Stria vs Phawuo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stria
This app is a multilevel interactive sound synthesizer that utilizes Frequency Modulation and Wavetable Additive techniques. It offers extensive control over oscillators, pitch grids, and effects, with support for various audio and MIDI connections.
- Multilevel interactive sound synthesizer
- Up to 240 FM or Wavetable Additive Oscillators
- Five Spectral Pitch Grid Generators
- MIDI Pad With Scale Grid
- Extensive effects chain (Doppler, Glitch Gen, Reverb, etc.)
- Snapshots Presets Morphing Pad
- Control Manager LFO for Parameters
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Stria is rated as a Killer App by Apps4iDevices. Multilevel Interactive Sound Synthesizer Idea and Csound-Orchestra by Eugenio Giordani “Stria” is the title of a very important composition by John Chowning and I would like to say that this computer music piece represents the manifest of Frequency Modulation technique applied to audio synthesis, invented by Mr. Chowning himself. + Audiobus and Inter-App Audio support + Up to 240 Frequency Modulation Oscillators or simple Wavetable Additive + Five Spectral Pitch Grid Generators (Geometric, Harmonic, Fibonacci, Scalar, Temperated) + MIDI Pad With Scale Grid + Effects chain: Doppler, Chopper, Glitch Gen, Sync Grain, Spectral Arpeggiator, FDN Reverb, Dynamic Compressor/Expander + Snapshots Presets Morphing Pad + Control Manager LFO for Parameters + Midibus, Virtual Midi and Network: 14 bit NRPN controllers + Capture Master Audio Output + File Manager, sharing common audio files via iTunes, Dropbox and AudioCopy + Post Fx Chain: Doppler, Chopper, Out Of Range, Sync Granulator, Spectral Arpeggiator, Reverb FDN, Dynamisc Processor + Bluetooth A2DP High Quality + etc...
Phawuo
Create unique bass sounds and effects with this virtual analog synthesizer. It offers "dirty" oscillators, a versatile filter, and a range of modulation and effects options for experimental sound design.
- Monophonic virtual-analog synth
- "Dirty" oscillators with two modes
- Distortion and feedback ring modulation
- 24 dB/octave state-variable filter
- Dual ADSR envelopes
- LFO modulation
- Delay, frequency shifter, and reverb effects
- Audiobus and Inter-App Audio support
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Phawuo is an experimental monophonic virtual-analog synth with "dirty" oscillators. Good for bass sound and effects. New in version 3: - OSC support - AUv3 - Available for macOS (as a separate version); presets can be shared across devices It features: - Two special oscillators. Each one has two modes playing more rough (though antialiased waveforms with inharmonicity in higher pitches) or "cheezy" sound. Plays sawtooth / square waveform and is capable of pulse width modulation. - distortion and feedback ring modulation for each oscillator - 24 dB/octave state-variable filter (LP-BP-HP) - two ADSR envelopes for amplitude and filter - LFO to modulate the frequency and pulse width of oscillators' waveforms - Effects section: two channels of delay + frequency shifter with feedback with some flexible routing. Also includes basic reverb - Precise parameter editing: tap and hold finger on the slider. - Audiobus support. Now you can stream live audio directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps! See http://audiob.us for more information. - Inter-App Audio support - Background audio support: enabled when connected to Audiobus and user switchable otherwise. - CoreMIDI support - virtual midi input
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Stria at 5.0 against Phawuo's 4.5. Stria also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 80%). Phawuo's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $9.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). 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
Stria costs $9.99 and Phawuo $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Stria holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 35 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Stria's written reviews are positive against 80% of Phawuo's.
Stria ships an update every 6 months, Phawuo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Stria | Phawuo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (35 ratings) — better | 4.5 (13 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.5% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 35 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | apeSoft | Alexey Nadzharov |
Customer experience
Stria
Phawuo
In-app purchases
Stria
No in-app purchases
Phawuo
No in-app purchases
