Comparison

Dirigo vs Apexel One

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

Head to head
About

Dirigo

Control your home theater devices, including AV receivers and smart TVs, from your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Manage playback, adjust settings, and create custom activities for a seamless entertainment experience.

Highlights
  • Control Marantz and Denon AV receivers
  • Browse and play HEOS streaming sources
  • Manage multi-zone receiver controls
  • Configure receiver settings
  • Remote control for Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV
  • Customizable Home Assistant remotes
  • Create one-tap room activities
Features
Read full description

Dirigo is one remote for your home theater, on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. It controls current Marantz and Denon AV receivers directly over Wi-Fi, well beyond what the bundled remote can do, and with Home Assistant it works without one. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Power, volume, every input and every surround mode your receiver supports • Browse and play HEOS streaming sources — Qobuz, TIDAL, Amazon Music, TuneIn, and the rest • Manage the queue, see what is playing, skip tracks, view history • Control each zone on multi-zone receivers • Configure room correction, speaker levels, HDMI output, video settings, and the deep menus your physical remote pretends don't exist • Activate Quick Selects you have programmed on the receiver • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and an Apple Watch app • Siri and Shortcuts ("Toggle mute with Dirigo", "Set volume with Dirigo") ACTIVITIES One tap sets the whole room: turn on the receiver and the TV, pick the input, set the volume and the lights. Every step reports what actually happened, and Activities run from Shortcuts too. TELEVISION REMOTES Pair the television or streaming box in the same room and Dirigo becomes its remote too. Apple TV gets a touchpad — swipe to navigate, tap to select — along with transport buttons and the Apple TV's own Control Centre and app switcher. Android TV, Google TV and NVIDIA Shield get a D-pad, Back and Home, and play, pause and skip. Dirigo tells you which app is on screen. Volume routes back to your receiver, and a now-playing card on your home screen shows what is on — title, artist, artwork, and how far through it is. Drag the progress bar to jump to a moment. Pairing is a one-time setup: Dirigo finds the television on your network and you type in the code it puts on screen. CUSTOM REMOTES (HOME ASSISTANT) Build remotes from the devices on your own Home Assistant server. • Add lights, switches, fans, buttons, scenes, scripts and sensor readings, and arrange them your way • Add a D-pad or a transport row and choose what each button drives • A Now Playing remote for a Home Assistant media player: artwork, progress, play and skip, volume • Show an infrared appliance on the Home screen: its inputs, volume and power, with a full remote for everything else • Put Home Assistant lights and scenes on your receiver's Home screen buttons • No Denon or Marantz receiver? Choose "Connect Home Assistant" when you first open Dirigo DEMO MODE No receiver to test against? Tap "Explore Demo Mode" on the Welcome screen to explore the app with a synthetic receiver, Apple TV and Android TV. PRIVACY Dirigo collects nothing. No analytics, no identifiers, no third-party tracking SDKs, no Dirigo account. All receiver, television and Home Assistant control happens on your local Wi-Fi network; Dirigo refuses Home Assistant Cloud and internet addresses. If you connect Home Assistant, its access token is stored in your iPhone's keychain and sent only to your own Home Assistant server. The only public-internet activity is album art: when you browse a HEOS streaming source, or show a Home Assistant media player whose cover is hosted by a music service, iOS loads the picture from that service's own image address, anonymously. Full policy at bit0100bitsoftware.com/dirigo-privacy. REQUIREMENTS A current-generation Denon or Marantz AV receiver with HEOS (Cinema 50, SR-series, AVR-X-series and similar), or a Home Assistant server. iOS 18 or later. Your receiver or Home Assistant server must be on the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone. Apple TV pairing requires tvOS 18 or later. Android TV pairing works with Android TV and Google TV devices that support the built-in remote pairing service, including NVIDIA Shield. Dirigo is an independent third-party app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Sound United, Denon, Marantz, Apple, Google, NVIDIA, or the Open Home Foundation. Home Assistant is a trademark of the Open Home Foundation.

About

Apexel One

Features
Read full description

Apexel One is the official photography app for APEXEL mobile lenses. From installation guidance and lens calibration to optimized shooting modes and professional camera controls, Apexel One helps you get the best performance from every APEXEL lens.

Screenshots

Dirigo4 screens
Apexel One3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Apexel One at none against Dirigo's 1. Apexel One also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). Dirigo's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, 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. Dirigo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Apexel One asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dirigo ships an update every 2 days, Apexel One every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Dirigo versus Apexel One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDirigoApexel One
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB14 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperBit 0100 Bit Software LLCAPEXEL TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Dirigo

One-time1
  • Dirigo$7.99
None

Apexel One

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dirigo free?
Dirigo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Apexel One free?
Apexel One is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dirigo or Apexel One have ads?
Neither Dirigo nor Apexel One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dirigo or Apexel One?
Dirigo ships an update every 2 days, and Apexel One every 3 weeks. Most recently, Dirigo was updated on October 31, 2026 and Apexel One on October 31, 2026.

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