AaronCam vs Samatic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AaronCam
This app transforms your iPhone into a vintage analog video camera, replicating the distinct visual effects of late 70s and early 80s technology. Capture footage with authentic light trails and unique damage streaks, all processed directly on your device for privacy.
- Simulates analog videotube camera physics
- Recreates light trails
- Adds purple damage streaks
- On-device processing
- Privacy-focused, no uploads
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AaronCam turns your iPhone into a late 70's / early 80's analog videotube camera by faithfully modeling the physics of this old technology. Capture video with those gorgeous light trails and weird purple damage streaks you have seen on archival footage or may even remember from your childhood. The app runs its camera processing on device. Videos and audio are not uploaded to Aanalog servers.
Samatic
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A slide projector, for the photographs already on your phone. Samatic is two halves of one machine. Your iPhone is the clicker — the corded remote, with the switch, the counter, the focus and the tray of slides. Your Apple TV is the projector and the screen. Load an album. Slide the switch across to LAMP. Press FOR, and the first picture comes up on the television. HOW IT WORKS 1. Open Samatic on the Apple TV and leave it showing. 2. The phone finds the television by itself. The cord at the bottom of the clicker shows when the two are joined. 3. Tap the label slot near the top of the machine and choose an album. That album is your tray of slides. 4. Push the switch across to LAMP — push it with your thumb, it doesn't answer a tap. 5. FOR for the next picture. REV to go back one. 6. Hold FOCUS to send the picture soft, and the other end to bring it sharp, the way a real lens does. 7. Press AUTO and the pictures change by themselves. The timer decides how long each one stays up. 8. Switch back to OFF when the show is over. THE MACHINE The lamp takes a moment to come up to temperature. The fan runs while it's warm. The tray clunks as it turns. You can switch the sound and the vibration off if you'd rather it ran quietly. There's a service record inside the leaflet, counting the shows you've given, the slides you've projected and the hours on the lamp. Nothing here can be broken and no photograph can be lost, so press whatever you like and see what it does. YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS STAY YOURS There is no account. There is no sign-in. There is no Samatic server, because there is no Samatic company — just one person who wanted this to exist. Your photographs go from your phone to your own television, directly, over your own Wi-Fi. They are never uploaded anywhere. Nothing is collected, nothing is tracked, nothing is sold, and there is no analytics, no advertising and no crash reporting of any kind. FREE, AND ALL OF IT No subscription. No in-app purchases. WHAT YOU NEED An iPhone and an Apple TV on the same Wi-Fi network. Samatic is an original design, made in homage to the rotary-tray slide projectors of the 1960s and 70s. It is not made by, endorsed by, or associated with Eastman Kodak Company, and no manufacturer's trademark or letterform is reproduced.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Samatic at every 3 days against AaronCam's weekly. AaronCam's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
AaronCam ships an update weekly, Samatic every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AaronCam | Samatic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (12 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aanalog | MAXWELL PHOENIX COMMER |
In-app purchases
AaronCam
No in-app purchases
Samatic
No in-app purchases









