SameBoy vs Auto Shiny Counter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SameBoy
Experience classic handheld gaming with this powerful emulator. Enjoy accurate emulation, save states, controller support, and unique features like rewind and fast forward. Play your favorite Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles on your Apple devices.
- Accurate Game Boy emulation
- Save states with gesture support
- Controller support (MFi, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox)
- Fast forward, rewind, and slow motion
- Game Boy Camera and Printer emulation
- Interface themes
- No ads or tracking
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SameBoy is a user friendly, powerful and open source Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy emulator. Features: - World's most accurate Game Boy emulation core - Save states, with gesture support for quick saving and loading - Rumble support, even for games without a Rumble Pak - Play on your Apple Watch - A wide range of scaling filters - Game Boy Camera emulation - Motion controls emulation - Fast forward, rewind, and slow motion - Game Boy Printer emulation - Use cheat codes - Support for MFi, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox controllers - Interface themes - No ads, no tracking - A lot more! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sameboy.github.io/privacy/ SameBoy is in no way affiliated with Nintendo. Game Boy is a trademark of Nintendo.
Auto Shiny Counter
This app automatically tracks your shiny Pokémon encounters across various hunting methods like wild encounters, soft resets, and eggs. It offers a manual mode for flexible tracking and works on multiple Nintendo devices. Keep your shiny hunts organized and never lose count again.
- Automatic shiny encounter counting
- Manual tracking mode
- Supports Switch, 3DS, and more
- Organized hunt overview
- Tracks wild, soft reset, and egg hunts
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Tired of losing track during your shiny hunts? Auto Shiny Counter helps you stay focused on the grind by automatically counting your shiny encounters. No more guessing or tapping a button every time – the app does the shiny tracking for you. Core features: - Automatic shiny counter for wild hunts, soft resets, and eggs - Manual mode for flexible shiny tracking if you prefer to tap through your shiny encounters - Works across Switch, 3DS, and more - Clear overview of your shiny hunts in progress Whether you’re hunting legendaries, Masuda eggs, wild encounters or full odds shinies, Auto Shiny Counter is the shiny tracker you can rely on. Start your next shiny hunt with confidence, keep your shiny tracking organized, and never lose count again! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Auto Shiny Counter at fortnightly against SameBoy's every 4 months. SameBoy's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 67%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. SameBoy sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Auto Shiny Counter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for SameBoy against 4.6 for Auto Shiny Counter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 112 and 74 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of SameBoy's written reviews are positive against 67% of Auto Shiny Counter's.
SameBoy ships an update every 4 months, Auto Shiny Counter fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SameBoy | Auto Shiny Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (112 ratings) | 4.6 (74 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.1% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 112 — better | 74 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 109 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lior Halphon | Sebastian Hellenbrand |
Customer experience
SameBoy
Auto Shiny Counter
Bugs and requests
SameBoy
Reported bugs
12 issues- iPad portrait mode triggers menu on A button/Up arrow press
- Game Boy Camera crashes on iPhone 17 Pro Max when switching cameras
- Rewind function causes game data loss in some titles
- 200% and 400% speed boost settings don't work
- Cheats don't function properly for certain games
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- ROM import fails with .zip files
- GBA ROM files show 'not in ROM archive' error
- Auto-save/auto-load switches between emulator cores unexpectedly
- Turbo feature doesn't work without screen swiping
- Tips popup appears too frequently during gameplay
- PS4 controller recognized but non-functional in games
- ROM sharing from Files app doesn't always work
Requested features
18 requests- Game Boy Advance emulation support
- Cheat code functionality
- Multiplayer/wireless linking for Pokémon games
- Online multiplayer support
- Adjustable screen and button sizes
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Separate save/load toggle options
- Slow-motion feature (free version)
- Game Boy Printer output to photo gallery
- iCloud synchronization
- Retro achievements system
- One-time theme purchase option instead of subscription
- Apple Watch complication support
- Turbo button hold functionality
- ZIP and 7z file format support
- Fullscreen mode with scaling options
- Language selection for interface
- Super Game Boy border display
- PS4/Backbone controller improvements
Auto Shiny Counter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SameBoy
- Supporter$0.991 Month
- Supporter Plus$2.991 Month
- Supporter Premium$7.991 Month
- Lifetime Theme Access$4.99
- SameBoy for Apple Watch$4.99
Auto Shiny Counter
- Auto Shiny Counter Pro$2.991 Month
- Auto Shiny Counter Pro Yearly$22.991 Year
- Lifetime PRO$29.99
