orphinio vs SWAY
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
orphinio
This app offers a unique virtual musical instrument with an interface that allows for expressive melodies and soundscapes. It's designed for both beginners and experienced musicians to create music through intuitive finger movements on virtual pads.
- Unique glockenspiel/jaw harp sound
- Expressive polyphonic music
- Intuitive virtual pad interface
- Various articulations and shaker mode
- MIDI output for other synths
- Record and share performances
- Audiobus support
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orphinio for iPhone is a musical instrument with a unique sound between glockenspiel and jaw harp. Like on its bigger brother Orphion for iPad you can play expressive, wonderful sounds and easy or virtuosic melodies on it just by moving fingers on virtual pads. This video shows you how: https://vimeo.com/82138127 What can I do with it? ◦ Express the sounds you feel ◦ Play polyphonic music very expressively ◦ Crazy drumming and shaking ◦ Dream and relax ◦ Create soundscapes and melodies without musical knowledge ◦ Visually explore music and music theory ◦ Use orphinio’s innovative interface to play other synth apps via MIDI Features ◦ Different articulations from soft to plucked to hardly slapped ◦ Natural interaction ◦ Shaker mode ◦ Individual voices for each finger ◦ Extend your ways of expression as a percussionist, guitarist, pianist or other musician ◦ 9 transposable pad layouts with different tonalities from easy to complex ◦ Record and share what you play via EMail, SoundCloud or AudioCopy ◦ Audiobus support: Now you can stream live audio directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps! See http://audiob.us for more information. Follow orphinio & Orphion on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/orphion or Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrphionApp
SWAY
Create synthesized rhythms using touch and motion. Build complex patterns with independent track lengths, parameter locks, and live recording. Shape your sound with LFOs, effects, and vinyl textures. Export your creations as WAV or MP3.
- 16 synthesized tracks
- Independent track lengths
- Parameter locks and live recording
- Swipe-to-paint sequencing
- Independent track effects
- Device motion control
- Export WAV/MP3
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Move the sound. SWAY is a synthesized rhythm instrument for iPhone and iPad. Build patterns, shape sounds, and perform with touch and motion. • 16 synthesized tracks and four patterns. • Independent track lengths from 1 to 16 steps for shifting rhythms. • Per-step parameter locks, live recording, and swipe-to-paint sequencing. • Live pads, track mutes and solo. • Eight momentary punch-in effects: Repeat, Filter, Brake, Echo, Reverse, Crush, Gate and Pitch. Stack effects with multi-touch and release each pad to restore the sound. • Hold TRIG / YES for temporary rhythmic fills, with slide-controlled density. • Three independent LFOs per track with synthesis and effect destinations. • Independent track effects and a shared effects bus: delay, reverb, DJ filter and tape loops. • Vinyl texture with warmth, drift and dust. • MIDI input and output, including Bluetooth MIDI connections to compatible hardware and virtual MIDI routing to other music apps. • Per-track MIDI channels, notes and gate lengths, with per-step Note and Gate locks. Choose internal sound, MIDI output, or both for each track. • Keep performing across apps with background playback when MIDI is enabled. • Bind a display parameter to device motion, then rotate your device to play it. • Export stereo WAV or MP3, or aligned WAV stems for your DAW. • Save and delete projects locally, and import or export editable project files. • A portrait instrument on iPhone and a wide landscape console on iPad. Sound generation and project storage work locally. Bluetooth MIDI requires a compatible device or adapter.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: orphinio at 4.7 against SWAY's 4.2. orphinio also leads on price ($0.99 vs $3.99) and ratings volume (15 vs 5). SWAY's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 8 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
orphinio costs $0.99 and SWAY $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
orphinio holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 5 respectively.
orphinio ships an update every 8 months, SWAY weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | orphinio | SWAY |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (15 ratings) — better | 4.2 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bastus Trump | 弢 张 |
Customer experience
orphinio
SWAY
In-app purchases
orphinio
No in-app purchases
SWAY
No in-app purchases









