Comparison

Strobe Flashlight vs FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight

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

Head to head
About

Strobe Flashlight

Features
Read full description

Strobe Flashlight turns your iPhone into a powerful strobe light with multiple flash modes and music sync effects. Perfect for parties, emergencies, or creative lighting. Features: • Fast & slow strobe modes • Music sync flashing • SOS & emergency warning light • Adjustable speed and brightness • Clean and easy-to-use interface • Light & dark mode support • Keeps screen awake while flashing Perfect for: • Emergency signals • Creative lighting effects • Photography • Parties & DJs Note: Keep the app open for continuous flashing.

About

FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight

Features
Read full description

ā–  One-Tap SOS Strobe Emergency Signal Long-press to fire the international standard SOS pattern (3-short / 3-long / 3-short) with synchronised flash and haptics. Strobe adjustable from 1 Hz to 20 Hz. Auto-throttles on low battery and cools down if the torch overheats — never dies when you need it most. Mis-touch protection (1.0s–3.0s long-press confirmation) prevents pocket fires wasting juice. Dual sync: camera torch + full-screen colour flash doubles your visible distance at night. ā–  Morse Code Encoding Engine Type any text (English, Chinese, digits, or symbols) — FlashSOS auto-encodes it into clean on/off light pulses. 5 playback speeds: 0.5Ɨ / 1Ɨ / 1.5Ɨ / 2Ɨ / 4Ɨ; base unit duration customisable from 50 ms to 1000 ms. Includes a full printable Morse reference table inside the app. Use it for backcountry distress, covert signals, concert fan light shows, or team codes. ā–  Custom Rhythm Editor (Upgrade to Pro — Lifetime Unlock) Three creative ways to build your own flash pattern: ā‘  BPM Beat Mode — slide from 30 BPM to 300 BPM, every beat fires with millisecond-accurate sync; ā‘” Preset Rhythm Library — 10 built-in scene patterns: Heartbeat / Breathing Light / Lighthouse Beacon / Red-Blue Police Siren @ 1Hz / Concert Cheer @ 120 BPM / SOS International Distress / Strobe Alert @ 8 Hz / 4-4 Rave Kick @ 128 BPM / Flickering Candle / Railway Hand Signal; ā‘¢ Manual Tap Recorder — tap the rhythm you want on-screen, we capture the exact ON/OFF timeline locally on your device. ā–  Why Choose FlashSOS • Runs 100% locally on-device. Your typed text, saved phrases, recorded rhythms and history stay inside your iPhone's encrypted sandbox. Nothing uploads to any server, ever — no internet connection required at all. • Zero privacy footprint. No sign-in, no location requests, no IDFA collection, no background tracking. Only asks for camera (torch LED) permission when you actively tap the flash button, and you can revoke it any time in iOS Settings. • 12 native languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic. • Transparent privacy policy: full stand-alone page (linked in-app and on App Store) explains exactly what we do and do NOT do with every iOS permission we request. ā–  FlashSOS Pro (one-time unlock or monthly plan) Unlocks all three premium features: Morse Code, Custom Beats and Strobe Warning. The SOS emergency tab stays 100% free forever - life-saving functions are never paywalled. Restore Purchases and Family Sharing work on the same Apple ID. Subscription: payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and each renewal is charged at the same price within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage it in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Strobe Flashlight4 screens
FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight at every 3 weeks against Strobe Flashlight's every 2 months. Strobe Flashlight's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Strobe Flashlight sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strobe Flashlight ships an update every 2 months, FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Strobe Flashlight versus FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrobe FlashlightFlashSOS Emergency Flashlight
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuan Cu Xuan晓强 江

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Strobe Flashlight

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
1 purchases

FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight

One-time1
  • FlashSOS Pro (Morse + Beat Forever)$1.99

Questions

Is Strobe Flashlight free?
Strobe Flashlight is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight free?
FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Strobe Flashlight or FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight have ads?
Neither Strobe Flashlight nor FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strobe Flashlight or FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight?
Strobe Flashlight ships an update every 2 months, and FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight every 3 weeks. Most recently, Strobe Flashlight was updated on October 1, 2026 and FlashSOS Emergency Flashlight on October 16, 2026.

Other comparisons