Comparison

Altered States vs Scryer

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

Head to head
About

Altered States

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Altered States turns your iPhone camera into a real-time visual effects engine. Stack up to 30 effects across 6 independent layers, let music drive your visuals, and capture the result as full-resolution video. β€” EFFECTS β€” Over 30 GPU-powered effects in five categories: WARP: Ultrawarp, Shockwave, Wave, Vortex, Kaleidoscope, Cascade, Fisheye, Curl Drift, Mirror Warp GLITCH: Pixel Sort, Streak, Self-Glitch, JPEG Artefact, Chromatic Aberration, Feedback Loop, Radial Blur, CRT, Bloom COLOR: LSD, Neon, Thermal, Solarise, Curves, GORE, MAYHEM, LUST, Dither, Contour Lines FX: Datamosh, Halftone, ASCII Art, Blob Tracking, Pixelate, Numeric Art GEN: Plasma, Tunnel, Lattice, Pattern β€” MULTI-LAYER β€” Stack up to 6 independent source layers - live camera, imported photos, or looping videos - each with its own effect chain, blend mode, and opacity. Rearrange layers by dragging, or hide any layer instantly. β€” AUDIO REACTIVE β€” Connect the camera to your music. Bass, mid, highs, and beat transients each drive your effect parameters in real time. Map any parameter to any frequency band. Tweak sensitivity and depth on the fly. β€” RECORD β€” Record full-resolution video directly from the live canvas. Mic audio is captured alongside the visual effects and merged automatically. Save to your photo library with one tap. β€” PRESETS β€” Save your favourite effect stacks as presets with a thumbnail snapshot. Recall them instantly from the Presets panel. β€” TOOLS β€” - Shake to generate a random 3-5 effect combination instantly - Per-effect parameter curves editor - Canvas transform: pan, pinch, rotate each layer freely - 8 mirror modes: vertical, horizontal, triple, quad, diagonal - Cortex Gate: luminance-based per-layer masking - Undo history with a visual timeline Altered States is built for performers, creators, and anyone who wants their camera to do something it was never supposed to do. By subscribing, you agree to Apple's Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Scryer

Features
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SCRYER is a scrying eye you play with your expression. A fractal third eye built on computer vision, dithering and procedural generation. Hold a feeling β€” open your mouth, raise your brows, squint, tilt your head β€” and a living world opens and moves with you. Image and a generative synth transform together, in real time. Your face is the way in. It's not a filter. It's an instrument β€” and a window. WAYS TO SCRY β€’ Drift and unwind inside a slow, hypnotic world β€’ Play β€” feel how every expression bends image and sound β€’ Create audiovisual material for your projects (square 1:1 and vertical 9:16, HD 1080p) β€’ Turn the camera on yourself and perform β€” your face on screen, governing it all THE ENGINE β€’ Your expressions drive a real-time glitch-dither engine (ordered dithering, chromatic glitch, pixel-melt, kaleidoscope, CRT, bloom, outline) β€’ A generative synth composes the sound from what you feel β€” each spell its own voice β€’ Tap a Spell to cross into a complete world, each with its own look, motion and sound β€’ Use a built-in design, generate endless new ones, or load your own photo SPELLS β€” each one a world SΓ©ance Β· Astral Β· Glitch Hell Β· Dungeon Β· Wraith Β· Inferno Β· Oracle Β· Nexus Β· Void β€” from calm and wonder to grief, rage and dissolution. EXPORT Square 1:1 or vertical 9:16 in HD, ready to post or drop into your edits. 100% on device. No account, no cloud, no tracking. Just you, your expression, and the eye looking back. SCRYER PRO (one-time unlock) β€’ Remove the watermark β€’ HD 1080p export, no time limit β€’ All spells, all palettes, intensity level 4 β€’ ML subject cut-out for clean backgrounds A single payment. Forever. No subscription. Requires an iPhone with Face ID (TrueDepth camera). Privacy Policy: https://aethyrstudio.com/scryer/privacy Website: https://aethyrstudio.com/scryer

Screenshots

Altered States4 screens
Scryer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Scryer at every 2 days against Altered States's every 5 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. Altered States sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Scryer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Altered States ships an update every 5 days, Scryer every 2 days. Both last shipped on September 9, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
Altered States versus Scryer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAltered StatesScryer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.217.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size31 MB4 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperKwong Wa ChuSEBASTIAN E HERNANDEZ CACERES

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Altered States

Subscriptions2
  • Altered States Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Altered States Pro Annual$39.991 Year
1 purchases

Scryer

One-time1
  • Scryer Pro2 variants$4.99

Questions

Is Altered States free?
Altered States is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scryer free?
Scryer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Altered States or Scryer have ads?
Neither Altered States nor Scryer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Altered States or Scryer?
Altered States ships an update every 5 days, and Scryer every 2 days. Most recently, Altered States was updated on September 9, 2026 and Scryer on September 9, 2026.

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