Comparison

DC View vs Retro

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

Head to head
About

DC View

Features
Read full description

Experience the feel of a CD player with Apple Music. This app is a music player that lets you search and play Apple Music tracks with a CD player-inspired interface. Browse album artwork intuitively with Cover Flow, then play instantly or add tracks to your queue with a single tap. It is designed to work comfortably on both iPhone and iPad. Key Features Search Apple Music by song title, artist, or album Play, seek, and skip tracks with a CD deck-style player View and manage the Up Next queue Browse Recently Played, Recently Added, and recommended playlists Switch between deck styles (Classic / Neo Retro / Premium and more) Premium No ads Unlock all deck styles Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Requirements Apple Music access permission is required. An active Apple Music subscription is required for some features. Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://sleepy-ceiling-179.notion.site/DC-view-30bbcb0fb718803598e8f4899c547dda?source=copy_link

About

Retro

Features
Read full description

RetroAmp is a local music player for iOS that brings back the look and feel of early-2000s desktop music players. No streaming. No subscriptions. Just your music files, played on your device. === Features === ā–ø Classic UI Pixel-art sprites, monospaced fonts, scrolling titles, a real-time spectrum analyzer, and a digital clock display. The desktop music player aesthetic, rebuilt for iPhone. ā–ø CarPlay Support [NEW] Access your RetroAmp library in the car. Browse by Artists / Albums / Playlists / Radio with a full Now Playing screen. ā–ø Home Screen Widget [NEW] View your current playlist on your home screen. The widget reflects your skin's colors and frame. Tap a track to play it. ā–ø Full Local Playback Engine Lossless, gapless playback powered by AVAudioEngine. Supports FLAC / ALAC (M4A) / WAV / AAC / MP3 / OGG / AIFF. Imported files are stored at their original quality. ā–ø 10-Band Graphic Equalizer 10 bands from 60Hz to 16kHz with ±12dB range and preamp. Built-in presets included. ā–ø Hi-Res Output Supports up to 384kHz/32-bit. Connect a USB-C DAC to hear your files at their native quality. ā–ø Media Library Quick access via sidebar to Audio / Most Played / Recently Added / Recently Modified / Recently Played / Never Played / Top Rated / Podcasts / Video. Switch between grid view and list view. ā–ø Playlist Editor Add to queue, reorder with drag and drop, save as named playlists, jump to the playing track, shuffle, repeat. ā–ø Synced Lyrics (LRCLIB) Fetches time-synced lyrics from the open lyrics database LRCLIB. No account required. ā–ø Last.fm Scrobbling Automatically scrobble your listening history. Offline scrobbles are queued and sent when back online. ā–ø Custom Themes Import .wsz skin files to change the look. One slot available for free. === In-App Purchases === Free to use. Expand your theme slots with a one-time purchase: Lite ($0.99) – 4 slots Pro ($4.99) – Unlimited One-time purchases, not subscriptions. Family Sharing supported. === Privacy === No personal data is collected. All data stays on your device. Last.fm and LRCLIB integrations are optional. Support: haruhi@icloud.com

Screenshots

DC View3 screens
Retro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Retro at none against DC View's shown. DC View's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. DC View sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Retro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DC View ships an update every 4 days, Retro every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
DC View versus Retro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDC ViewRetro
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShota YamamotoKIYOUMI AGEMURA

In-app purchases

1 purchases

DC View

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly plan$1.991 Month
2 purchases

Retro

One-time2
  • Lite Skin Pack$0.99
  • Pro Skin Pack$4.99

Questions

Is DC View free?
DC View is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Retro free?
Retro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do DC View or Retro have ads?
DC View shows ads; Retro does not.
Which is updated more often, DC View or Retro?
DC View ships an update every 4 days, and Retro every 3 weeks. Most recently, DC View was updated on October 7, 2026 and Retro on October 2, 2026.

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