Comparison

R2 Touch vs Carvera Community Controller

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

Head to head
About

R2 Touch

This app serves as a remote control for R2-D2 replica robots equipped with specific receiver boards. It allows users to control various droid functions like dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds, and lighting. Users can upload their own sound files for playback and customize button commands.

Highlights
  • Control dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds, and lighting
  • Upload custom sound files
  • Programmable ASCII string commands
  • WiFi and serial output options
  • Customizable buttons
  • R2-D2 inspired interface
Features
Read full description

This is a remote control app for members of the R2 Builders Club. Apart from looking pretty, and playing sounds (if you upload them to the application), it doesn't do anything unless you are building an R2-D2 replica robot and have MarcDuino receiver boards (as described in www.marcduino.com and on my build log on Astromech.net). If you do, lucky you, it will allow you to control the dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds and dome lighting of your Droid in all sorts of interesting ways. You can see a demo of how it works with my R2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUod3LRQ1DI The app can run all the way down to iOS 8 on an iPhone 4S. The app doesn't include any sounds by default. If you want sounds to play directly from the app or through Bluetooth, you must upload your own sounds files to the App using iTunes. The sound files are typically the exact same you'd use in your remote sound system of the robot such as my MP3Trigger setup (described on www.marcduino.com). Commands, in the form of programmable short ASCII strings, are sent via the internal WiFi iPhone radio to a remote WiFly receiver. Alternately, the app also generates a 9600 baud serial output stream on the earphone audio port. This way you can send serial command to an external XBee transmitter radio for a more reliable link. You'll need a small level adapter board to use the audio serial capability, also on www.curiousmarc.com. Since you can customize most buttons and commands, you could also use this as a generic remote control app to send any short serial string via WiFi (to a WiFly radio fore example) or serial link (through an XBee). And with a spiffy R2-D2 inspired interface to boot!

About

Carvera Community Controller

Features
Read full description

This app is a community-developed CNC controller designed for machines that support G-Code. It allows you to connect your iPad directly to your CNC and manage your projects in an intuitive, touch-friendly environment. With this controller you can: • Send and monitor G-Code commands in real time • Start, pause, and stop jobs directly from your iPad • View progress and status updates while your CNC is running Because the app is based on an open-source project, it is not tied to any specific CNC manufacturer. Whether you’re using a desktop CNC, a professional workshop machine, or a DIY build, as long as your system is G-Code compatible, this controller can help you operate it more conveniently. This software is maintained by the community and is distributed as open source. You can find the source code, contribute, or learn more about its development at https://github.com/Carvera-Community/Carvera_Controller Please note: this is not official software from any CNC vendor. It is a community-driven project built to make CNC control more accessible on mobile devices.

Screenshots

R2 Touch4 screens
Carvera Community Controller2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Carvera Community Controller at Free against R2 Touch's $5.99. Carvera Community Controller also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 10 months). R2 Touch's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.6). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Carvera Community Controller is free to download; R2 Touch costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

R2 Touch ships an update every 10 months, Carvera Community Controller every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
R2 Touch versus Carvera Community Controller: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterR2 TouchCarvera Community Controller
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB108 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeil HutchisonCarvera Community

In-app purchases

None

R2 Touch

No in-app purchases

None

Carvera Community Controller

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is R2 Touch free?
R2 Touch costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Carvera Community Controller free?
Carvera Community Controller is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do R2 Touch or Carvera Community Controller have ads?
Neither R2 Touch nor Carvera Community Controller shows ads.
Which is updated more often, R2 Touch or Carvera Community Controller?
R2 Touch ships an update every 10 months, and Carvera Community Controller every 3 months. Most recently, R2 Touch was updated on November 1, 2026 and Carvera Community Controller on November 8, 2026.

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