Chroma vs VirtualFriend
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chroma
Transform your Apple devices into a cinema-grade media player for your personal library. Enjoy direct playback of various formats, advanced audio and subtitle controls, and offline viewing. Experience immersive VR cinema on Apple Vision Pro.
- Plex, Jellyfin, Emby server integration
- Direct play for MKV and other formats
- Dolby Vision, HDR, and multichannel audio
- Picture in Picture mode
- Offline playback with resume
- On-device live subtitle transcription
- Immersive VR cinema for Apple Vision Pro
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Chroma turns your iPhone and iPad into a cinema-grade player for your own media library. * Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby — multiple servers, one beautiful app * Direct play for formats servers usually transcode, including MKV * Dolby Vision, HDR, and multichannel audio * Picture in Picture — keep watching while you do anything else * Downloads and offline playback that remember where you left off * Transcribe: on-device live subtitles for videos that have none * Subtitle styling, audio track selection, and caption timing control * Skip intros and credits (Plex Pass required by library owner) * Home Screen widgets and deep links straight into playback And if you have an Apple Vision Pro: Chroma is its premier personal cinema — immersive theater environments, AI 3D, spatial video, and VR180/360 playback, with the same libraries, picking up right where your iPhone left off. I am actively developing this app and want it to be one of the best choices for your enjoyment. If you have feature suggestions or run into issues, let me know via the contact link so I can make sure they are on my radar! ** Chroma Pass ** Chroma includes 4 hours of free watching. Chroma Pass unlocks the full experience — no watch limit. It's available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, each with a 7-day free trial, or as a one-time Lifetime purchase. Chroma Pass includes: * Removes the 4-hour free watching limit. * One subscription for every platform: Chroma Pass unlocks Chroma on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. * Monthly: $2.99 (7-day free trial) * Yearly: $29.99 (7-day free trial) * Lifetime: $59.99 one-time — yours forever, no renewal. * For the subscription plans, payment is charged to your Apple Account at the end of the free trial unless cancelled, and auto-renews unless you disable auto-renewal at least 24 hours before the end of the current period in your Apple Account settings. * The Lifetime purchase is a one-time charge and does not renew. Privacy Policy: https://snacksaftermidnight.com/privacy/ End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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 rating: VirtualFriend at 4.9 against Chroma's 4.3. VirtualFriend also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 61%) and ratings volume (21 vs 6). Chroma's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 24 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Chroma sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and VirtualFriend sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
VirtualFriend holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 21 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Chroma's written reviews are positive against 95% of VirtualFriend's.
Chroma ships an update daily, VirtualFriend every 24 months. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chroma | VirtualFriend |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (6 ratings) | 4.9 (21 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.1% of reviews | 95.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 21 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Every 24 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Snacks After Midnight | Adam Gastineau |
Customer experience
Chroma
VirtualFriend
In-app purchases
Chroma
- Chroma Pass - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Chroma Pass - Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Chroma Pass - Lifetime$59.99
VirtualFriend
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
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- Extra Large Tip$9.99









