Comparison

Gloaming vs ShiWen

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

Head to head
About

Gloaming

Experience procedurally generated, dynamic skies that change with the time of day. This app offers a living frame for evolving sunsets and dusks, created on-device from geographical and astronomical data. Explore, save, and even compose your own unique celestial scenes.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated skies
  • Dynamic time of day progression
  • On-device sky generation
  • Sky composition tools
  • World dusk tracking (Pro)
  • Unlimited sky saves (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Gloaming can become a living frame for procedurally generated skies: changing light, dusk, and sunset drawn on your device rather than a static image collection. In Frame, choose one sky from Today, Explore, your Collection, or saved Studio creations and watch it play and loop for free, with no time limit. Time advances naturally: drag the time bar to another moment, release it, and the evening continues. With no sky selected, Watch plays today’s sky. Gloaming Pro unlocks multiple skies playing in sequence and a separate mode that follows dusk around the world. Return to selection to change the skies you are watching. Every sky is generated on-device from a place, a date, and geographical and astronomical inputs. With Gloaming Pro, Seek lets you revisit a chosen place and date—or imagine an evening still ahead. Studio lets you compose a sky through palette, clouds, and landscape. Pro also includes unlimited keeps and high-resolution Save. A quiet display for evenings that keep moving. Privacy Policy: https://www.quantumcola.com/privacypolicyforapps Terms of Use: https://www.quantumcola.com/termsofuse

About

ShiWen

Transform any image into unique geometric patterns and seamless designs. This tool offers over 20 pattern styles, real-time previews, and AI-enhanced upscaling for high-resolution exports. Create kaleidoscope art, repeat designs, and transparent assets for various creative projects.

Highlights
  • Create patterns from photos and textures
  • Over 20 geometric and kaleidoscope styles
  • Real-time sampling and preview
  • 70+ color palettes
  • AI HD image enhancement
  • High-resolution PNG export
  • One-tap background cutout
Read full description

Turn any photo into a seamless pattern, mandala, or kaleidoscope design. ShiWen is a pattern maker for designers, illustrators, crafters, and visual creators on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Import a photo, drawing, lettering, or everyday texture, then move the sampling frame to create kaleidoscope art, symmetrical patterns, mandalas, repeats, and seamless tiles. 【Turn Images into Patterns】 Import from Photos or Files, or shoot with the camera. Drag the sampling frame to discover new compositions. Photos, illustrations, traditional motifs, natural textures, fabrics, and handmade artwork can all become patterns. 【20+ Pattern Styles】 Explore more than 20 kaleidoscope and geometric styles based on symmetry, rotation, reflection, interlocking, and repetition. One image can become entirely different mandalas, symmetrical patterns, repeat designs, and seamless textures. 【Real-Time Sampling】 Drag the sampling frame and adjust its width, height, rotation, and output size. Every change appears directly in the preview. 【70+ Color Palettes】 Choose from more than 70 palettes and quickly explore new color combinations. 【Visual Styles】 Switch between the original image, watercolor, oil painting, rubbing, and sand effects to give the same pattern a different texture and mood. 【Layered Mandalas】 Adjust the number of petals and combine up to six concentric layers to create richer mandala compositions from the same source image. 【14 Product Mockups】 Preview the real result on 14 real objects before you download. 【One-Tap Cutout】 Remove the background from a source image or pattern to create a transparent PNG. Refine the result with the brush, eraser, and invert tools while preserving the original colors and details. 【AI HD】 Enhance small or blurry source images on-device, or apply AI HD to the finished pattern, preserving more detail for pattern creation and high-resolution export. 【Print-Ready Export】 Export PNG, JPG, PDF, layered PSD, or TIFF. Supports millimeters, centimeters, inches, and pixels, A-series and US paper sizes, and social image presets. 【Signature Watermark】 Add your own signature watermark to PNG and JPG exports. 【Local Gallery】 Source images, saved patterns, and cutout assets are organized separately. Image processing happens on your device. No account is required, and your images never leave the device. 【Perfect For】 • Pattern design and seamless repeats • Procreate brush and texture assets • Fashion, textile, fabric, and print design • Wallpapers, packaging, and pattern backgrounds • Illustration textures and digital collages • Stickers and transparent elements • Journaling and craft projects 【ShiWen Pro】 ShiWen Pro is available as a one-time purchase, or as a monthly or annual subscription. Pro unlocks all Pro pattern styles, 70+ color palettes, visual effects, AI HD, one-tap cutout, all 14 mockups, print presets and custom sizing, PDF / PSD / TIFF export, and high-resolution tile and full-pattern exports. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. Manage or cancel your subscription in Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions. Previous purchases can be restored in ShiWen. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://alinefan.github.io/shiwen-privacy/

Screenshots

Gloaming4 screens
ShiWen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ShiWen at none against Gloaming's 1. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Gloaming sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ShiWen asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Gloaming against 5.0 for ShiWen. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gloaming ships an update every 3 weeks, ShiWen every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Gloaming versus ShiWen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGloamingShiWen
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQuantumCola (Hangzhou) Technologies Co.,Ltd.广俊 张

Customer experience

Gloaming

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ShiWen

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Gloaming

One-time1
  • Gloaming Pro$8.99
None

ShiWen

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gloaming free?
Gloaming is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShiWen free?
ShiWen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gloaming or ShiWen?
Gloaming and ShiWen are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Gloaming or ShiWen have ads?
Neither Gloaming nor ShiWen shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gloaming or ShiWen?
Gloaming ships an update every 3 weeks, and ShiWen every 9 days. Most recently, Gloaming was updated on November 5, 2026 and ShiWen on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons