Comparison

Fairbuds vs Deck

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

Head to head
About

Fairbuds

This app offers advanced audio customization and control for specific wireless earbuds. Tailor your sound with an equalizer, manage noise cancellation, and update firmware seamlessly. It prioritizes user privacy with zero data tracking.

Highlights
  • Five-band equalizer
  • Instant preset switching
  • One-tap firmware updates
  • Clear battery levels
  • Find your earbuds
  • Granular noise-cancelling control
  • Zero data tracking
Features
Read full description

Designed exclusively for the Fairbuds, Fairbuds 2, and Fairbuds XL, the Fairbuds companion app gives you full control over your listening experience without the digital clutter, bloated menus, or data harvesting. Sound tailored to your ears: - Five-band equalizer: Fine-tune your audio across five bands, or pick a curated preset to match your vibe. - Instant switching: Tap to jump between your favorite presets in real-time, right from the home screen. Always up to date, built to last - One-tap firmware updates: Get the latest performance upgrades, fixes, and features delivered directly over the air. - Clear battery levels: Check the exact charge of your headphones, individual earbuds and your charging case at a single glance. Do even more with the Fairbuds 2 - Find your earbuds: Misplaced an earbud between the couch cushions? Trigger an audible ring straight from your phone until it is back where it belongs. - Go granular with noise-cancelling: Switch between low, medium and high and take noise-cancellation control to the next level. - Three listening modes: Move seamlessly between active noise cancelling, ambient transparency mode, and off. Designed the Fairphone way - Zero data tracking: Your data is yours. The Fairbuds app collects no personal information, runs no background analytics, and simply does what it says on the box. - Easy on the eyes: Automatically adapts to your phone’s light or dark mode. - Made for repairable tech: Get access to repair guides, tutorials, spare parts, and more to keep your buds going. Download the app, connect your Fairbuds, and hear the difference.

About

Deck

Experience your music library with a nostalgic twist. This app transforms your device into a retro cassette player, offering a unique and immersive listening experience with authentic sound effects and playful interactions. Enjoy your favorite albums without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Browse albums as cassette tapes
  • Authentic mechanical sound effects
  • Classic playback controls
  • Support for Apple Music and local files
  • Ad-free and subscription-free experience
Features
Read full description

Deck-Man (formerly referred to as "duo-man") is a playful music player that brings the look, feel, and simplicity of classic portable cassette players to your iPhone Duo. Turn your phone into a retro cassette player. No ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases. Just your music, with a little nostalgia. A Cassette Player Reimagined: Open your phone, browse your favorite albums as cassette tapes, insert one into the player, and close it to start listening. The Little Details make that make it fun: Browse your albums as cassette tapes and load them into your player. Enjoy familiar play, pause, fast-forward, and rewind controls. Hear authentic mechanical clicks and cassette sounds recorded from a real portable cassette player. Enjoy playful interactions inspired by the original cassette-playing experience. Your Music Your Way Listen to your favorite albums with support for Apple Music and local music files. Buy Once. No ads. No Upsells. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. No interruptions. Deck-Man has been featured by TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and TechRadar for its imaginative take on the classic portable cassette player.

Screenshots

Fairbuds4 screens
Deck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Deck at 73% against Fairbuds's 13%. Deck also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.8) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 4 weeks). Fairbuds's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (18.2 vs 26.0). 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

Fairbuds is free to download; Deck costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Deck holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Deck has 221 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Fairbuds's written reviews are positive against 73% of Deck's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fairbuds ships an update every 4 weeks, Deck every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Fairbuds versus Deck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFairbudsDeck
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating2.8 (5 ratings)4.6 (221 ratings) — better
Positive reviews13.3% of reviews73.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5221 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#2 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.2 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFairphone B.V.Squircle Apps LLP

Customer experience

Fairbuds

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive13.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative80.0%

Deck

All ratings221 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative11.1%

In-app purchases

None

Fairbuds

No in-app purchases

None

Deck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fairbuds free?
Fairbuds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Deck free?
Deck costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fairbuds or Deck?
Deck is rated higher. Fairbuds averages 2.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Deck averages 4.6 from 221 ratings.
Do Fairbuds or Deck have ads?
Neither Fairbuds nor Deck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fairbuds or Deck?
Fairbuds ships an update every 4 weeks, and Deck every 6 days. Most recently, Fairbuds was updated on November 12, 2026 and Deck on November 13, 2026.

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