Garmin VIRB vs Hover
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Garmin VIRB
Control and manage your Garmin VIRB action cameras, including the VIRB 360. Playback, edit, and share your footage, or even live stream directly from your mobile device. Features include remote control, live viewfinder, and advanced editing tools.
- Remote camera control
- Live viewfinder
- Video editing
- 360 video playback and editing
- Live streaming
- G-Metrix data overlays
- Multi-camera control
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Connect and control all your Garmin VIRB cameras with the VIRB app, which now supports VIRB 360! Quickly playback, edit, share, and live stream** directly from your mobile device.*** Also, has playback and video editing support for Speak Plus, Dezl 785, Drive Assist 51, Dash Cam 45/55/65W, and GDR E530/E530Z/E560/S550! Features: • VIRB 360 support – Easily view and edit 360 videos, add 4K spherical Stabilization, watch footage in VR Mode and add Augmented Reality G-Metrix™ data overlays • Frame your shot – See what your camera sees with live viewfinder • Remote control – Full remote control of camera functions and settings • Browse Content – Playback recorded videos and photos • Edit Your Videos – Trim a clip, adjust playback speed, add G-Metrix™ overlays and music • Highlight Detection – Find the most interesting parts of the video quickly using highlights in editor timeline • Share Your Content – Push photos and videos to sharing services • Live Broadcast – Stream from your VIRB live to YouTube or Facebook Live • Manage Your Files – Browse and delete files on your microSD card • Multi-Camera – View, control and access up to 8 VIRB action cameras simultaneously when VIRBs are in Multi-Cam mode, or many more when connected to a wireless router. • Locate Camera – Use the app to help find your lost VIRB • HyperFrame Director Mode - Reframe 360 video content after filming using smooth camera pans, impressively wide angles, and tiny planets Camera Compatibility • App is compatible with VIRB 360, VIRB Ultra 30, Speak Plus, Dash Cam 45/55/65W, Dezl 785, GDR E530/E530Z/E560/S550, Drive Assist 51, VIRB X, VIRB XE, and VIRB Elite cameras only Visit virb.garmin.com to learn more about VIRB. * Available with VIRB 360 **Available with VIRB 360 & VIRB Ultra 30 ***Playback, editing, and live broadcast features not available on VIRB Elite.
Hover
Control a self-flying camera for real-time shooting previews and detailed parameter adjustments. Capture photos and videos with various modes and manage your footage efficiently.
- Real-time shooting preview
- Camera parameter adjustment
- Adjust flight angle, distance, and tracking
- Switch between single and continuous photo/video modes
- Manage video and photo materials
- One-click film maker
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Hover is an exclusive app for Hover Camera. You can preview the shooting in real time and lock the shooting details; the camera parameter adjustment function brings various gameplay, and there is also a video material management function to create your exclusive library for photogenic spot. Function introduction: -【Real-time preview】Real-time preview of the shooting ,check the quality and content at any time; -【Camera parameter adjustment】arbitrary adjustment of the camera's flight angle, distance and tracking form, and shoot more freely. -【Video/Photo mode】Single mode/continuous mode can be switched during the shooting process, to freeze every wonderful moments; -【Material Management】One-click film maker, saving time and efficiency, and sharing one step faster.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hover at 2.9 against Garmin VIRB's 1.9. Hover also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 16%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Garmin VIRB's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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. Hover sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Garmin VIRB asks for nothing beyond the download.
Hover holds the better App Store score, 2.9 against 1.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 205 and 101 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of Garmin VIRB's written reviews are positive against 33% of Hover's.
Garmin VIRB ships an update monthly, Hover every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin VIRB | Hover |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (205 ratings) | 2.9 (101 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.3% of reviews | 32.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 205 — better | 101 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 152 MB | 342 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Hangzhou Zero Zero Technology Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
Garmin VIRB
Hover
User reviews
Garmin VIRB
From 205 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app for Garmin dashcam
- 👍 Works well with dashcam
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Connectivity issues with dashcam
- 🐛 Unreliable and unstable
- 🐛 Doesn't work with newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Slow video transfer speeds
Hover
From 101 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Great quality
- 👍 Fun to use
- 👍 Innovative product
- 👍 Good video quality
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Login issues
- 🐛 Connection failures
- 🐛 Confusing UI
- 🐛 Ads in notifications
Bugs and requests
Garmin VIRB
Reported bugs
4 issues- App doesn't detect dashcam
- Can't connect to dashcam via WiFi
- Crashes when trying to view videos
- Dashcam footage not showing up in app
Requested features
4 requests- Live video preview
- Ability to view and download videos directly
- Improved video editing features
- Better compatibility with wider range of dashcams
Hover
Reported bugs
24 issues- App closes out after login attempt
- Repeated failures to connect to drone's WiFi
- Cannot access videos or photos even when logged in
- App shuts down involuntarily
- Setup process is a moving target
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- New update damaged batteries, reducing flight time
- App not loading at first
- App says network failed
- App doesn't connect to drone
- Audio recording not downloading/merging with video
- Photo function lost after update
- Cannot sign into app, network unavailable error
- App doesn't work
- App requires full access to media
- App requires full access to photos
- App requires GPS access to download videos
- App doesn't connect for downloads after iPadOS update
- Permissions issues, requires full photo library access
- Cannot initiate connection/pairing with VoiceOver screen reader
- Doesn't allow shooting more than 15 seconds in specific modes
- Login process does not allow re-login, prompts for new account
- Mode tab cannot be used to access mode settings
- Network unavailable error when downloading videos
- Manual button not found
Requested features
18 requests- Allow access to album when drone is off
- Unlock flight modes immediately
- Add voice control
- Add more fun flight modes
- Improve UI and UX design
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Add comprehensive editing tool features
- Add manual flight mode for iPad
- Allow flight at any firmware version
- Add option to mute or lower robotic sound
- Add settings for camera quality adjustments (EV, contrast, saturation, sharpening)
- Allow reinitiating flight from phone without tapping power button
- Add duration option on all modes
- Program a sequence for flight execution
- Allow limited photo access instead of full access
- Improve translations
- Add more operational manuals in the app
- Allow user-controlled exposure/EV, saturation, contrast, and sharpening settings
- Add option to create instructions in a sequence for execution and return to user
In-app purchases
Garmin VIRB
No in-app purchases
Hover
- 450 Token$0.99
- 4500 Token$9.99
- 45000 Token$99.99
