Comparison

CONNECT vs PhantomGram

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CONNECT

Features
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The CONNECT-X app transforms your smartphone or wearable into a remote command mic, allowing you to roam freely around your vessel while managing communication, navigation, and emergency functions from anywhere onboard. With the app installed, you can access AIS data for enhanced convenience and safety, respond instantly to emergencies with MOB alerts and recovery locations, and stay informed of CPA, anchor drift, and inbound DSC messages. You can also maintain full control over VHF communications, including private or vessel-wide crew communications and PA system management.

About

PhantomGram

Features
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PhantomGram โ€” Paint the Airwaves Spectrum painting for amateur radio. Encode any image as audio and transmit it through your radio โ€” the picture appears directly on the receiver's SDR waterfall display. No special decoder needed at the other end. The image IS the spectrum. HOW IT WORKS Spectrum painting exploits the way SDR waterfall displays work. A waterfall shows radio frequency on one axis and time on the other, with colour representing signal strength. PhantomGram converts each row of your image into a carefully crafted audio signal where pixel brightness maps to tone amplitude and pixel position maps to frequency. When transmitted via SSB radio, the receiver's waterfall reassembles the picture automatically. TRANSMIT Select an image from your photo library or camera, or use the built-in test patterns (bars, gradient, checkerboard, concentric circles). Choose a resolution preset โ€” from QUICK (80ร—64, under 4 seconds) to SLOW (640ร—256, maximum detail). Adjust the frequency range with the dual-knob slider. The image is encoded automatically and a TX preview shows exactly what the receiver's waterfall will display. Tap SEND to transmit. RECEIVE Tap START and point your iPhone's microphone at a radio speaker or connect via audio cable. The live FFT spectrum shows incoming signal energy across the frequency band. Below it, a continuous waterfall display reconstructs the image in real time as it arrives. Adjust gain to brighten weak signals. Save decoded images to the built-in log for later viewing and sharing. FEATURES โ€ข Encode images as spectrum painting audio via inverse FFT with random phase โ€ข Adjustable frequency range (0โ€“10,000 Hz) with sensible defaults for SSB radio (200โ€“2,800 Hz) โ€ข Four resolution presets: QUICK, STANDARD, DETAIL, SLOW โ€ข Real-time receive decode with live FFT spectrum display โ€ข SDR-style waterfall colourmap (black โ†’ blue โ†’ cyan โ†’ green โ†’ yellow โ†’ orange โ†’ red) โ€ข Optional header tone for transmission synchronisation โ€ข Received image log with save and share โ€ข Phosphor CRT aesthetic โ€” green or amber display themes โ€ข Zero external dependencies โ€” pure Swift and Accelerate framework DSP โ€ข iPhone speaker and microphone โ€” no additional hardware required TYPICAL USE Connect your iPhone's headphone output to your radio's microphone input (or simply hold the phone near the mic). Tune your radio to an appropriate frequency, key the transmitter, and tap SEND. Anyone monitoring that frequency with an SDR receiver will see your image appear on their waterfall display. For receiving, tune your radio to the transmission frequency, connect the radio's speaker output to your iPhone (or use acoustic coupling), and tap START. FREQUENCY GUIDANCE โ€ข STANDARD (200โ€“2,800 Hz) โ€” fits within normal SSB audio passband โ€ข NARROW (500โ€“2,500 Hz) โ€” safe for most radio mic inputs โ€ข WIDE (200โ€“3,500 Hz) โ€” only if your radio passes full audio bandwidth โ€ข SSTV-FIT (1,500โ€“2,300 Hz) โ€” coexists with SSTV activity Part of the Phosphor suite, sister app to PhosphorRTTY and PhosphorCW, amongst others. REMEMEBR: TRANSMIT ON LICENSED FREQUENCIES ONLY.

Screenshots

CONNECT4 screens
PhantomGram4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CONNECT at Free against PhantomGram's $0.99. CONNECT also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

CONNECT is free to download; PhantomGram costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CONNECT ships an update every 2 months, PhantomGram every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 2 level
CONNECT versus PhantomGram: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCONNECTPhantomGram
PriceFree โ€” better$0.99
Update frequencyEvery 2 months โ€” betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better26.2
Further details โ€” not scored
Size68 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSRT Marine Systems plcStuart Woolley

In-app purchases

None

CONNECT

No in-app purchases

None

PhantomGram

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CONNECT free?
CONNECT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PhantomGram free?
PhantomGram costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do CONNECT or PhantomGram have ads?
Neither CONNECT nor PhantomGram shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CONNECT or PhantomGram?
CONNECT ships an update every 2 months, and PhantomGram every 6 months. Most recently, CONNECT was updated on September 29, 2026 and PhantomGram on October 7, 2026.

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