Fluid Sonata vs Milkwave
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Fluid Sonata
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A fluid simulation and a classical performance, both generated live on your phone, wired to the same clock. There are no audio files in this app and no video. A piano is synthesized from scratch every time you press play β a fundamental plus four slightly sharp partials, a hammer thud on the attack, a small hall around it β and every note it plays is thrown into a real Navier-Stokes fluid solver running on the GPU. The left hand punches jets up from the floor. The right hand lands at an x position taken from its own pitch, so the melody plays the screen like a keyboard. Behind it all, a ten-body Newtonian integrator runs the actual solar system, on a real date. TEN SCORES, FOURTEEN READINGS Seven pieces from the public-domain canon β Bach's Prelude in C, Mozart's Rondo alla Turca, Beethoven's FΓΌr Elise, Ode to Joy and the Moonlight Presto, Tchaikovsky's Trepak, Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King β plus three originals written for this app. Every score plays fourteen ways: piano recital, cathedral organ, strings, music box, jazz trio, electric guitar, synth, 8-bit, 16-bit, drums, deep bass, disco, techno and an EDM remix. Every instrument is synthesized from scratch β there is not one audio file in this app. LISTEN TO THE ROOM Turn on Listen Mode and the fluid dances to whatever is playing near you β another app, a speaker, someone at a piano. The microphone reaches the analyser and nothing else: nothing is recorded, stored or sent, and turning it off releases the microphone. TWO WAYS TO DRIVE IT ORBITAL Click puts everything on a circular touch surface β a thumb travelling around the ring moves the selection, with real detents you can feel and acceleration when you spin. Fluid Classic is a conventional dock and player. Pick either in Settings; everything is reachable from both. STATIONS Three stations of music that is genuinely free to play, streamed from the Internet Archive: classical sides digitised by the Great 78 Project, and recordings Musopen commissioned and released for anyone to use. Every track earns its place by a rule that is checked when the list is built, not assumed. PLAY YOUR OWN MUSIC Hand it any song on your device and the fluid dances to that instead. A live spectrum analysis drives the same choreography the written scores use. The file is decoded on your phone and never uploaded β the app has nowhere to send it. RECORD THE STAGE Capture the fluid, the orrery and the music together, then save the clip to Files or Photos or send it straight on. PRIVATE BY ARCHITECTURE, NOT BY POLICY No account. No analytics. No third-party SDKs. No tracking. Nothing you do here is collected. The app asks for one permission β the microphone, and only if you turn on Listen Mode. The whole engine ships inside the app, and the scores, your own songs and the simulation all run with the network switched off. Three things do reach out, and the app tells you which: a once-a-day check with Apple for a newer version, carrying nothing but the app's own identifier; StoreKit, to price the Full Concert; and β only when you choose a Station β the recording you asked for. FREE FOREVER, AND A ONE-TIME UNLOCK Moonlight Β· Presto, FΓΌr Elise, the Classical reading and the EDM remix are free forever, with no time limit and no ads. The Full Concert unlocks the remaining scores and readings with a single purchase β no subscription, and it is shared with your family. Also on iPad. Made by djEnterprises.
Milkwave
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Turn your iPhone and iPad into a hypnotic, living stage visualizer. Powered by Apple Metal and real-time audio DSP, Milkwave transforms any sound from your local audio files and streaming music to live acoustic sessions and vinyl records into vibrant, responsive generative visual art. Whether you're playing your personal music library, setting the mood for a party, relaxing with lo-fi beats, producing in the studio, or docking your device as an ambient desk showpiece, Milkwave breathes fluid visual life into every rhythm. PERFECT FOR EVERY MOMENT: Local Music Playback: Play your own MP3, WAV, FLAC, or AAC files with zero microphone latency and 120 FPS direct visual reactivity. Ambient Display: Dock next to your sound system for a mesmerizing visual companion while listening to vinyl, Spotify, Apple Music, or radio. Parties & DJ Sets: Output to external monitors, TVs, or projectors via AirPlay/HDMI for club-grade live visuals. Focus & Chillout: Hypnotic visual atmospheres tailored for electronic, synthwave, jazz, and study playlists. Studio Creators: Real-time 5-band frequency tracking providing instant visual acoustic feedback. Apple Watch Experience: Silky-smooth 60 FPS generative visualizers right on your wrist reacts to ambient music in real time using the built-in microphone, works completely standalone without needing an iPhone. KEY FEATURES: 18 Handcrafted Generative Visualizer Modes: - Spectrum: 4-stage rich chromatic neon equalizer with incandescent heatmaps. - Pulse: Solar cymatic resonance orb with organic plasma flares. - Pioneer EQ & DJ Studio Pro: Club mixer interface with live VU meters and full-screen LED video wall. - Vaporwave Sunset: 3D retro neon highway grid towards an 80s horizon. - Hyperspace Hyperdrive: Relativistic starfield warp accelerating with musical tempo. - Cosmic Stargate: Interdimensional polygonal quantum portal. -Zen Garden, Sahara Dunes & Glacial Aurora: Serene raindrop ripples, shifting golden sands, and northern lights. - 3D Nebula Galaxy, 3D Mesh Tunnel, 3D Vortex, Wave, Cyber Rain, Particles, Laser Matrix & Cymatics. Built-in Local Music Player & Playlist: Import audio files directly from the iOS Files app (MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, MIDI) with automatic ID3 metadata extraction, interactive seek scrubber, repeat, shuffle, and 2 bundled demo tracks (Liquid Waves & Neon Horizon). Two-Finger Pinch-to-Zoom: Pinch anywhere on screen to dynamically scale the design of any visualizer from 0.4x to 3.8x. Double-tap to smoothly reset to 1.0x with haptic feedback. Dynamic Audio AGC & Pink-Noise Tilt EQ: Psychoacoustic frequency calibration balances bass, vocals, and high-frequency cymbals across the screen, ensuring lively, punchy bounce without clipping. Auto-Shuffle Mode: Seamlessly cycles through all 18 visualizer modes for long, ever-evolving listening sessions. Zero-Latency Real-Time DSP: 5-band frequency tracking powered natively by Apple Accelerate (vDSP). Reacts via local player, microphone, or Apple Music. Smart Headphone Detection: Real-time hardware monitoring provides instant guidance for optimal acoustic microphone capturing. 120 FPS ProMotion Fluidity: Silky-smooth frame interpolation engineered for Retina and ProMotion displays with audio-reactive time progression. Smart Lighting Sync: Coordinate room lighting with Philips Hue and HomeKit over your local Wi-Fi network. One-Tap Fullscreen Canvas: Tap anywhere to hide all controls for an edge-to-edge ambient stage. 100% Private, Offline & Ad-Free: All DSP analysis runs in volatile RAM. No audio is recorded or transmitted. Zero ads, zero tracking, zero subscriptions. Simply press play, open Milkwave, and experience your music like never before.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Milkwave at none against Fluid Sonata's 1. Milkwave also leads on device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Fluid Sonata sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Milkwave asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Fluid Sonata | Milkwave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | β | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch β better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Ehrlich | Ufuk AYDIN |
In-app purchases
Fluid Sonata
- The Full Concert$4.99
Milkwave
No in-app purchases









