Comparison

HelloNav vs Hear the Light

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

Head to head
About

HelloNav

Features
Read full description

HaloNav turns your iPhone into an intelligent companion—combining LiDAR obstacle detection, AI scene understanding, and personalized outdoor navigation. Three systems. One seamless journey. How HaloNav Guides You Halo Shield | Obstacle Detection Real-time scanning up to 5 meters. Detects obstacles, overhangs, and drop-offs with instant voice, spatial audio, or haptic alerts. Runs entirely on-device. Works offline. Halo Guide | Outdoor Navigation Built for streets and open spaces. Save custom points of interest, record persistent obstacles for automatic warnings, revisit saved routes, and turn with precise angle guidance. Requires internet. Halo Vision | AI Scene Understanding Reads traffic lights, crosswalks, signs, and menus. Find specific objects on command—keys, seats, doors. Some features require internet. Better Together: How HaloNav Couples HaloNav's three systems hand off seamlessly as you move. Halo Guide plots your route. Halo Shield watches your step. At intersections, Halo Vision reads the scene. Near your destination, GPS fades—Halo Vision reads storefront text to pinpoint your exact arrival. Never a gap, never a guess. Your Way. Your Feedback. Choose voice prompts, spatial audio, haptic patterns, or layer them all. Fully compatible with VoiceOver. Built for accessibility from the ground up. Privacy First Core safety features run offline. Cloud features only connect when needed. You control everything. Compatible Devices Requires iPhone with LiDAR Scanner: iPhone 12 Pro / Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro / Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro / Pro Max. Join the Community TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@halonavglobal Youtube: https://youtube.com/@halonav?si=b9upEA4qqO2BGgmF

About

Hear the Light

This app transforms light into sound, enabling users to "hear" brightness and locate light sources. It's designed for individuals with vision loss, offering features like color recognition and vibration feedback.

Highlights
  • Light to sound conversion
  • Detects small indicator lights
  • Fast response time
  • Vibration feedback
  • Color recognition
  • Adjustable sensitivity
  • VoiceOver accessibility
Features
Read full description

Hear the Light turns light into sound, so you can "hear" where brightness is around you. It was designed from the ground up for people with vision loss. Point your device's back camera in any direction and listen to a tone that rises as the light gets stronger. This makes it easy to find a window, check whether a lamp is on, or tell if a device has an indicator light lit. What makes it stand out: It detects even very small device lights — such as the LED on a router, a TV on standby, or a charger. Of all the apps of this kind we have tested, it is the only one that reliably picks them up. For very faint lights, the room should be dark so they stand out from any other lighting. Extremely fast response: the tone changes instantly as you move the device, noticeably faster than other similar apps. Features: Vibration feedback with variable intensity, independent of sound: use sound, vibration, or both together. Ideal if you have trouble hearing. (Vibration requires an iPhone.) Colour recognition: hear the basic colour of a small light, for example red, green or blue. It is a helpful guide, with best results in a dark room, close to the light. Two sound modes: continuous tone or pulses. Three sensitivity levels, affecting both the sound and the vibration. Light intensity shown in lux (estimate), spoken aloud with a single tap. Built-in user guide. Fully accessible with VoiceOver. Two languages, Greek and English, adapting automatically to your device's language. Privacy first: It does not collect any personal data. No internet connection required. No advertising, no tracking. The camera is used only to measure light — it does not take or store photos. Note: the lux reading and the colour recognition are estimates based on the device's camera and may not always be exact.

Screenshots

HelloNav2 screens
Hear the Light4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Hear the Light at every 3 days against HelloNav's every 8 days. HelloNav's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HelloNav ships an update every 8 days, Hear the Light every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
HelloNav versus Hear the Light: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelloNavHear the Light
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size232 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer国斌 马Stelios Platsis

In-app purchases

None

HelloNav

No in-app purchases

None

Hear the Light

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HelloNav free?
HelloNav is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hear the Light free?
Hear the Light is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do HelloNav or Hear the Light have ads?
Neither HelloNav nor Hear the Light shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HelloNav or Hear the Light?
HelloNav ships an update every 8 days, and Hear the Light every 3 days. Most recently, HelloNav was updated on September 21, 2026 and Hear the Light on September 23, 2026.

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