Comparison

iBench Player Pro vs Photon Player

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

Head to head
About

iBench Player Pro

This app provides a clean and fast media player for your own legal playlists on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Enjoy smooth playback of live TV, movies, and series with features like favorites, search, and subtitle options. Users must provide their own content.

Highlights
  • Add own playlists securely
  • Browse Live TV, Movies, Series
  • Category sidebar navigation
  • Favourites for quick access
  • Search across playlist
  • Video playback with subtitles
  • Resume playback progress
Read full description

iBench Player Pro is a media player for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Add and manage your own legal playlists, then enjoy a smooth viewing experience across live TV, movies and series. The app is designed for users who already have their own playlist access and want a clean, fast player with modern navigation, favourites, search, playback controls and subtitle options. Key features: - Add your own playlist securely - Browse Live TV, Movies and Series - Category sidebar for faster navigation - Favourites for quick access - Search across your playlist - Video playback with subtitles - Resume progress for movies and series - Apple TV remote-friendly interface - iPhone and iPad support - QR-based playlist management Important: iBench Player Pro does not provide, host, sell, stream or include any channels, movies, series, playlists or media content. Users must add their own legal playlists and are responsible for ensuring they have the rights to access any content they play. In-app purchases unlock access to the app's player and playlist management features only. They do not include any media content. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION iBench Player Pro offers three auto-renewable subscription plans. All three plans unlock the same full feature set - they only differ in duration and price per period. The subscription unlocks: - Full access to the Live TV, Movies and Series interface for playlists you add - Category sidebar navigation across Live TV, Movies and Series - Favourites for quick access to channels, movies and series - Search across your entire playlist - Resume progress for movies and series - Multi-track audio and subtitle selection during playback - Apple TV remote-friendly playback controls - Use of the app across iPhone, iPad and Apple TV under the same Apple ID - QR/device key playlist management Available plans: - 3-Month Access - auto-renewing every 3 months - 6-Month Access - auto-renewing every 6 months - Yearly Access - auto-renewing every 12 months The exact price for each plan in your local currency is shown on the subscription screen inside the app before purchase. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the price of the selected plan. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your Apple ID account settings on the App Store after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://ibenchtvpro.store/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://ibenchtvpro.store/support

About

Photon Player

Features
Read full description

Photon is a native player for the library you already own. Connect your media servers, your cloud and network storage, and your Live TV subscription, and everything you can watch appears in one place — on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac, from a single purchase. YOUR OWN LIBRARY, TOGETHER • Works with Jellyfin, Emby, Plex and Silo • Connect a server free, or as many as you like with Pro. Home and Search bring them all together; the Library tab keeps each source's own shelves separate, so you can still ask what is on one server. • Play straight from an SMB, NFS, FTP or WebDAV share, a UPnP server on your network, or Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, with no media server at all • Live TV from an Xtream Codes subscription: a full program guide, favorites, and a channel list built for thousands of channels • Open a video from Files or the Finder and it becomes a title like any other — with a resume point, artwork and a name you can match against your servers AS IT WAS MADE • Dolby Vision and HDR, with AVPlayer driving the display for real HDR output • MKV and 4K play as they are. Nothing is quietly downscaled or re-encoded behind your back. • Dolby Digital Plus with Atmos passed through untouched; TrueHD and DTS-HD decoded losslessly rather than folded to stereo, and with Pro, TrueHD Atmos rendered with its height • Subtitles drawn as overlays, never burned into the picture • Standing choices for audio language, subtitle language, and when subtitles should come on at all • Skip intros and credits, and go straight into the next episode EVERYWHERE YOU WATCH • Download for offline with Pro. Transfers carry on while you are elsewhere, with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and a notice when a title lands. • Handoff picks a film up on the next device at the frame you left it • Spotlight opens a title directly • Top Shelf on Apple TV, a real menu bar on the Mac, and one design across all four platforms BUILT FOR THE PLATFORM Written in SwiftUI for iOS, tvOS and macOS, with full Dynamic Type, VoiceOver labels on every control, and Reduce Motion respected throughout. There is no account to create and no service of ours in the path: Photon talks to your servers and to your own iCloud, and to nothing else. PHOTON PRO The free app is the whole player: one media server and one Live TV subscription, every drive and network share, and every format — 4K, MKV, Dolby Vision, TrueHD and DTS — with browsing, search, Handoff and SharePlay, no advertising and nothing to sign up for. Pro adds: • Every source at once: as many servers and Live TV subscriptions as you like, together in Home and Search • Downloads, for watching offline • Dolby Atmos from TrueHD soundtracks, rendered for your speakers or headphones • AirPlay to an Apple TV or any AirPlay screen • Your servers, settings and the way you have arranged Home, on every device you sign in on Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-off Lifetime purchase, with a free week on either subscription. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Photon plays the media you already have on servers and storage you control. It is an independent client and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Jellyfin, Emby or Plex. Terms of Use (EULA): https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/privacy/

Screenshots

iBench Player Pro4 screens
Photon Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Photon Player at 5 against iBench Player Pro's 3. iBench Player Pro's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. iBench Player Pro sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months and Photon Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
iBench Player Pro versus Photon Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriBench Player ProPhoton Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Daily
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJose Isaias Briano JassoOliver Walton

In-app purchases

3 purchases

iBench Player Pro

Subscriptions3
  • 3-Month Access$2.993 Months
  • 6-Month Access$4.996 Months
  • Yearly Access$9.991 Year
3 purchases

Photon Player

Subscriptions2
  • Photon Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Photon Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Photon Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is iBench Player Pro free?
iBench Player Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photon Player free?
Photon Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do iBench Player Pro or Photon Player have ads?
Neither iBench Player Pro nor Photon Player shows ads.

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