MidiWrist Unleashed vs Thereminator 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MidiWrist Unleashed
Transform your Apple Watch into a standalone MIDI controller. Directly connect to Bluetooth LE MIDI devices without your iPhone, offering tactile control with haptic feedback and the digital crown. Customize knobs, buttons, and pages for a personalized music production experience.
- Standalone Apple Watch MIDI controller
- Direct Bluetooth LE MIDI connection
- Digital Crown control with haptic feedback
- Configurable knobs, buttons, and pages
- Transport control for DAWs
- Motion data transmission
- Save and manage presets
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MidiWrist Unleashed turns your Apple Watch into a standalone MIDI controller that directly connects to any advertised Bluetooth LE MIDI device, without the need of your iPhone or any other proxy. The tactile feel of the digital crown combined with haptic feedback, gives you control over any MIDI device by touching your wrist, even when you're not looking. MidiWrist Unleashed makes no sound on its own and can't advertise itself as a Bluetooth LE MIDI device. NOTE: The reliability of Bluetooth LE MIDI support in hardware devices varies. MidiWrist Unleashed was tested with iPhone, iPad, Mac and CME WIDI devices. We can't guarantee the connection stability nor MIDI message latency with other devices. IMPORTANT: MidiWrist Unleashed can only connect to Bluetooth MIDI devices, and doesn't support Siri commands. If you need to connect to other MIDI devices or use the Siri features, the original MidiWrist app is still available with those features. Features: • Standalone MIDI controller for your Apple Watch • Fully configurable on your Watch, no external app is required • Watch face complication to launch the app straight from your watch face • Any number of knobs can be controlled with the Digital Crown • Macro control over multiple MIDI parameters from the Digital Crown • Remotely Play / Stop / Pause / Record / Rewind / Fast Forward your DAW from your Watch • Knobs can be controlled individually or simultaneously • Knobs can be linked to preserve their offsets • Any number of buttons can be toggled by tapping the Watch • Buttons can either be stateful or momentary • Double tap to actuate controls on Apple Watch Series 9, Ultra 2 and later • Buttons and triggers can send a single CC or channel pressure value instead of switching between a minimum and a maximum • Pages can be created with any combination of controls choosing from buttons and knobs • Program changes through the Digital Crown or by tapping the Watch • Transport control over MIDI Machine Control (MMC) or Mackie Control Universal (MCU) • Scrub transport with the Digital Crown • Save / Undo / Redo / Toggle Cycle / Toggle Click / Enter through MCU • XY pad with individual messages for each axis • Stepper panel to step through MIDI values with plus and minus buttons, accelerating as you hold • Motion data (pitch, roll, yaw, acceleration) can be sent in real time • Trigger thresholds for motion data to send discrete messages instead of a continuous stream • Configurable accelerometer range, so a strong movement can be told apart from an ordinary one when you wear the watch somewhere other than your wrist • Optional haptic feedback • Configurable colors for all knobs, buttons and panels • Configurable labels for knobs, buttons and panels • Configurable MIDI channels and MIDI messages (continuous control, program change, channel pressure, note) • Create any number of controller pages you need • Delete and rearrange controller pages • Save your configurations to presets for easy retrieval • MIDI learn for easy controller configuration • Delete and rearrange presets • Connect to other Bluetooth MIDI devices • Low latency and fast response
Thereminator 2
This app brings the iconic theremin sound to your mobile device and computer. It offers touch-controlled virtual instrument capabilities with extensive sound shaping options and MPE support for DAWs.
- Touch-controlled virtual theremin
- AUv3 instrument plugin
- MPE protocol support
- Over 50 factory presets
- Virtual-Analog resonant filter
- Modeled tape delay
- 51 musical scales
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“I’ll be Bach.” Stop the presses! Load up the inkwells! For it's the return of one of the first — if not the first — instruments made for iOS: the infamous “pocket theremin” is back. A lot has changed since those heady days of 2008, and so has Thereminator. Although it is not made of T-1000 grade liquid metal (well...not yet), the all-new Thereminator 2 has evolved into a bona fide touch controlled virtual theremin with ample helpings of tone, expression, versatility, and technology. And it’s now an AUv3 plugin, too! Using a special adaptation of the MPE protocol, Thereminator 2 can inject its eerie sounds directly into your DAW, whether on your iPhone, iPad or Apple Silicon powered computer. Whether you have your plan 9 ready, or just lurking in dark shadows, it is a thrill to bring back the app that started it all for us. Thank Y’all for the support, for it’s been an amazing journey! :: Specifications :: • Touch-controlled Virtual Theremin • AUv3 instrument plugin included • Compatible with DAWs that are MPE friendly, including GarageBand, Logic, and Cubasis • Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon powered computers • Over 50 factory presets Sound engine includes, • 8 waveforms, including the original, unique Thereminator waveform • 8 octave frequency range • Special drive stage for fattening up the sound • Virtual-Analog resonant filter • Dedicated vibrato and tremolo operators with adjustable rate & amount • Portamento • Custom chorus / expander effect for big stereophonic sounds • Modeled tape delay capable of self-oscillation — plenty of vintage mojo • Vertical touch control for volume, filter, vibrato and tremolo Built-in touch controller includes, • Horizontal pitch and vertical expression control • 51 musical scales • Selectable musical key • Note Snap feature that can dial in any amount of glide between adjacent notes • Lock feature to preserve above setting during preset changes • Scrollable control surface with adjustable key size MIDI / MPE and other features include, • MIDI Learn • MPE • Can be used with regular MIDI keyboards on MIDI channel 1 (channels 2-16 are optimized for MPE) • Save & share unlimited banks and presets • Standalone app includes virtual “Tapedeck” for recording & sharing your creations
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Thereminator 2 at 4.7 against MidiWrist Unleashed's 4.2. Thereminator 2 also leads on price ($7.99 vs $14.99) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
MidiWrist Unleashed costs $14.99 and Thereminator 2 $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thereminator 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of MidiWrist Unleashed's written reviews are positive against 88% of Thereminator 2's.
| Parameter | MidiWrist Unleashed | Thereminator 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $7.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (6 ratings) | 4.7 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Uwyn, LLC | Yonac Inc. |
Customer experience
MidiWrist Unleashed
Thereminator 2
In-app purchases
MidiWrist Unleashed
No in-app purchases
Thereminator 2
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MidiWrist Unleashed free?
Is Thereminator 2 free?
Which has better reviews, MidiWrist Unleashed or Thereminator 2?
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