HEXBEAT vs AirPianoPro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HEXBEAT
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Make music like a pro — right from your iPhone or iPad. HEXBEAT is a fully-featured iOS synthesizer and beat machine for musicians, producers, and beatmakers who want studio-quality sound in their pocket. No samples, no imports — every sound is generated in real time using advanced audio synthesis. STEP SEQUENCER Build rhythmic patterns with a 16-step grid sequencer and 8 programmable drum tracks including kick, snare, hi-hat, clap, 808 bass, tom, and cymbal. Fine-tune your groove with BPM control from 60–200 and swing up to 100%. Save up to 64 patterns across 8 banks and 8 slots each. SYNTH PAD Play melodies with a responsive XY touch pad. Choose from 8 musical scales including Major, Minor, Dorian, Pentatonic, and more. Slide your finger to control filter brightness and pitch simultaneously — up to 5 simultaneous notes for expressive, real-time performance. POWERFUL SOUND SYNTHESIS Shape your sound with 6 oscillator types (Sine, Square, Sawtooth, Triangle, Noise, Super Saw), full ADSR envelopes for amplitude and filter, a resonant low-pass biquad filter, and a 4-waveform LFO with destinations including pitch, cutoff, volume, pan, and PWM. 8-CHANNEL MIXER Mix your tracks withper-channel volume faders, pan control, mute/solo buttons, reverb and delay sends, and real-time peak meters. A master channel with limiter keeps your mix clean and loud. BUILT-IN FX RACK Add depth and character with Reverb (5 room presets from Small Room to Cathedral), Delay with tempo sync, multi-preset Distortion, and a 10-band parametric EQ. BUILT FOR LOW LATENCY HEXBEAT runs at 44.1kHz with 32-bit internal processing and configurable buffer sizes down to 128 samples — delivering under 10ms latency for live performance feel. Whether you're sketching beats on the subway, performing live on stage, or producing tracks at home, HEXBEAT gives you the tools to create. Compatible with iPhone and iPad.
AirPianoPro
This app transforms your hands into a virtual piano, using your device's camera to detect gestures and create music without any touch input. Explore a vast library of instruments, customizable layouts, and studio effects to compose and record your own songs.
- Hand gesture to sound conversion
- 128 HD instruments
- Customizable note grid
- Multiple finger modes
- Built-in studio effects
- 4-track looper
- MIDI export
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Play music in thin air. Air Piano Pro uses your camera to track your hands in real time and turn gestures into sound. No touch required. Just hold up your hands and play. YOUR HANDS ARE THE INSTRUMENT The camera detects your fingers and maps them to a customizable note grid. Left hand glows green, right hand glows cyan. Every movement becomes music instantly with ultra-low latency. Works on iPhone and iPad with no extra hardware needed. 128 HD INSTRUMENTS Full General MIDI library powered by a professional SoundFont engine. Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Violin, Cello, Trumpet, Saxophone, Flute, Synth Pads, Organs, Guitars, Bass, and over 100 more. Assign different instruments to each hand. Play bass with your left while your right carries melody on flute. 5 FINGER MODES All Fingers mode lets every finger trigger notes. 10 Piano mode maps each finger to a scale note like a real keyboard. 2 Touch and 4 Touch modes use your thumb to activate notes for precise control. 1 Pinch mode lets you pinch to play and also activates drum pads when the Drums instrument is selected. 6 MUSICAL SCALES Major, Minor, Pentatonic, Blues, Dorian, and Chromatic. Every note on the grid belongs to your chosen scale so it is impossible to hit a wrong note. Perfect for improvisation and beginners. CUSTOMIZABLE GRID Choose from 1 to 15 key columns and 1 to 12 pitch rows. iPad defaults to a 12x12 layout while iPhone uses 8x8. The grid spans from C-2 to the highest octaves with every cell labeled by note name and octave. Switch between Grid and Radial modes for completely different spatial layouts. 8 STUDIO EFFECTS Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Sustain, Distortion, Tremolo, Space, and Echo. Tap any pedal to toggle it on or off then adjust intensity with sliders. Stack multiple effects to create lush atmospheric soundscapes or keep it clean and direct. 4-TRACK LOOPER Record loops with BPM control across 4 independent tracks. Tap to record, tap again to stop and loop. Long press for overdub. Layer bass, chords, melody, and percussion to build complete arrangements. FULL SEQUENCER Timeline view with drag to edit notes. Double tap to copy, drag out to delete. Each track gets its own instrument. Save and load projects to continue working on your music anytime. RECORDING AND MIDI Record high quality WAV audio directly to your device. Export MIDI files with full note and velocity data. Enable MIDI output to control GarageBand, Logic Pro, or any DAW hands-free. CHORD MODE Single finger presses produce full chords based on your current scale. Play rich harmonic accompaniment with one hand while the other carries a melody. DEPTH ASSIST LiDAR and TrueDepth equipped devices get enhanced tracking accuracy in all lighting conditions. Standard camera tracking works great on all supported devices. VISUAL MODES Live camera feed, clean white or black backgrounds for stage performance, artistic face tracking effects, and 3D cube mode. Customize the look for practice sessions or live shows. FREE TO START Grand Piano and All Fingers mode are free for everyone. Pro subscription at 3.99 per month unlocks all 128 instruments, scales, finger modes, effects, looper, sequencer, recording, and MIDI output. PRIVACY All camera and audio processing happens entirely on your device. No data is collected, stored, or transmitted. No ads. No tracking. Safe for users of all ages. Air Piano Pro. Hold up your hands and make music from nothing but air.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: AirPianoPro at 16.0 against HEXBEAT's 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
Both are free to download. HEXBEAT sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and AirPianoPro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | HEXBEAT | AirPianoPro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 243 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gregory Hogan | John Briscella |
In-app purchases
HEXBEAT
- HEXBEATOTP$7.99
AirPianoPro
- Coffee$4.99
- Unlock All Features$4.99









