Comparison

PocketDAW vs Audio Object

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

Head to head
About

PocketDAW

Features
Read full description

PocketDAW brings vocal recording, arrangement, mixing, lyric writing, and export into one local-first workspace for iPhone and iPad. BUILD A VOCAL SESSION Import a beat into project-owned storage, record vocals while existing tracks play, and arrange up to 32 audio tracks. Keep the playhead centered while clips move behind it, zoom or fit the timeline, and choose a comfortable track height. Tap tracks and clips for contextual controls. Move, duplicate, precisely trim, split, fade, and crossfade clips. Shape tracks with gain, pan, mute, and solo, with project Undo and Redo. MIX WITH CONTROL Use built-in Studio EQ and Vocal Compressor, adjustable sends, Aux returns, delay, subgroup routing, Master EQ and compression, peak limiting, and peak, RMS, LUFS, and true-peak metering. Preview evidence-backed local gain and mix recommendations before applying or rejecting them. WRITE BESIDE YOUR MUSIC Create lyric documents and sections with offline exact, slant, internal, compound, and multisyllabic rhyme cues. Explore deterministic suggestions, syllable and stress facts, an offline dictionary and thesaurus, project pronunciations, search, custom themes, draft history, timeline links, and a transport-aware teleprompter. DELIVER YOUR WORK Export a 24-bit Mix WAV, choose from three loudness and true-peak-aware Mastered WAV profiles, or create aligned dry, wet, Aux, and subgroup stem packages with reconstruction metadata. LOCAL-FIRST BY DEFAULT Projects and core analysis stay on your device. PocketDAW has no account, ads, analytics, or social feed. Optional Studio Assistant chat connects to a server you choose and control on a reachable local or private network. Before Send, the app shows the destination, model, and shared context. Names, saved lyrics, and conversation history require separate sharing choices; any text you enter in a message is part of that message. Raw audio and file paths are never sent. Supported project edits require review and Apply, and local chat history can be cleared.

About

Audio Object

This pocket-sized instrument turns your iPhone into a portable music creation studio. It features a four-track looper, a three-voice drum machine, and an eight-pad sampler with extensive editing capabilities. Seamlessly integrate with your Mac DAW via USB for professional workflows.

Highlights
  • Four-track looper with bar-quantized recording
  • Three-voice drum machine click track
  • Eight-pad sampler with EQ and varispeed
  • Project save, load, and WAV stem export
  • Stereo audio streaming to Mac DAWs via USB
  • MIDI clock output over USB
  • Records stereo from Core Audio interfaces
Features
Read full description

Audio Object is a pocket-sized music instrument for iPhone. It looks and works like a small piece of hardware — a wooden body with an instrument panel on each face. Pull the wood edge and the body rotates to the next face. WHAT IT DOES - Four-track looper with bar-quantized recording and per-loop trim - Three-voice drum machine as the click track — kick, snare, hi-hat with a per-step accent grid - Eight-pad sampler with grid, auto, and tap chopping, two switchable banks, three-band EQ, varispeed tuning - Project save, load, and WAV stem export with tempo map - Streams audio to any Mac DAW over USB (Inter-Device Audio & MIDI) - Sends MIDI clock over USB — Ableton, Logic, and Bitwig lock transport to the phone - Records stereo from any Core Audio interface (iRig, Focusrite, MOTU, and others) HOW IT WORKS Six faces. Perform pads on one, sampler on another, click and time signature on a third, projects on the back, I/O on top, master on the bottom. No menus, no tabs. Every control lives on the body. The click track is not a metronome. It is a three-voice drum machine with per-step accents, subdivisions from quarter notes to swing, and time signatures from 3/4 to 12/8. Set up a kick-snare-hat pattern, press record, loop on the beat. The sampler holds eight pads across two banks. Record from the mic or load from Files. Chop by grid, by transient, or by tapping markers. Each pad carries a three-band EQ, varispeed pitch, and an amplitude envelope. All eight play polyphonically. Recording quantizes to the bar, the beat, or runs free. A dedicated loop-adjust face trims each loop to the sample — drag the region brackets, snap to the grid, hear the result while the brackets move. Plug the phone into a Mac over USB. Audio Object appears as an audio input and MIDI clock source. The DAW locks transport to the phone's tempo. No drivers, no setup. Plug a USB audio interface into the phone. Audio Object names the device on screen and records through its preamps at up to 48 kHz stereo. WHAT IS NEXT A synthesizer — bass, chord, and lead modes — is in development for the next major release.

Screenshots

PocketDAW4 screens
Audio Object4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PocketDAW at every 2 days against Audio Object's every 2 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketDAW ships an update every 2 days, Audio Object every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
PocketDAW versus Audio Object: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketDAWAudio Object
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB12 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperMICHAEL DWAYNE WILLIAMSGreen Rose Systems, LLC

In-app purchases

None

PocketDAW

No in-app purchases

None

Audio Object

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PocketDAW free?
PocketDAW is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Audio Object free?
Audio Object is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PocketDAW or Audio Object have ads?
Neither PocketDAW nor Audio Object shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketDAW or Audio Object?
PocketDAW ships an update every 2 days, and Audio Object every 2 months. Most recently, PocketDAW was updated on October 4, 2026 and Audio Object on September 29, 2026.

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