Chromophone vs PartyLight
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Chromophone
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Chromophone turns whatever is playing in the room into a living psychedelic picture. Play, sing, or put a record on: the visuals follow the sound as it happens. Every frame is built from the sound arriving right now. Low frequencies swing the whole shape, mids and highs cut the detail, sharp hits snap the pattern into a new one, and the mood of the music slowly steers color and scale. When the room falls quiet, the picture fades to black. Nothing is prepared in advance and no video file is playing behind the screen. The picture is generated on the device from what it hears at that moment, so what you see belongs to that moment in the room. WHERE PEOPLE USE IT Watching sound become picture. Put the phone down while music plays and let the room draw itself. On stage. Mirror the screen to a projector or a TV and let the visuals run through the whole set; the screen stays awake while it plays. In a stream. Keep a live backdrop moving behind a set instead of a looping clip that ignores the music. While you play. Point it at an amp, a piano or your own voice and watch what you are playing take shape. TWO THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START It makes no sound of its own. It listens, and the music comes from wherever you already play it: your playing, your voice, or a speaker across the room. It takes the system audio input, so a line from an external interface arrives exactly as a microphone does. In a silent room the screen goes dark, because nothing is ever faked. It draws for the moment, not for later. There is no export and no rendering: this is a live picture while the music is happening, not a clip to publish afterwards. NOTHING LEAVES THE DEVICE The app contains no networking code at all. Audio is analyzed on the device, frame by frame, and is never recorded, never stored and never sent anywhere. Switch on Airplane Mode and everything still works exactly the same. FOR PEOPLE WHO SEE SOUND If you have ever wanted music to look like the way synesthetes describe it, or watched sand jump into patterns on a Chladni plate, this is that idea driven live by the room around you.
PartyLight
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WARNING - FLASHING LIGHTS: This app flashes bright light rapidly, which can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy, even with no history of seizures. It starts at a gentle 3 flashes per second and asks you to confirm before going faster. Stop immediately and see a doctor if you feel dizzy, nauseous, disoriented, or notice twitching or altered vision. Do not use around anyone who may be sensitive to flashing light. PartyLight turns your phone into a light that moves with the music. It listens through the microphone, finds the beat, and flashes the whole screen - and the camera flash - right on it. EIGHT MODES - Strobe: hard white flash on every beat - Pulse: colour swells and falls with the beat - Rainbow: hue sweeps while the beat pulses - Fire: warm flicker with a beat kick - Police: red and blue alternating - Slow Fade: gentle colour drift for chill sets - Bass Drop: only the heavy low hits trigger - Manual: your own saved look WORKS WITHOUT THE MICROPHONE Don't want to grant microphone access? PartyLight runs on a steady beat you set yourself, from 60 to 200 BPM. Every mode still works. THE MICROPHONE IS NEVER RECORDED Audio is analysed in real time to find the beat and immediately discarded. Nothing is recorded, saved, or uploaded. BUILT FOR ACTUAL PARTIES - Rear camera flash synced to the beat, with an automatic cut-off so your phone doesn't overheat - Screen stays awake and goes to full brightness - No ads on the light screen itself - No account, no sign-up PartyLight is free and supported by ads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Chromophone at none against PartyLight's shown. PartyLight's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chromophone | PartyLight |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Maxim Oransky | Byung Kwon Jeon |
In-app purchases
Chromophone
No in-app purchases
PartyLight
No in-app purchases









