ab Phaser X vs ihapiNES
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ab Phaser X
This music app offers a versatile phase modulator with 2 to 12 stages. Customize sweeps with controls for rate, depth, frequency, and feedback. Adjust loudness and blend for your final sound.
- 2 to 12 stage phase modulation
- Rate control (DAW sync or 0.001Hz-10Hz)
- Depth, Frequency, and Feedback controls
- Gain and Mix controls for loudness and blend
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'ab Phaser X' is a phase modulator featuring from 2 to 12 stages. With 'ab Phaser X' you can control the rate of your phase, whether it's synced to your DAW's BPM or freely from 0,001Hz all the way to 10Hz. Depth, Frequency and Feedback controls help you customise your phase sweeps further and finally, a Gain and Mix control will allow you to control the loudness and the blend of the final Phaser.
ihapiNES
Create chiptune music with a pocket-sized groovebox. Emulates classic NES sounds with four tracks for bass, voices, and drums. Offers hands-on sequencing, performance effects, and MIDI input.
- Four-track sound engine (bass, 2 voices, drums)
- Realistic NES emulation for authentic chip sounds
- Hands-on sequencing with live recording
- Performance effects like arpeggios and vibrato
- Standalone app and AUv3 instrument
- MIDI input for external control
- Ableton Link for network jamming
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ihapiNES — Hardware roots. Pocket chiptunes. Built upon the original battery-powered Twisted Electrons hapiNES, ihapiNES brings the little hardware groovebox to your iPhone—built directly from its original firmware, with its distinctive chip sound and hands-on sequencing intact. Its sound engine draws on a realistic NES emulation core for more authentic triangle and pulse tones, bringing extra detail and character to that unmistakable NES sound. Triangle bass, two square-wave voices and a punchy drum track come together in a pocket-sized playground for melody and rhythm. Shape your sound with arpeggios, pulse-width tweaks and vibrato, then bring it to life with slides, swing and playful performance effects. Start with 16 factory grooves, from spacious melodies to busy chip jams. Write each track step by step, record notes live, or chain patterns and key changes into evolving arrangements. Build a beat, find a bassline and let the little square waves sing. Play standalone or load ihapiNES as an AUv3 instrument in your favourite host. Each plugin instance keeps its own patterns and sound settings, with optional host transport following and independent Run control. • Four tracks: triangle bass, two square voices and drums • 16 editable patterns with slides, swing and live recording • Pattern chaining and recorded key changes • Arpeggios, vibrato, pulse-width control and performance effects • Kick drums, snares, hats, toms, crashes and quirky effects • MIDI input: play the selected track or address each voice separately • Standalone app and AUv3 instrument, designed exclusively for iPhone • Floating-point mixing with extra headroom and warm volume-knob saturation • Tactile haptic feedback in standalone mode • Ableton Link for jamming with apps and devices on the same network • Life slider for live rhythmic variations without rewriting your patterns • Illustrated playing guide and printable cheat sheet Your little chip music machine—reborn for iPhone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ab Phaser X at 5.0 against ihapiNES's 3.0. ab Phaser X also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). ihapiNES's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $5.99). 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
ab Phaser X costs $5.99 and ihapiNES $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ab Phaser X holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | ab Phaser X | ihapiNES |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alejandro Cabrera Zuniga | Twisted-Electrons |
Customer experience
ab Phaser X
ihapiNES
In-app purchases
ab Phaser X
No in-app purchases
ihapiNES
No in-app purchases









