Comparison

Sonic Compass vs Slate

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

Head to head
About

Sonic Compass

Develop an innate sense of direction with this app that uses cognitive science principles and spatial audio cues to teach you the direction of North. It offers modes for active learning, ambient awareness, and silent haptic guidance, even working in the background.

Highlights
  • Develop a sense of North
  • Active inference learning mode
  • Ambient spatial audio awareness
  • Silent haptic vibration guidance
  • High-precision spatial audio
  • Pocket calibration for accuracy
  • Background operation
Read full description

Ever wished you had a natural, built-in compass? Sonic Compass is a revolutionary tool designed to help you develop a sense of the direction of North. Based on principles of cognitive science and predictive processing, our app creates a new sense of cardinal directions. You'll find yourself more oriented and aware, even when the app is off. KEY FEATURES: • LEARNING MODE: The core of the experience. Predict the direction of North after hearing a cue and receive instant spatial audio feedback. This "active inference" method is designed to build and reinforce neural pathways. You won't need to do anything except listen! • SENSE MODE: Experience a continuous, subtle spatial sound that indicates the direction of North. It’s an ambient awareness tool that helps you have a sense of orientation without looking at a screen. • VIBRATION MODE: For silent guidance. Get a gentle haptic pulse whenever you (or your phone) are facing North. Perfect for quick checks or keeping your phone in a pocket. • HIGH-PRECISION SPATIAL AUDIO: We dynamically generate over 120 unique sound positions to give you an incredibly accurate and smooth sense of direction—far beyond simple stereo panning. • POCKET CALIBRATION: Our smart offset tool allows you to calibrate the app for how you carry your phone, ensuring accuracy even when it's not held flat in your hand. • BACKGROUND AWARENESS: Sonic Compass works just as well in the background and it's compatible with hearing music, navigational guidance, and other sounds while the app is running. WHO IS THIS FOR? • Hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts who want to rely less on GPS. • People with accessibility needs. • Travelers and urban explorers navigating new cities. • Biohackers. Cyborgs. Superhumans? Everyone interested in using technology to develop a previously inaccessible sense. You won't just know where North is. You'll feel it.

About

Slate

Record your thoughts and receive on-device reflections and weekly summaries. This private voice journal keeps all your data on your phone, with optional encrypted iCloud backups. It offers a space for personal reflection without any external servers or analytics.

Highlights
  • Voice recording and transcription
  • On-device reflection analysis
  • Weekly summary of thoughts
  • Encrypted iCloud backup option
  • Offline functionality
  • No server or network calls
Features
Read full description

Speak your mind. Slate keeps it. Nothing leaves the phone. Slate is a private voice journal. Press record and say what's on your mind. The transcript is made on your phone, filler out, paragraphs in, your words untouched underneath. Every entry gets a title, the sentence that says what happened, and the line that mattered, in your own words. Tags for what it was about, who was in it, and where you were. Tap a tag and every entry that carries it lines up. Search your journal by word, person or place. It is all here and it is all yours. On Sunday the week comes back to you. What repeated, what shifted, in your own words. And when the journal knows something, it says so plainly: the first time you mention someone in weeks, or how often a thing has come up this month. All on device. It never leaves the phone. There is no server, no account, no analytics, no network calls. The privacy label reads "Data Not Collected" because there is nothing to collect. Turn on airplane mode; everything still works. It always will. If you want a backup, optional encrypted iCloud backup is there in Settings. Off until you say so, private to your own account either way. No streaks. No scores. No chatbot. A private place to think. Slate is a subscription, monthly or yearly, after a one month free trial. A one-time lifetime purchase is also available. Prices are shown in the app before you pay. Terms: https://hsla0001.com/terms/slate Privacy: https://hsla0001.com/privacy/slate

Screenshots

Sonic Compass1 screens
Slate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sonic Compass at none against Slate's 2. Sonic Compass also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Slate's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 13 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Slate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Sonic Compass asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Sonic Compass against 5.0 for Slate. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Slate has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sonic Compass ships an update every 13 months, Slate every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sonic Compass versus Slate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSonic CompassSlate
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAudD, LLChsla0001

Customer experience

Sonic Compass

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Slate

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Sonic Compass

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Slate

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • Yearly1 Month trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Sonic Compass free?
Sonic Compass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Slate free?
Slate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sonic Compass or Slate?
Sonic Compass and Slate are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do Sonic Compass or Slate have ads?
Neither Sonic Compass nor Slate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sonic Compass or Slate?
Sonic Compass ships an update every 13 months, and Slate every 2 days. Most recently, Sonic Compass was updated on October 20, 2026 and Slate on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons