Amplipi vs VirtualFriend
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Amplipi
Control and amplify your whole-house audio system with multiple zones. Stream from various digital sources or analog inputs and route them to any zone in real-time. Expand your system to accommodate up to 36 zones.
- Multi-room/zone audio control
- Up to 4 simultaneous audio sources
- Analog RCA input
- Digital stream support (Spotify, AirPlay)
- Real-time zone configuration
- Expandable up to 36 zones
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AmpliPi™ is a multi room/zone home audio controller and amplifier made for whole house audio systems with many zones. It can play up to 4 simultaneous audio sources, each of which can be selected from either its analog RCA input or any supported digital stream (Pandora, Spotify, AirPlay, etc). Each source can be routed to one or more zones, all of which are configurable in real-time using the self-hosted AmpliPi Web App or its underlying REST API. It is expandable up to 36 zones using AmpliPi Zone Expanders.
VirtualFriend
Experience classic Nintendo Virtual Boy games in true 3D on Apple Vision Pro and iOS. This open-source emulator allows you to explore the entire official library and homebrew titles with customizable color palettes and flexible control options.
- 3D Virtual Boy experience
- Explore official and homebrew libraries
- Customizable color palettes
- Flexible control options (touchscreen, controller, keyboard)
- 3D title screen previews
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VirtualFriend: A new, open source Nintendo Virtual Boy emulator Relive the unique red-and-black world of Nintendo's most ambitious '90s console. Whether you're experiencing these classics for the first time or revisiting fond memories, VirtualFriend delivers the definitive Virtual Boy experience on Apple Vision Pro and iOS devices. Experience the Virtual Boy in high fidelity 3D on the Apple Vision Pro, or play on the go on iOS. - Explore the entire official library of Virtual Boy titles and the most popular homebrew with provided metadata and 3D title screen previews - Tired of red and black? Adjust the display's color palette between a series of presets, or choose your own colors - Play using flexible controls; either touchscreen, controller, or keyboard VirtualFriend is open source and available under the MIT license. Join the community, contribute back, or simply ask questions at https://github.com/agg23/virtualfriend Disclaimer: VirtualFriend is an independently developed, free, open source emulator. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Nintendo Co., Ltd. in any way. "Nintendo" and "Virtual Boy" are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Amplipi at none against VirtualFriend's 4. Amplipi also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 24 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). VirtualFriend's advantage is ratings volume (20 vs 1). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. VirtualFriend sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Amplipi asks for nothing beyond the download.
Amplipi holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VirtualFriend has 20 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Amplipi ships an update every 6 months, VirtualFriend every 24 months. The most recent releases landed on July 8, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Amplipi | VirtualFriend |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.8 (20 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 95.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 20 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 24 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MicroNova LLC | Adam Gastineau |
Customer experience
Amplipi
VirtualFriend
In-app purchases
Amplipi
No in-app purchases
VirtualFriend
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
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- Extra Large Tip$9.99









