Comparison

Groovstik vs Hoverophone

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

Head to head
About

Groovstik

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Groovstik transforms your phone's motion sensors into musical instruments. Perform gestures with your phone to create music instantly — no musical experience or extra equipment required. Just movement and imagination. INSTRUMENT LAB — AI Instrument Creation Describe your dream sound in words and let AI generate a custom instrument for you. Choose from three instrument mechanics — Fluid for smooth melodies, Drums for percussive beats, or Mallet for bright resonant tones. Save your creations to your personal library and regenerate variations anytime. JAM MODE — Play Together in Real Time Connect with friends over WiFi and make music together. The host creates a session, players join by scanning a QR code, and everyone plays their own instruments in sync. Each player gets personal mixing controls and walks away with their own recording of the jam. LOOPER — Your Motion Music Studio Layer instruments to build complete tracks right from your phone. Choose between automatic rhythm detection or set your own tempo with the metronome. Mix each layer with volume and pan controls, overdub to add depth, and save sessions to pick up where you left off. Export your creations as audio for DAWs and streaming, or as video showing your layer-by-layer performance — perfect for social media and portfolios. PRACTICE ARENA — Learn by Playing Master your motion skills with interactive lessons. Watch a demo, then play along to songs. Earn up to 3 stars per lesson as you improve. Covers Fluid, Drum, and Mallet instrument techniques with real-time feedback and scoring. PLUG & PLAY Pick an instrument and start playing immediately. Your phone responds to every gesture: steer left and right to change pitch, tilt forward to control volume, hit for percussive strikes, and swing for shaker-like effects. A visual gesture guide helps you learn the controls in seconds. Every phone is an instrument waiting to be played. Download Groovstik and start making music now.

About

Hoverophone

This app reimagines the theremin for your iPhone, allowing you to play music by waving your hands in the air without touching the screen. It offers a polyphonic synthesizer with various sound options and microtonal capabilities for unique musical exploration.

Highlights
  • Air-based theremin playing with front camera hand tracking
  • Polyphonic synthesizer with multiple voice options
  • Microtonal keyboard with 12-TET or 24-TET quarter tones
  • Stack up to twelve notes by pinning voices
  • Continuous pitch glide and volume control
  • Fully offline functionality
Features
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Play a theremin in the air with your hands—no screen taps, controller, or antenna required. Hoverophone uses the front camera to follow your hands. Raise or lower a hand to glide the pitch, change the distance between your thumb and any finger to control volume, and move from side to side to pan the sound. Raise a hand and you are already playing that unmistakable, otherworldly theremin voice. A POLYPHONIC SYNTH Choose a sine, triangle, saw, or square wave, then add drive and ring modulation. Movement across the camera controls the stereo field. Hoverophone tracks up to four hands at once, so you can play chords instead of a single melody. Bring two sounding hands together to pin a note in place. Pinned notes continue to ring while you play, giving you as many as twelve simultaneous voices: four live and eight sustained. MICROTONAL NOTES IN THE AIR Leave the note grid off for the classic continuous theremin glide. Turn it on to snap the pitch to 12-TET notes or 24-TET quarter tones on an isomorphic hexagonal grid. Move your hand into a cell and the note lands in tune without touching the screen. The 24-TET mode opens the door to microtonal and xenharmonic music while preserving the instrument's in-air control. FEATURES - Front-camera hand tracking with no screen contact - Continuous theremin pitch or an isomorphic note grid - 12-TET and 24-TET tuning with quarter tones - Up to four tracked hands and twelve simultaneous voices - Four waveforms, drive, ring modulation, and stereo panning - Sound through the speaker or headphones, even in silent mode - No account required; plays without a network connection HOW TO PLAY THE THEREMIN A theremin is an electronic musical instrument played without physical contact. In Hoverophone, simply raise a hand in front of the camera. Move up and down to change pitch, open and close the space between your fingers to shape volume, and move left or right to place the sound in the stereo field. If you are learning how to play the theremin, start in continuous mode and practice smooth pitch glides. Switch to 12-TET when you want help landing on familiar notes, or choose 24-TET to play quarter tones and explore microtonal music. Hoverophone is a touch-free theremin app and polyphonic synthesizer app for iPhone and iPad, built for musicians who want expressive camera control without extra hardware. Camera frames are processed entirely on your device and never leave it. Hoverophone does not use the microphone. Create a soft ambient pad, build a dense drone, or summon the eerie sweep of a science-fiction soundtrack. For the most reliable tracking, play in a well-lit room where the camera can see your hands clearly.

Screenshots

Groovstik4 screens
Hoverophone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Groovstik at 5.0 against Hoverophone's 4.3. Groovstik also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 10 days) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). Hoverophone's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, ads 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. Groovstik sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $69.99 per year. Hoverophone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Groovstik holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Groovstik ships an update every 2 days, Hoverophone every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Groovstik versus Hoverophone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGroovstikHoverophone
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGuroLABMaxim Oransky

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Groovstik

Subscriptions1
  • Groovstik Pro Annual$69.991 Year
None

Hoverophone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Groovstik free?
Groovstik is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hoverophone free?
Hoverophone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Groovstik or Hoverophone?
Groovstik is rated higher. Groovstik averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Hoverophone averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Groovstik or Hoverophone have ads?
Neither Groovstik nor Hoverophone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Groovstik or Hoverophone?
Groovstik ships an update every 2 days, and Hoverophone every 10 days. Most recently, Groovstik was updated on October 25, 2026 and Hoverophone on October 24, 2026.

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