Comparison

FrobulatorAU vs PO

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

Head to head
About

FrobulatorAU

This audio effect plugin transforms sounds with spectral delay, adding unique character to music projects. It's a free and open-source tool designed for use in various audio applications, offering extensive creative possibilities.

Highlights
  • Spectral delay effect
  • AUv3 plugin
  • Use in GarageBand, AUM, and other DAWs
  • Multiple instances per project
  • Free and open-source
  • No ads or in-app purchases
Features
Read full description

Venerable inter-app audio effect Frobulator reborn — at long last — as an AUv3 plugin. Use it in GarageBand, AUM or your favourite audio application. Add multiple instances in the same project. Drag your frobulation kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Frobulator is a spectral delay effect. It makes your noises a little bit stranger. Twiddle the knobs to find something you like, or don't and throw it away. No-one will hold it against you. Frobulator is free as in beer and free as in speech. Freer, probably, given the state of both those things these days. No ads, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, no surveillance, no nag screens. If you happen to be one of the 6 people who asked for this, rejoice! If you aren't, now's your chance to discover what you've been missing all this time. Or not. I'm not the boss of you.

About

PO

Design and edit drum sounds, kits, and patterns for Teenage Engineering's PO-32 Tonic. Transfer your creations to the device via audio. Back up and edit existing sounds, and import/export patches from Microtonic.

Highlights
  • Shape 16 sounds with 21 synth parameters
  • Program 16-step patterns with accents
  • Send kits, sounds, or patterns via audio
  • Back up and decode PO-32 data dumps
  • Import/export Microtonic patches
  • Local library with tags and favorites
Features
Read full description

PO-PatchStudio designs drum sounds, kits and patterns for Teenage Engineering's PO-32 Tonic, then sends them to your Pocket Operator over sound. Free, with no ads and no account. The PO-32 has no USB data connection. It loads new sounds the way an old modem does, by listening through its microphone. So this app does the fiddly part on a proper screen: build a kit, hold your phone next to the PO-32 and press play. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Shape all 16 sounds with the full set of 21 synth parameters, plus both ends of the morph - Program 16-step patterns on the pads, with accents, and hear them before you send - Send a whole kit, a single sound or a pattern to the PO-32 over audio - Back up your PO-32: record its data dump through the microphone and the app decodes it into a kit you can edit - Import Microtonic .mtdrum and .mtpreset patches, including files from older versions of Microtonic, and export your sounds back out - Keep kits, sounds and patterns in a local library with tags and favourites WORKS WITH - PO-32 Tonic - Also sends drum sounds to the PO-35 Speak's built-in Tonic channel HOW TRANSFER WORKS Put the PO-32 in receive mode (press acc + sound), turn your phone's volume up and play the transfer into the PO-32's mic. To back up, start recording in the app, then hold write and press sound on the PO-32. Previews come from an open-source recreation of the PO-32's synth, so they sound close to the hardware but not identical. Once a sound is on the PO-32, it plays through the device's own engine. A NOTE FROM ME I'm a solo developer and a PO-32 owner. PO-PatchStudio stands on the open-source libpo32 library by Eric Lewis and years of reverse-engineering by the Pocket Operator community, which is why it's free. If something is missing or broken, tell me. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Teenage Engineering AB or NuEdge Development AB. Pocket Operator, PO-32 and Tonic are trademarks of Teenage Engineering AB. Microtonic is a trademark of NuEdge Development AB.

Screenshots

FrobulatorAU1 screens
PO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PO at every 2 days against FrobulatorAU's every 9 days. PO also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). FrobulatorAU's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for FrobulatorAU against 5.0 for PO. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FrobulatorAU has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FrobulatorAU ships an update every 9 days, PO every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
FrobulatorAU versus PO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFrobulatorAUPO
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew CaldwellPhoton Consulting Limited

Customer experience

FrobulatorAU

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PO

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

In-app purchases

None

FrobulatorAU

No in-app purchases

None

PO

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FrobulatorAU free?
FrobulatorAU is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PO free?
PO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FrobulatorAU or PO?
FrobulatorAU and PO are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do FrobulatorAU or PO have ads?
Neither FrobulatorAU nor PO shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FrobulatorAU or PO?
FrobulatorAU ships an update every 9 days, and PO every 2 days. Most recently, FrobulatorAU was updated on October 1, 2026 and PO on October 11, 2026.

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