Comparison

Hand Control vs Black Hole Sandbox

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

Head to head
About

Hand Control

Transform your hands into dynamic controllers for real-time visual effects. Create magic auras, energy blasts, and control swarms of swords with intuitive gesture recognition. Experience interactive visuals that respond instantly to your movements.

Highlights
  • Real-time hand tracking
  • Magic hand effects (aura, energy)
  • Sword and power effects
  • Particle and visual effects
  • Gesture-based interaction
Features
Read full description

Turn your hands into real-time magic effects with smooth hand control and tracking. Create aura, energy, and anime-style visual effects, or control thousands of flying swords — all reacting instantly to your movement. Just open the camera and start. Your hands become the controller for dynamic, interactive visuals. [ Powerful Hand Control Features ] *** Real-Time Hand Tracking Use your camera to detect hand and finger movement instantly with smooth and responsive tracking. *** Magic Hand Effects Create aura, energy, and glowing visual effects directly from your hands. *** Sword and Power Effects Control thousands of flying swords and create powerful, dynamic visuals. *** Particle and Visual Effects Trigger smooth particle animations and real-time visual effects that respond to movement. *** Gesture-Based Interaction Different hand movements trigger different effects using real-time hand control. UNLIMITED ACCESS MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION • You can subscribe to all features within Mix Beats Music - Full Mods for unlimited access. • Subscriptions are billed weekly, monthly, or yearly at the rate selected depending on the subscription plan. • You can cancel your subscription via this URL: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 Privacy Policy: https://mobile-smart-growth.web.app/ Terms of Use: https://mobile-smart-growth.web.app/term-of-use.html

About

Black Hole Sandbox

Features
Read full description

A realistic black hole, in the palm of your hand. Black Hole Sandbox gives you a scientifically accurate black hole, ray-traced live on your iPhone. It traces light through curved spacetime using the equations of general relativity: light that comes too close falls into the shadow, and light that passes nearby bends around it. The galaxy behind stretches into arcs, the far side of the disc lifts above and below the shadow, and a thin ring of photons wraps its edge. Orbit it, zoom in, and watch the light bend as you move around it in real time. TWO WAYS TO SEE IT • In-app 3D: set it against a whole galaxy or a field of stars, and watch the lensing bend everything behind it as you orbit around it. • In augmented reality: the star of the show! Put it in your living room, sit it on a table, and walk around it as it warps your room behind it. DESIGN YOUR OWN Go beyond realism and let's see your creativity! Free, to get you started: • Shape and disc: start grounded. Set the size of the shadow, how bright the photon ring burns and how far its glow reaches, and the gap, width and tilt of the accretion disc. • Presets: twelve come built in, and you can save as many of your own as you like. Unlock the full designer with a single one-time purchase. No subscription. • Color and light: dial it up a notch. Choose from 37 palettes of single and dual color combos, or pick your own inner and outer colors, and set how brightly the disc glows. • Texture: wrap the disc in 14 dynamic textures, from smooth swirls and drifting wisps to bands, clumps and cells. Set their strength and detail, spin the disc faster or slower, and add wind to curl the swirls tighter toward the center. • Facets: break the disc into 14 geometric patterns, like triangles, diamonds, scales, spirals and gems, then set the size of the cells and how fast they turn to create a shimmer. • Emojis: feed it your favorite emojis and watch a swarm of them orbit the shadow, glowing as they go. Change their size, density, and how they tumble. • Photos: make one of your own photos the accretion disc and watch it spin around the abyss. Bought Black Hole Sandbox before it was free? The full designer is already yours. Build either a realistic black hole or one that could never exist, then set it on your coffee table.

Screenshots

Hand Control4 screens
Black Hole Sandbox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Black Hole Sandbox at none against Hand Control's 2. On price, update cadence, 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. Hand Control sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Black Hole Sandbox asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Hand Control versus Black Hole Sandbox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHand ControlBlack Hole Sandbox
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.4 (86 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews4.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings86 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB7 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperMobile Smart GrowthTim Corin

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hand Control

Subscriptions2
  • Hand Control Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Hand Control Yearly Subscription$19.991 Year
None

Black Hole Sandbox

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hand Control free?
Hand Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Black Hole Sandbox free?
Black Hole Sandbox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hand Control or Black Hole Sandbox have ads?
Neither Hand Control nor Black Hole Sandbox shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hand Control or Black Hole Sandbox?
Hand Control ships an update fortnightly, and Black Hole Sandbox fortnightly. Most recently, Hand Control was updated on November 5, 2026 and Black Hole Sandbox on October 31, 2026.

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