard controller for mobile devices. It allows for detailed per-note expression, enabling unique sound manipulation. It can be used standalone or as an AUv3 plugin with other music applications.
- MPE keyboard controller
- Per-note MIDI channel control
- Four playing surfaces (Piano, Isomorphic, Ribbon, Scale Grid)
- Customizable expression matrix
- AUv3 plugin support
- Standalone operation
- 26 presets
Read full descriptionHide full description
MPEdie is an MPE keyboard controller for iPhone and iPad. It makes no sound: it plays whatever instrument you send it to, and it gives every note its own MIDI channel — so every note bends, breathes and changes timbre on its own. On an ordinary keyboard a bend moves the whole chord. Here it moves one note. APP AND AUv3 Run it standalone and send MIDI to other apps on the device, to Bluetooth gear or over Wi-Fi. Or load it as an AUv3 MIDI plugin in your host and route it straight to an MPE instrument. FOUR PLAYING SURFACES • PIANO — the keyboard your hands know. Sliding follows the pitch under the finger, not the width of the key. • ISOMORPHIC — a grid where a chord shape is the same in every key. Rows, columns and row interval are yours to set. • RIBBON — one continuous strip, nothing to land on. You choose how many semitones fit across it. • SCALE GRID — the same grid, with only the notes of the chosen scale. Nothing out of key by accident. Fourteen scales, any root, split the surface in two with its own layout and octave on the right. EVERY FINGER MOVEMENT IS ROUTABLE A matrix of seven destinations — bend, timbre, pressure, strike, lift and two free CCs — and eight sources: sideways glide, absolute or relative position in the key, contact area, force, time held, or a fixed value. Each link has a curve, a gain, an offset and an invert. And an honest answer about pressure: iOS glass does not measure how hard you press. It measures contact area. MPEdie can send that, and it says so instead of pretending — it is one tap away in the matrix, and the factory default is a gesture you can predict. BUILT TO AGREE WITH THE RECEIVER Lower, upper or split zones. Member channel counts. Per-note and master bend ranges. RPN sent to every member channel when your instrument needs it. Channel pressure or poly aftertouch. Any timbre CC. Channel stealing by oldest or quietest, with a cooldown. One button resends the MPE zone setup to an instrument loaded after you. UNDER THE HANDS PANIC that also lifts the pedal. Octave and key count. Four glide modes — continuous, snap, locked, per-note lock. Pitch, modulation and volume strips, with a spring you can switch off. Two assignable XY pads. Sustain, momentary or latching. Latch, with held notes drawn apart so a stuck note never looks like a played one. Bank select and program change, sent when you ask and never behind your back. TWENTY-SIX PRESETS Seven folders: keyboards, grids, ribbons, splits, scales, and a Targets family that answers the same question — what does the receiver actually understand? — five different ways. Save your own; they are plain files you can move and share. A FREE COMPANION FOR MAC AND WINDOWS MPEdie Desktop receives the iPad over the network and republishes it as a virtual MIDI port, so your DAW sees MPEdie in its list of MIDI inputs, exactly like a hardware controller. That is the point: an input gets recorded. Arm a track and the DAW writes down the per-note expression — every note's own bend, pressure and timbre — and plays it back. Nothing is installed on the iPad, and no driver on Windows. Free download from the developer's site. The full manual is inside the app. MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) is an open standard published by the MIDI Association and AMEI. MPEdie is MPE-compatible. Diego Capoccitti · 34Audiovisuals · www.diegocapoccitti.it
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: MPEdie at Free against Dots (Pixel Art)'s $2.99. MPEdie also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.4) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). On ratings volume, 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
MPEdie is free to download; Dots (Pixel Art) costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MPEdie holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Dots (Pixel Art)'s written reviews are positive against 100% of MPEdie's.
Dots (Pixel Art) ships an update every 3 weeks, MPEdie every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dots (Pixel Art) | MPEdie |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.4 (15 ratings) | 4.9 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | xiles | Diego Capoccitti |
Customer experience
Dots (Pixel Art)
MPEdie
Bugs and requests
Dots (Pixel Art)
Reported bugs
14 issues- Undo button doesn't work all the time
- Undo skips around in history
- App crashes on older devices
- Duplicate feature doesn't always work
- App cannot be opened after update
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Moving layer outside canvas loses work
- Merge layers undo loses a layer
- Fill tool issues (double tap)
- Picture disappears when moved
- Imported images are pixelated
- Exported images look fuzzy
- Saving to photo library lowers quality
- Line of pixels appears when zooming
- Internet connection required, otherwise crashes
Requested features
34 requests- Organize drawings into folders
- Eyedropper tool
- Copy and paste for layers
- Select colors from imported image
- Larger canvas size
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- Export file showing grid
- Animation support
- Custom image sizes
- Selection tool for moving parts
- Shape tool
- Adjustable grid or more grid sizes
- 256x256 size option
- Layer opacity for GIFs
- Brush tools with multiple widths and shades
- User input for custom grid dimensions
- Transparent background option
- Fill button
- 8x8 option for Minecraft
- Easier way to store favorite colors
- Number input for precise color selection
- Save to camera roll as PNG and GIF
- More export options
- Custom resolutions
- Direct export to Dropbox
- Key in color codes manually
- Eraser tool for transparent backgrounds
- 16x16 resolution option
- Save in GIF format
- Layer support
- Higher resolution export
- Toggle grid option
- Paint bucket tool
- Change pencil size
- More tools beyond pencil
MPEdie
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dots (Pixel Art)
No in-app purchases
MPEdie
No in-app purchases









