CTRL’d vs The Grid
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CTRL’d
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CTRL’d is an easy-to-use magic app that brings your playing cards to life using augmented reality. Perform a stunning visual transformation where the face of a real playing card appears to digitally animate and change right in front of your spectator’s eyes. Simply show a playing card (for example, the King of Hearts) and turn it face down. When your phone is pointed at the back of the card, the app displays a digital version of the front that smoothly transforms into a different card, such as the Four of Hearts. The animation is clean, visual, and looks completely impossible in the real world. No sleight of hand. No special decks. No experience required. Just your phone and a regular playing card. Perfect for beginner magicians or anyone who wants an impressive visual effect that can be performed instantly. CTRL’d lets you look like you can control the digital world. Features: • Augmented reality card animation • Professional visual effect with no practice needed • Works with a normal playing card • Ideal for beginners and casual performers • Works offline — perform anytime, anywhere • No accounts, no ads, no tracking
The Grid
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The Grid is a magic app that will allow you to perform an INTERACTIVE MAGIC TRICK using images. You can perform The Grid on the phone of all your spectators at the same time, without limit of spectators. The Grid is ideal to amaze small or large groups of people on the real world and also is amazing for streaming platforms like zoom, meet, etc. Also you can perform The Grid on your phone, without an internet connection, showing your screen to a small group of spectators. Welcome to The Grid the INTERACTIVE MAGIC APP!
Screenshots
Verdict
CTRL’d and The Grid are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CTRL’d ships an update every 2 months, The Grid every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CTRL’d | The Grid |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 238 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | matthew wright | Javier Franco |
In-app purchases
CTRL’d
No in-app purchases
The Grid
No in-app purchases








