Comparison

Retro vs Armpit

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

Head to head
About

Retro

Relive the golden age of music players with this app that mimics early 2000s desktop interfaces. Enjoy your local music library with advanced playback features, customizable themes, and CarPlay support.

Highlights
  • Classic UI with pixel-art and scrolling titles
  • CarPlay support for in-car listening
  • Home Screen Widget for quick access
  • Lossless, gapless local playback engine
  • 10-band graphic equalizer
  • Hi-Res audio output support
  • Synced lyrics (LRCLIB) integration
  • Last.fm scrobbling
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 === ▸ 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. ▸ CarPlay Support [NEW] Access your RetroAmp library in the car. Browse by Artists / Albums / Playlists / Radio with a full Now Playing screen. ▸ 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. ▸ 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. ▸ 10-Band Graphic Equalizer 10 bands from 60Hz to 16kHz with ±12dB range and preamp. Built-in presets included. ▸ Hi-Res Output Supports up to 384kHz/32-bit. Connect a USB-C DAC to hear your files at their native quality. ▸ 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. ▸ Playlist Editor Add to queue, reorder with drag and drop, save as named playlists, jump to the playing track, shuffle, repeat. ▸ Synced Lyrics (LRCLIB) Fetches time-synced lyrics from the open lyrics database LRCLIB. No account required. ▸ Last.fm Scrobbling Automatically scrobble your listening history. Offline scrobbles are queued and sent when back online. ▸ 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

About

Armpit

This music player connects to your personal Navidrome server, allowing you to stream your entire music library in original quality. Enjoy features like gapless playback, a 10-band equalizer, and offline listening across multiple Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Connects to Navidrome server
  • Original-quality streaming (FLAC)
  • True gapless playback
  • 10-band equalizer
  • Offline listening
  • Cross-device sync
  • CarPlay and Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

A regular music player, i'm telling-you. Your music, your rules. Armpit is a fast, native music player for your own server. Connect to Navidrome server and take your entire library everywhere. PLAYBACK THAT RESPECTS YOUR FILES • Original-quality streaming — FLAC and other lossless formats decode natively, no forced transcoding • True gapless playback • 10-band equalizer with presets • ReplayGain volume normalization • Signal path view — see exactly what happens to your audio from source to output • Synced and static lyrics • Per-network streaming quality (Wi-Fi / cellular), from original quality down to 128k YOUR WHOLE LIBRARY • Albums, artists, songs, genres, favorites, playlists • Real smart playlists on Navidrome — rules are evaluated live on your server • Podcasts with cross-device resume — pause on the TV, continue on your phone • Internet radio stations - if enabled in navidrome • Downloads for offline listening • Discover screen with fresh releases, most played, and personal mixes • Listening stats EVERYWHERE YOU LISTEN • iPhone and iPad, with a full desktop app for Mac • Apple TV — full browsing, playback, and a Top Shelf preview of your library right on the home screen • Apple Watch — standalone streaming and downloads • CarPlay • Siri and Shortcuts support SEAMLESS ACROSS DEVICES • Sign in once — iCloud securely syncs your server connection to every device, including Apple TV • Settings, theme, accent color, and search history follow you everywhere • Scrobbling to your server (and Last.fm through it) MADE TO BE LOOKED AT • A flat, instrument-inspired design: hairlines, mono type, one accent color • Light and dark themes, eight accent colors, matching app icons • Available in English, Spanish, German, and French Armpit requires your own Navidrome music server. It streams your personal library — no music is included, and no account with us is needed. Armpit is an independent project by Pierre Ugaz, not affiliated with Navidrome.

Screenshots

Retro4 screens
Armpit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Armpit at none against Retro's 2. Armpit also leads on ratings volume (4 vs 1) and device support (5 vs 1). Retro's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Retro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Armpit asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Retro against 5.0 for Armpit. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retro ships an update every 3 weeks, Armpit fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Retro versus Armpit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetroArmpit
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKIYOUMI AGEMURAPierre Ugaz

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Retro

One-time2
  • Lite Skin Pack$0.99
  • Pro Skin Pack$4.99
None

Armpit

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Retro free?
Retro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Armpit free?
Armpit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Retro or Armpit?
Retro and Armpit are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do Retro or Armpit have ads?
Neither Retro nor Armpit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Retro or Armpit?
Retro ships an update every 3 weeks, and Armpit fortnightly. Most recently, Retro was updated on November 5, 2026 and Armpit on October 31, 2026.

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