SMFPlayer Portable vs ARPJAM Studio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SMFPlayer Portable
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・Standard MIDI Fileを再生できます Standard MIDI File can be played ・Bluetooth-MIDI、またはUSB-MIDIで接続されたMIDI音源が必要です Requires a MIDI sound module connected via Bluetooth-MIDI or USB-MIDI ・複数のMIDI CHで作成されたピアノ曲をCH1だけで演奏する設定が可能です Piano songs created with multiple MIDI CHs can be set to play on CH1 alone ・お好きなStandard MIDI Fileを「ファイル」アプリ、またはMacを使って追加することができます Add your favorite Standard MIDI File using the “Files” app or your Mac ・Standard MIDI Fileはフォルダで作曲者・カテゴリーなどの分類分けすることもできます Standard MIDI File can also be sorted into folders by composer, category, etc.
ARPJAM Studio
This app offers a generative synthesizer experience focused on sound design without requiring keyboard skills. It allows users to shape waveforms, filters, and effects in real-time as music plays, offering a unique approach to music creation for those who enjoy sound sculpting.
- Generative arpeggios with multiple waveforms
- Probability-based drum generation
- Chord progression locking
- Real-time XY pad parameter control
- Assignable LFOs for dynamic sound shaping
- Play pad for layering live input
- Preset saving and sharing
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No sequence. No play button needed. An instrument that keeps going without you programming anything. Two generative engines invent phrases endlessly inside the scale and chord you choose. What you shape is not a song — it is a way of sounding. Move a control and the sound changes shape without ever stopping. Density, contour, filter, tape movement. It is built so that nothing you touch can break it. And you can play it. On the key pad or from a MIDI keyboard, right on top of the stream it is generating. What you play can be captured into the looper. Now your own sound can go in too. Record a bar into SAMPLE, the fifth machine, and chopping it up and rearranging it is the app's job. ■ Generate • Two independent arpeggio engines (waveform, filter, envelope, effects) • Eight arpeggio types, chord progressions, ten time signatures • BASS — a bass machine of its own (STEP / COMPLEXITY / OMIT / PATTERN) • Drum machine • Six LFOs, XY pad, performance FX ■ Slice (SAMPLE) • Record one bar from a mic or line input, with count-in and click • Record the app itself (ARP A / ARP B / drums), and overdub onto it • Load audio files — and the audio from a video file • Up to 32 slices, ordered by the same rules as the arps: direction, reverse, octave, probability, groove • STRETCH (on by default) — change tempo without changing pitch • Its own filter, envelope and delay / reverb sends ■ Play • On-screen key pad — always in scale • MIDI keyboard input (damper pedal, pitch bend, standard control changes) • One-bar looper that records how hard you played ■ Sound • Piano — three velocity layers, stereo, damper release • Electric piano — harmonics shift with how hard you strike • Kalimba, handpan and chime — struck metal, measured from the real instruments and synthesised • Waveforms (sine / triangle / saw / square) plus an acid filter • Delay, reverb, Glitch, Granular, overdrive • DRIFT / FLUTTER — tape movement on the synth voices and the live input alike • Concert pitch A=415–444 Hz ■ Connect • AUv3 plug-in — as an instrument and as an effect • Ableton Link, MIDI Clock, MIDI out • External audio input (line / microphone) • WAV recording and export One-time purchase. No subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SMFPlayer Portable at Free against ARPJAM Studio's $12.99. ARPJAM Studio's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks) and device support (4 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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
SMFPlayer Portable is free to download; ARPJAM Studio costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SMFPlayer Portable ships an update every 5 weeks, ARPJAM Studio every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SMFPlayer Portable | ARPJAM Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 84 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hiroshi Okawa | Takashi Tsunoda |
In-app purchases
SMFPlayer Portable
No in-app purchases
ARPJAM Studio
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SMFPlayer Portable free?
Is ARPJAM Studio free?
Do SMFPlayer Portable or ARPJAM Studio have ads?
Which is updated more often, SMFPlayer Portable or ARPJAM Studio?
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