Comparison

Side A vs Wavecore

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

Head to head
About

Side A

This app transforms your Apple Music listening experience by displaying your current song on a detailed, animated cassette tape. Create and customize your own tapes, build mixtapes with liner notes, and share them with friends.

Highlights
  • Cassette tape visualization for Apple Music
  • Customizable tape design
  • Mixtape creation with liner notes
  • Share mixtapes with friends
  • Record songs from radio
  • Share currently playing song
Features
Read full description

Side A plays your music as cassettes. **Requires an Apple Music subscription.** See what's playing right now on a beautifully detailed cassette tape: spinning reels, worn labels, and a cassette player frame around it, powered by your Apple Music. But Side A isn't just a pretty player. It's a full tape deck. DESIGN YOUR OWN TAPES Pick a shell, write on the label in retro fonts, choose your ink color, and drop a photo behind the jewel case. Every tape is yours. MAKE MIXTAPES Build a mixtape from your Apple Music, name it, add handwritten liner notes, and give it a cover. Just like the old days. SEND A TAPE TO A FRIEND Text someone a mixtape. If they have Side A it opens right up and plays; if they don't, they get a gorgeous web page with the tracklist and your liner notes. "I made you a tape". SHARE THE SONG YOU'RE ON One tap turns your now-playing song into a clean, tappable card you can send anywhere. RECORD OFF THE RADIO Tape songs as they play: grab the last few tracks and turn them into a mixtape, just like catching a song off the radio. A note from us: We're a small team of Gen X kids who grew up on cassette tapes and Walkmans. Instead of lugging an actual tape deck to the gym, we wanted to glance at our phones and see our music spinning on cassettes again. Side A is our love letter to that era. It's a passion project, and we hope you enjoy it. If you have feedback, issues, or ideas, we'd genuinely love to hear them. Rewind your music. — Your tapes, mixtapes, and recordings are stored on your device — content is only uploaded when you choose to share it.

About

Wavecore

A premium Hi-Fi audio player offering advanced playback features and extensive customization for a refined music listening experience. It allows users to personalize their music library with custom themes, metadata editing, and powerful audio effects.

Highlights
  • Premium Hi-Fi audio playback
  • Support for high-quality audio formats
  • Powerful equalizer and audio effects
  • Advanced audio customization
  • Customizable themes
  • Edit track metadata, artwork, and lyrics
  • Organize and personalize music collection
Read full description

Rediscover your music with Wavecore — a premium Hi-Fi audio player designed for listeners who value sound quality, elegant design, and complete control over their music experience. Enjoy a refined listening experience with powerful playback features, advanced audio customization, and a beautifully crafted interface made for music enthusiasts. Wavecore brings your music library to life with: • Premium Hi-Fi audio playback • Support for high-quality audio formats • Powerful equalizer and audio effects • Advanced audio customization controls • Beautiful customizable themes • Edit track metadata, artwork, and lyrics • Organize and personalize your music collection Designed for those who appreciate every detail of their favorite tracks, Wavecore combines precision, simplicity, and a modern interface to deliver a premium listening experience. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Side A4 screens
Wavecore4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Wavecore at Free against Side A's $2.99. Wavecore also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days) and ratings volume (10 vs 2). Side A's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On review sentiment, 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

Wavecore is free to download; Side A costs $2.99 up front. Wavecore sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Side A asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Side A holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wavecore has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Side A ships an update every 10 days, Wavecore every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Side A versus Wavecore: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSide AWavecore
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.6 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings210 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFREDERICK AARON GOODINValerii Lubenets

Customer experience

Side A

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Wavecore

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Side A

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Wavecore

Subscriptions1
  • Wavecore Pro Monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Wavecore Pro$14.99

Questions

Is Side A free?
Side A costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wavecore free?
Wavecore is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Side A or Wavecore?
Side A is rated higher. Side A averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Wavecore averages 4.6 from 10 ratings.
Do Side A or Wavecore have ads?
Neither Side A nor Wavecore shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Side A or Wavecore?
Side A ships an update every 10 days, and Wavecore every 3 days. Most recently, Side A was updated on November 7, 2026 and Wavecore on November 10, 2026.

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