Hoverophone vs GestureWave
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
GestureWave
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GestureWaveは、カメラで検出した手のジェスチャーや本体の傾きで、音楽エフェクトをリアルタイムに操作できるユニークなオーディオエフェクトアプリです。 手をかざして高さや開閉を変えるだけ、あるいは本体を傾けるだけで、エフェクトのパラメータを直感的にコントロールできます。演奏しながらの表現力を、新しい操作方法で広げます。 【主な機能】 ・5種類のエフェクト: Tremolo(トレモロ) / Flanger(フランジャー) / Phaser(フェイザー) / Ring Mod(リングモジュレーター) / Wah(オートワウ) ・カメラモードとモーションモード、2つのジェスチャー操作方式 ・外部MIDIキーボード/MIDIフットコントローラーからの入力に対応 ・サードパーティAUv3インストゥルメントを自身のプロセス内にホストして演奏可能 ・MIDI Learn機能で、外部MIDI機器のノブ/フェーダーから各パラメータを直接操作 ・Bluetooth MIDI機器のペアリングに対応 ・オーディオインターフェース経由のアナログ入力にも対応 ・AUv3拡張として、GarageBand等の他のAUv3対応ホストアプリでも単体のエフェクトとして使用可能 ・iPhone/iPad対応、日本語・英語両対応 ギター、シンセ、DTM制作まで、あらゆる音楽表現の場面で新しい操作体験を提供します。
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hoverophone at none against GestureWave's 1. GestureWave's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). 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. GestureWave sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hoverophone asks for nothing beyond the download.
Hoverophone ships an update every 9 days, GestureWave every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hoverophone | GestureWave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Maxim Oransky | F7Studio, K.K. |
In-app purchases
Hoverophone
No in-app purchases
GestureWave
- Unlock Restrictions$5.99
Questions
Is Hoverophone free?
Is GestureWave free?
Do Hoverophone or GestureWave have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hoverophone or GestureWave?
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