Comparison

Hoverophone vs SuperGrid

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

Head to head
About

Hoverophone

This app reimagines the theremin for your iPhone, allowing you to play music by waving your hands in the air without touching the screen. It offers a polyphonic synthesizer with various sound options and microtonal capabilities for unique musical exploration.

Highlights
  • Air-based theremin playing with front camera hand tracking
  • Polyphonic synthesizer with multiple voice options
  • Microtonal keyboard with 12-TET or 24-TET quarter tones
  • Stack up to twelve notes by pinning voices
  • Continuous pitch glide and volume control
  • Fully offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Play a theremin in the air with your hands—no screen taps, controller, or antenna required. Hoverophone uses the front camera to follow your hands. Raise or lower a hand to glide the pitch, change the distance between your thumb and any finger to control volume, and move from side to side to pan the sound. Raise a hand and you are already playing that unmistakable, otherworldly theremin voice. A POLYPHONIC SYNTH Choose a sine, triangle, saw, or square wave, then add drive and ring modulation. Movement across the camera controls the stereo field. Hoverophone tracks up to four hands at once, so you can play chords instead of a single melody. Bring two sounding hands together to pin a note in place. Pinned notes continue to ring while you play, giving you as many as twelve simultaneous voices: four live and eight sustained. MICROTONAL NOTES IN THE AIR Leave the note grid off for the classic continuous theremin glide. Turn it on to snap the pitch to 12-TET notes or 24-TET quarter tones on an isomorphic hexagonal grid. Move your hand into a cell and the note lands in tune without touching the screen. The 24-TET mode opens the door to microtonal and xenharmonic music while preserving the instrument's in-air control. FEATURES - Front-camera hand tracking with no screen contact - Continuous theremin pitch or an isomorphic note grid - 12-TET and 24-TET tuning with quarter tones - Up to four tracked hands and twelve simultaneous voices - Four waveforms, drive, ring modulation, and stereo panning - Sound through the speaker or headphones, even in silent mode - No account required; plays without a network connection HOW TO PLAY THE THEREMIN A theremin is an electronic musical instrument played without physical contact. In Hoverophone, simply raise a hand in front of the camera. Move up and down to change pitch, open and close the space between your fingers to shape volume, and move left or right to place the sound in the stereo field. If you are learning how to play the theremin, start in continuous mode and practice smooth pitch glides. Switch to 12-TET when you want help landing on familiar notes, or choose 24-TET to play quarter tones and explore microtonal music. Hoverophone is a touch-free theremin app and polyphonic synthesizer app for iPhone and iPad, built for musicians who want expressive camera control without extra hardware. Camera frames are processed entirely on your device and never leave it. Hoverophone does not use the microphone. Create a soft ambient pad, build a dense drone, or summon the eerie sweep of a science-fiction soundtrack. For the most reliable tracking, play in a well-lit room where the camera can see your hands clearly.

About

SuperGrid

Features
Read full description

SuperGrid is a three channel, generative step sequencer. It has build-in synth voices, but can also be used to control other instruments via midi. • 4×4 grid, three sequenced channels plus a live performance channel • Euclidean trigger patterns and clock modifiers • Per-channel drive, tempo-synced delay, reverb • Weighted randomization with custom scales • MIDI: per-channel out, clock in and out • Background audio, session recall, template saving SuperGrid is free. A one-time purchase unlock additional synth voices and visual themes.

Screenshots

Hoverophone4 screens
SuperGrid4 screens

Verdict

The call

Hoverophone and SuperGrid are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hoverophone ships an update every 10 days, SuperGrid every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Hoverophone versus SuperGrid: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHoverophoneSuperGrid
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaxim OranskyJonathan Raymond

In-app purchases

None

Hoverophone

No in-app purchases

None

SuperGrid

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hoverophone free?
Hoverophone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SuperGrid free?
SuperGrid is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hoverophone or SuperGrid have ads?
Neither Hoverophone nor SuperGrid shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hoverophone or SuperGrid?
Hoverophone ships an update every 10 days, and SuperGrid every 9 days. Most recently, Hoverophone was updated on October 22, 2026 and SuperGrid on October 14, 2026.

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