Comparison

SoniMeter vs PhoneCheck

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

Head to head
About

SoniMeter

Features
Read full description

Test how loud your restaurant is. Your neighbor's late-night party. Your concert. Your office HVAC. Your baby room. Apple has no sound level meter for iPhone (the Watch one measures 3.4 dB low per published NIH research). The popular third-party apps charge around $40/year, push subscription prompts every launch, and read 28 dB in a completely silent room because their zero-calibration is broken. Decibo is the noise meter those apps should have been. $3.99 once. No subscription. No ads. Forever. WHAT DECIBO MEASURES • A / C / Z frequency weighting (IEC 61672 standard) • LAeq — equivalent continuous A-weighted sound level • Lmax — maximum during measurement period • LCpeak — C-weighted peak (instantaneous extremes) • TWA — 8-hour time-weighted average for OSHA / NIOSH • Dose — % of permissible daily noise exposure • Real-time 1/3-octave spectrum (30 bands, 25 Hz to 16 kHz) • Peak hold over a sliding 1-30 second window REAL ZERO CALIBRATION Two methods: silent-room (3-second baseline auto-tunes to 30 dB SPL) and reference-tone (input your 94 dB SPL calibrator's measured value and Decibo computes the offset). Multiple named profiles per device, optional iCloud sync across your iPhones. 8 SCENE PRESETS — EACH WITH SMART THRESHOLD • Workplace — 85 dB / A-weighted / NIOSH dose tracking • Concert / Club — 100 dB / C-weighted / hearing-protection alert • Sleep / Baby Room — 50 dB / A-weighted / WHO bedroom guideline • Restaurant — 75 dB / A-weighted / chronic-exposure warning • Office — 65 dB / A-weighted / productivity zone • HVAC / Appliance — 40 dB / A-weighted / residential noise floor • Studio / Quiet — 35 dB / A-weighted / recording-grade silence Each preset comes with concise advice citing OSHA / NIOSH / WHO. Settings includes a custom-threshold override slider. LIVE ACTIVITY, WIDGET, THRESHOLD ALARM Long sessions display current dB + LAeq + Dose in Dynamic Island and on the lock screen. Home + lock-screen widget for one-tap measurement. When sound crosses the active threshold, Decibo fires a haptic + optional notification — so you can step out, put in earplugs, or grab evidence. SESSION HISTORY Every recorded session is saved with full time-series + metrics. Each session can be named and annotated. iCloud sync (opt-in) keeps history across your devices. Export as PDF (formatted report) or CSV (raw time series). Optionally geo-tag sessions for noise complaints or real-estate inspections. BLUETOOTH-MIC PROTECTION If your hearing aids or AirPods are connected, iOS may route the iPhone microphone through them — yielding wrong readings. Decibo detects this and warns you with a red banner. One tap forces the built-in iPhone mic. AUDIO FILE IMPORT Drop in any voice memo, recording, or .m4a / .wav / .mp3 — Decibo runs it through the same A/C/Z weighting + SPL pipeline and shows LAeq, Lmax, peak with a line chart. 100% ON-DEVICE The microphone audio never leaves your phone. No server. No cloud call. No third-party analytics. No tracking SDKs. AVAudioEngine captures, Accelerate processes, SwiftUI renders. The Privacy Nutrition Label says "Data Not Collected" — because it doesn't. DISCLAIMER Decibo is a sound level meter for environmental and occupational measurement. It is not a medical device, not a substitute for a calibrated professional instrument, not for clinical hearing-loss diagnosis. For audiology concerns, consult a hearing-care professional. MADE BY ONE PERSON An indie developer tired of decibel apps that charge $40/year and still can't zero properly. If something breaks or you want a feature, email xxhhuan2022@163.com — you'll get an actual reply, usually within a day. https://duolaamengweb3.github.io/decibo/

About

PhoneCheck

Features
Read full description

PhoneCheck helps you inspect a used phone before you buy it. Buying a second-hand device from a marketplace, reseller, or another person? Run a guided hardware inspection and check the most important functions before handing over your money. PhoneCheck walks you through practical tests and creates a clear inspection result based on the checks you actually perform. COMPLETE DEVICE INSPECTION Test important parts of the device through a simple guided process. Screen Tests • Touchscreen grid test • Multi-touch test • Dead pixel check • OLED and image retention check • Display brightness check Audio Tests • Main speaker • Earpiece • Microphone recording and playback Camera Tests • Rear camera • Front camera • Focus test • Flash and torch test Sensor Tests • Accelerometer • Gyroscope • Compass • Proximity sensor • Haptics and vibration Connectivity Tests • Wi-Fi and network connectivity • Bluetooth • GPS and location • Cellular connectivity PHYSICAL INSPECTION PhoneCheck also guides you through important checks that require visual or manual inspection, including: • Side and volume buttons • Charging port • Face ID or Touch ID • Screen condition • Back glass condition • Front and rear cameras • Speaker and microphone condition DEVICE INFORMATION View useful information available from the device, including: • Device model • Operating system version • Storage capacity • Available storage • Battery percentage • Charging status • Display information • Sensor and camera capabilities PhoneCheck uses public system APIs and does not claim access to restricted information that third-party applications cannot reliably obtain. CLEAR INSPECTION RESULTS After completing the inspection, PhoneCheck summarizes the results using easy-to-understand statuses: . Passed . Needs Attention . Failed . Skipped or Unavailable You can quickly see which areas performed correctly and which ones deserve a closer look before purchasing the device. RETEST PROBLEMS Found something suspicious? Run failed or questionable tests again without repeating the entire inspection. SAVE YOUR INSPECTIONS Keep previous inspection results on your device so you can review and compare devices later. BUILT FOR SECOND-HAND BUYERS PhoneCheck is useful when checking a device from: • Facebook Marketplace • eBay • Local marketplaces • Used-device stores • Refurbished-device sellers • Private sellers PhoneCheck reports only the results of tests performed using the app and user-confirmed inspection items. It does not guarantee a device's authenticity, ownership status, repair history, future performance, or overall condition.

Screenshots

SoniMeter4 screens
PhoneCheck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PhoneCheck at none against SoniMeter's 1. PhoneCheck also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). SoniMeter's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price 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. SoniMeter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PhoneCheck asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
SoniMeter versus PhoneCheck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoniMeterPhoneCheck
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer焕 徐fadma OUBLOUCH

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SoniMeter

One-time1
  • Decibo Pro Lifetime$3.99
None

PhoneCheck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoniMeter free?
SoniMeter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PhoneCheck free?
PhoneCheck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SoniMeter or PhoneCheck have ads?
PhoneCheck shows ads; SoniMeter does not.

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