Ferric vs Drift
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ferric
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Ferric brings back the cassette tape as a real music player for your iPhone. Not a gimmick, not just a skin over your library. A full cassette experience where you build the tapes, curate the tracks, and watch the reels spin while your music plays. MAKE YOUR TAPES Start by picking a shell. Chrome, midnight black, amber, clear, oxide brown, electric blue, or retro. Each one has its own look and feel. Give your cassette a name, then fill both sides with songs from your music library or Apple Music. Side A and Side B are real. Flip the tape during playback just like you would with a physical cassette. The progress carries over correctly, the reels spin the right direction, and the tape fills up as you listen. DECORATE THEM Every cassette has a drawing surface you can paint on. Use the pen tool to write labels, draw art, or scribble whatever feels right. Swap between colors, adjust the brush size, drop in stickers, or grab the eraser. You can decorate the front, the back, and the top spine. It is your tape. PLAY YOUR MUSIC The player shows your cassette up close with both reels animating in real time. The supply reel shrinks and the takeup reel grows as the tape runs, using the same physics as a physical cassette. The reels spin faster near the end of the tape and slower near the start. Tap forward or back to skip tracks. Hold to seek. The speed ramps up the longer you hold, so scrubbing through a long tape stays quick. Lock screen controls and background playback work the same as any music app. BUILT-IN WEAR Every cassette accumulates wear as you listen. Scratches and surface marks appear gradually, placed deterministically based on each cassette's own wear pattern. No two tapes age the same way. Heavy-use tapes start to show it. YOUR LIBRARY All your cassettes live in a grid view. Tap any one to see its track listing in a style that mirrors the J-cards that used to come inside cassette cases. From there you can flip to the other side, launch the player, or open the drawing editor. WHAT FERRIC IS NOT It is not a streaming service. It does not generate playlists or make recommendations. It is a deliberate, analog-feeling way to organize and play music you already own or have access to through Apple Music. Building a cassette takes a minute. That is the point.
Drift
This app transforms your music library into a dynamic, animated wall of album artwork. Explore your music and discover new releases with a visually engaging interface that responds to your touch and device orientation.
- Animated album artwork walls
- Horizontal shelf browsing
- Library, artist, and album navigation
- Personalized music discovery
- Adjustable animation speed
- Mini-player with controls
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Your music, in motion. Drift is a visual player for Apple Music that transforms your library and music discovery into an animated wall of album artwork. Tap a cover to play, watch rows drift in alternating directions, or rotate your iPhone to browse a tactile horizontal shelf. EXPLORE YOUR LIBRARY Move between playlists, artists, and albums, then choose the collection you want without leaving the wall. DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW Browse personalized picks, new releases, and song charts from the Apple Music catalog. A PLAYER BUILT AROUND COVER ART • Seamless animated cover walls • Smooth landscape shelf with natural momentum • Original-order and shuffle playback • Focused or always-visible song titles • Adjustable wall speed • Mini-player with play, pause, previous, next, and swipe-to-skip controls • Local artwork and metadata caching for faster return visits Drift requires Apple Music authorization and an active Apple Music subscription for library access, catalog discovery, artwork, and full-song playback. Content availability may vary by country or region. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://oaky.ltd/drift/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Drift at none against Ferric's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Ferric sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Drift asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Ferric | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Faith Branch Software LLC | 一晟 沈 |
In-app purchases
Ferric
- Ferric Premium$4.99
Drift
No in-app purchases









