Comparison

Omni vs PocketStrum

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

Head to head
About

Omni

Create music with a touch-first instrument for chords, strums, and rhythmic ideas. Shape synth sounds, add effects, and send MIDI to other apps or hardware. Designed for fast, expressive musical performance without complexity.

Highlights
  • Touch-based chord and strum performance
  • Dual synth engines with performance controls
  • Built-in ARP and drum sequencer
  • Performance effects (reverb, delay, etc.)
  • Customizable chord layouts
  • MIDI Out for external control
  • AUv3 Instrument support
Read full description

Omni: Pocket Synth is a compact, touch-first instrument for creating chords, strums, arpeggios, pads, keys, and rhythmic musical ideas with an immediate performance workflow. Play harmonic layouts directly from the screen, shape two independent pocket synth engines, add motion and effects, and send MIDI to other apps or hardware. Omni is designed to feel fast, musical, and expressive without turning into a complex workstation. Features: - Touch-based chord and strum performance. - Chord Voice and Strum Voice with independent sound controls. - Wavetable and subtractive / virtual analog voice engines with focused pocket controls. - Hold / latch modes for Chord and Strum performance. - Multiple strum modes including Standard, Extended, Pentatonic, Scale, and Chromatic Touchplates. - Built-in ARP with musical patterns, rate, octaves, gate, and swing. - Simple drum engine with kick and snare sequencing. - Reverb, delay, vibrato, and autopan performance effects. - Layout Editor for custom chord layouts. - MIDI In for playing from external controllers. - MIDI Out for controlling other apps, AUv3 instruments, or hardware synths. - Hold / latch performance can also be used with MIDI Out. - AUv3 Instrument support for hosts such as AUM. - Independent Chord MIDI Out and Strum MIDI Out in AUv3 hosts. - Preset Manager with factory and user presets. Omni works both as a standalone app and as an AUv3 instrument. In AUv3 hosts, you can route Chord and Strum MIDI outputs separately, making it easy to control different instruments from one performance surface. The free version includes the core playing experience. Omni Pro unlocks the full preset workflow, AUv3 support, advanced strum modes, Layout Editor, MIDI Out, and other creative tools.

About

PocketStrum

Features
Read full description

The beloved electronic autoharp of the early '80s — the strum-anything wonder heard on records by Gorillaz, David Bowie and Brian Eno — reborn as a pocket instrument anyone can play in seconds. Press a chord button with your left thumb. Sweep your right thumb across the SonicStrings-style strumplate. That's it — you're making music. Every string is always in tune, because the plate re-tunes itself to whatever chord you're holding. MADE FOR INSTANT MUSIC • 12-string touch strumplate with true multitouch and velocity — strum slow and soft or fast and bright, with a haptic tick on every string • 108 chords from a 3 × 12 panel: hold Maj+7 for maj7, Min+7 for m7, Maj+Min for dim, all three for aug, plus Sus4 and Add9 keys • Four voices — Omni, Harp, Celeste, Organ — from a real-time polyphonic synth engine with shimmering delay, hall reverb and vibrato • A sustained chord-organ layer with its own volume fader, for that warm held-pad-plus-sparkle sound the originals were famous for • Seven built-in demo songs that play the instrument for you — and a LEARN MODE that turns every one into an interactive lesson: the song pauses at each chord change, the keys to press light up, and it rolls on the moment you play them • Tape mode: gentle wow & flutter, like a loved cassette • Left-handed strumplate option • Record your performance and share it anywhere with one tap • MIDI out: a "Pocket Strum" virtual source plays GarageBand, Logic, AUM or hardware synths straight from the strumplate • Six voices: Omni, Harp, Celeste, Organ, Bell and Pad A BAND IN YOUR POCKET • Five rhythms with drums and an auto-bass that follows your chords: Rock, Slow rock, Waltz, Bossa nova and Hip hop • Tempo fader from 60 to 180 BPM with a running-beat LED • Keeps playing in the background and mixes with Apple Music or Spotify, so you can jam along with anything TWO LOOKS, ONE INSTRUMENT • Classic: a cream-and-red hardware skin with bevelled plastic keys, red LEDs and ruler-ticked faders, straight out of 1981 • Modern: a flat, dark, stage-friendly UI • Switch anytime — your choice is remembered HONEST BY DESIGN • Pay once, own it forever • No ads, no subscriptions, no accounts, no tracking — the app collects no data at all • Works in portrait and landscape on any iPhone running iOS 17 or later Whether you're sketching songs, adding dreamy texture to a track, or handing your phone to someone who's "not musical" and watching them light up — Pocket Strum makes playing feel like magic.

Screenshots

Omni4 screens
PocketStrum4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Omni at Free against PocketStrum's $9.99. PocketStrum's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Omni is free to download; PocketStrum costs $9.99 up front. Omni sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PocketStrum asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Omni versus PocketStrum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOmniPocketStrum
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.3 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB1 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperRuben Terron RodriguezTony McMahon

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Omni

One-time1
  • Omni Pro$8.99
None

PocketStrum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Omni free?
Omni is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PocketStrum free?
PocketStrum costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Omni or PocketStrum have ads?
Neither Omni nor PocketStrum shows ads.

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