Comparison

Phonoria vs Faraday

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

Head to head
About

Phonoria

This music player unifies local files, iCloud Drive, and Apple Music into a single library. It features an A-B loop function ideal for practice, transcription, or enjoying specific song sections. Enjoy offline playback and customizable appearance options.

Highlights
  • Unified music library (local, iCloud, Apple Music)
  • A-B loop for precise section repetition
  • Folder selection for local and cloud files
  • Offline playback
  • Customizable app icons and appearance
  • Playback controls (Lock Screen, Control Center)
Features
Read full description

Phonoria brings local folders, iCloud Drive files, your Apple Music library, and purchased or imported songs on your iPhone into one music player. Set A-B markers to repeat only the part you need — great for practice, transcribing, language learning, or savoring a favorite section. [Good for] · Musicians, singers, and language learners who need to repeat a phrase or chorus · Anyone who wants to endlessly loop a favorite line of a favorite song · People who manage their own audio folders and want to play them directly · Listeners who prefer keeping music files local instead of streaming · iCloud Drive users who want their cloud audio as a real library · Anyone who wants Apple Music library songs and purchased music next to local files [Features] · Folder selection — pick a folder in iCloud Drive or local storage and Phonoria scans it into a library · Apple Music library — show and play songs you have added to your library alongside local files (Apple Music subscription required) · Purchased or imported songs — play DRM-free music stored on your iPhone without a subscription · A-B Loop — set start point A and end point B, repeat any section with a smooth crossfade · Playback modes: Repeat Track / Repeat All / Shuffle / Single Track · Browse by Songs, Albums, Artists, and Playlists · Search across songs, albums, and artists · Embedded album artwork · One-tap download for cloud-only files in iCloud Drive · Lock Screen, Control Center, and Live Activity playback controls · A new default icon plus 10 classic alternate icons; choose the icon/accent and Light/Dark appearance independently · Output volume limit for loud files on CarPlay or external speakers · Supports m4a, mp3, wav, flac, and aac [Privacy] Music files are read from the folder you choose. No account, login, or upload required. Phonoria works fully offline. DRM-protected songs, unsupported formats, files not downloaded to the device, or Apple Music catalog songs not added to your library may not be playable.

About

Faraday

Features
Read full description

Faraday plays music that belongs to you: MP3 and M4A files from a folder in iCloud Drive that you choose yourself. No account, no subscription, no catalogue to pick from. The app exists because of dead zones. Music made with Suno can only be streamed in their app, and without a connection it goes quiet. Faraday downloads tracks to the device and plays them from there, in the car, on the train, on a plane. FOLDERS, NOT RULES Your folder structure stays as it is, as deep as you like: genre, artist, album, or something else entirely. A folder may hold tracks and subfolders at the same time. A button at the top plays a whole folder in one go, one album after the other. An artist folder shows all albums with their tracks. TWO LEVELS, SO YOU KNOW WHAT PLAYS OFFLINE A tap streams, the download button keeps a permanent copy. Each row shows whether a track is downloaded, whether iCloud is holding it on the device right now, or whether it is not there. In airplane mode you know beforehand what will play. FAVOURITES AND PLAYLISTS A heart marks tracks and albums across all folders. On iPad you can also mark a single disc of a multi-disc album. Playlists are files in your music folder; on iPad you create them, fill them by dragging and reorder their tracks. Rename or move an album folder and playlists and favourites follow it. GENRES AND DECADES Two cards on the start screen sort your albums by genre and by decade. A decade can be played in one go. IPAD At full width the iPad shows folders and playlists in a sidebar, all tracks as a table sortable by any column, and lyrics or the queue on the right. The queue takes tracks by drag and drop and can be saved as a playlist. A full-screen visualizer reacts to bass, mids and beat. CARPLAY The same folder tree as on the phone, plus your favourite tracks and albums. Repeat, shuffle and a heart below the timeline. LYRICS THAT FOLLOW ALONG Suno puts the lyrics into the file, but without timing. Faraday creates the timestamps on the device and stores them as an .lrc file next to the music. Analysed once, it stays. Requires iOS 26. SIRI AND SHORTCUTS "Remember this track in Faraday", "Repeat this track in Faraday", "Shuffle in Faraday". All of them are available in Shortcuts and can be put on the Action button. WHAT FARADAY DOES NOT DO No account, no sign-in, no ads, no tracking. On iPhone and iPad the app talks to no server. What it stores lives on your device and in your iCloud folder.

Screenshots

Phonoria4 screens
Faraday4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Faraday at none against Phonoria's 3. Faraday also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.1). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Phonoria sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Faraday asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Phonoria versus Faraday: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhonoriaFaraday
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.117.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerakira kawakamiAndreas Michael Kelm

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Phonoria

One-time3
  • Coffee Tip$0.99
  • Lunch Tip$3.99
  • Sushi Tip$6.99
None

Faraday

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phonoria free?
Phonoria is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Faraday free?
Faraday is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Phonoria or Faraday have ads?
Neither Phonoria nor Faraday shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phonoria or Faraday?
Phonoria ships an update every 3 weeks, and Faraday every 3 weeks. Most recently, Phonoria was updated on October 31, 2026 and Faraday on October 31, 2026.

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