Theremin I/O vs neo Drone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Theremin I/O
Transform your iPhone into a touchless musical instrument using your camera and flash. Control sound generation by hand proximity, with options for scales, sound presets, and effects. An in-app purchase enables MIDI controller functionality.
- Touchless instrument control via camera
- Adjustable scales and harmony quantization
- Multiple sound presets with effects
- MIDI controller functionality (in-app purchase)
- Interactive tutorial overlay
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Play with light – Theremin I/O turns your iPhone into a touchless music instrument. It uses your camera and flash to measure the distance to your hand, this signal is then processed by a synthesizer to generate a tone. Features: • Old-school synthesizer • Constrain input to scales (harmony quantization) • 8 sound presets with effect controls • 50+ scale presets • Use as a MIDI controller (requires in-app purchase) • Learn fast with the tutorial overlay For more information visit http://theremin.io
neo Drone
This music app uses your device's camera to track hand movements, allowing you to control a virtual synthesizer without touching the screen. Explore a 2.5-octave range with legato and staccato modes, and use the touch area as a kill switch for unique vocal synth sounds.
- Camera-controlled pitch
- Touch-based kill switch
- 2.5 octave tonal range
- Adjustable light sensitivity
- Core MIDI support
- Legato and staccato modes
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neo Drone is innovative theremin like synthesizer. The pitch of the oscillators is controlled by moving your hand in the air without touching the device. The hand is tracked by the front face camera. Description video to see it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qACS_XJ_cg The algorithm behind was made by me on the second Music Hakathon in Sofia. You can control the range of the synth by adjusting the light sensitivity, but the app is not working in dark environments. The tonal range is 2 and a half octaves and you can play in legato and staccato mode. The touch area of the device is working as a kill switch so you can produce these talking synth sound. Features: - play without touching the device - kill switch - 2.5 octaves - adjust camera range with light sensitivity slider - core midi - so you can add USB midi keyboard to the show - nice and fat sound - visual color indicator for the playing note - legato and staccato mode
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Theremin I/O at 77% against neo Drone's 0%. Theremin I/O also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 10.0). neo Drone's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Theremin I/O costs $2.99 and neo Drone $2.99 up front. Theremin I/O sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. neo Drone asks for nothing beyond the download.
Theremin I/O ships an update every 24 months, neo Drone every 43 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Theremin I/O | neo Drone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 24 months — better | Every 43 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 10.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | FFFF00 Agents AB | Aleksandar Mlazev |
Customer experience
Theremin I/O
neo Drone
In-app purchases
Theremin I/O
- Network MIDI$5.99
neo Drone
No in-app purchases
