Comparison

Photon Player vs Mulux

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

Head to head
About

Photon Player

Features
Read full description

Photon is a native player for the library you already own. Connect your media servers, your cloud and network storage, and your Live TV subscription, and everything you can watch appears in one place β€” on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac, from a single purchase. YOUR OWN LIBRARY, TOGETHER β€’ Works with Jellyfin, Emby, Plex and Silo β€’ Connect a server free, or as many as you like with Pro. Home and Search bring them all together; the Library tab keeps each source's own shelves separate, so you can still ask what is on one server. β€’ Play straight from an SMB, NFS, FTP or WebDAV share, a UPnP server on your network, or Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, with no media server at all β€’ Live TV from an Xtream Codes subscription: a full program guide, favorites, and a channel list built for thousands of channels β€’ Open a video from Files or the Finder and it becomes a title like any other β€” with a resume point, artwork and a name you can match against your servers AS IT WAS MADE β€’ Dolby Vision and HDR, with AVPlayer driving the display for real HDR output β€’ MKV and 4K play as they are. Nothing is quietly downscaled or re-encoded behind your back. β€’ Dolby Digital Plus with Atmos passed through untouched; TrueHD and DTS-HD decoded losslessly rather than folded to stereo, and with Pro, TrueHD Atmos rendered with its height β€’ Subtitles drawn as overlays, never burned into the picture β€’ Standing choices for audio language, subtitle language, and when subtitles should come on at all β€’ Skip intros and credits, and go straight into the next episode EVERYWHERE YOU WATCH β€’ Download for offline with Pro. Transfers carry on while you are elsewhere, with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and a notice when a title lands. β€’ Handoff picks a film up on the next device at the frame you left it β€’ Spotlight opens a title directly β€’ Top Shelf on Apple TV, a real menu bar on the Mac, and one design across all four platforms BUILT FOR THE PLATFORM Written in SwiftUI for iOS, tvOS and macOS, with full Dynamic Type, VoiceOver labels on every control, and Reduce Motion respected throughout. There is no account to create and no service of ours in the path: Photon talks to your servers and to your own iCloud, and to nothing else. PHOTON PRO The free app is the whole player: one media server and one Live TV subscription, every drive and network share, and every format β€” 4K, MKV, Dolby Vision, TrueHD and DTS β€” with browsing, search, Handoff and SharePlay, no advertising and nothing to sign up for. Pro adds: β€’ Every source at once: as many servers and Live TV subscriptions as you like, together in Home and Search β€’ Downloads, for watching offline β€’ Dolby Atmos from TrueHD soundtracks, rendered for your speakers or headphones β€’ AirPlay to an Apple TV or any AirPlay screen β€’ Your servers, settings and the way you have arranged Home, on every device you sign in on Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-off Lifetime purchase, with a free week on either subscription. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Photon plays the media you already have on servers and storage you control. It is an independent client and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Jellyfin, Emby or Plex. Terms of Use (EULA): https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/privacy/

About

Mulux

Features
Read full description

Mulux Cinema Bring your favorite films into your own cinema. Open your library on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Apple Vision Pro, pick up where you left off, and settle in for a movie. Understand the Story, Even Without Subtitles Found a film without subtitles? You no longer have to wait for someone to create them. Mulux Cinema uses AI speech recognition to generate subtitles from the dialogue and translate them into your preferred language. Already have subtitles? Use AI subtitle translation to make foreign-language dialogue easier to follow. Generated AI subtitles can also sync across devices, so you can create them on a supported device and use them on your other devices. Your Films, Wherever You Keep Them Play local files in a wide range of common video formats, or connect to network shares and media servers. Supports SMB, WebDAV, and FTP, along with Emby, Jellyfin, and Plex libraries. Whether your films are stored on your device, computer, or NAS, browse them in one place and find your next watch by its poster. Switch Devices. Keep Watching. Sync playback progress, library information, AI subtitles, and more through iCloud. Watch on your iPhone while you’re out, then switch to your iPad or TV at home. As long as both devices can access the same video source, you can continue where you left off. SharePlay lets you watch in sync with friends and family, so you can enjoy a movie together even when you’re apart. A Viewing Experience for Every Screen Portrait playback on iPhone and iPad uses a split layout: watch the video at the top, with playback, subtitle, and audio controls below. View the synopsis and technical details, or browse your library while watching. When chapter or episode information is available, jump to a chapter or choose another episode with ease. The layout also adapts to different iPhone Duo screen configurations. Picture in Picture on iOS lets you keep watching while replying to messages or using other apps. On Apple TV, an interface designed for the big screen and remote control turns your living room into your everyday cinema. An Immersive Cinema, Exclusively on Apple Vision Pro Step into an immersive cinema and let the film take center stage. Choose your cinema environment and seat, then enjoy the big-screen experience in your own viewing space. Subtitles and Playback, Your Way Adjust subtitle fonts, size, color, and position. Switch audio tracks and choose how the video fits the screen. Resume where you left off, play videos in sequence, and skip intros when the relevant information is available. Set things up the way you like, then enjoy the movie. Choose from Apple’s built-in translation, Apple Intelligence translation, or translation through a large language model API that you configure. Some AI features depend on your device model, system version, language, and the availability of Apple services. Speech recognition and translation accuracy may vary depending on the source content. Cross-device sync requires the same Apple Account and the relevant sync settings to be enabled. Local video files are not transferred automatically. The app does not provide movies or TV shows. Please use content you are authorized to access.

Screenshots

Photon Player4 screens
Mulux4 screens

Verdict

The call

Photon Player and Mulux are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters β€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them β€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Photon Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Mulux sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Photon Player versus Mulux: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoton PlayerMulux
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyDailyβ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro β€” betteriPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size37 MB96 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOliver WaltonεΏ—ε‡Œ ζ–Ή

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Photon Player

Subscriptions2
  • Photon Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Photon Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Photon Pro Lifetime$49.99
1 purchases

Mulux

One-time1
  • Mulux Player Full Version$19.99

Questions

Is Photon Player free?
Photon Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mulux free?
Mulux is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Photon Player or Mulux have ads?
Neither Photon Player nor Mulux shows ads.

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