Comparison

Windy vs ThereminAir

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

Head to head
About

Windy

This app transforms your device into a playable musical instrument. Learn to play songs interactively by blowing into your device's microphone and using its tilt controls for different notes and octaves. Enjoy playing along with guided songs or improvising freely.

Highlights
  • Play like a real instrument
  • Interactive song playback
  • Tilt controls for notes
  • Octave control
  • Guided songs
  • Device microphone input
Read full description

Windy is a fully functioning musical instrument. Play Happy Birthday and other songs in a fully interactive way on your iPhone and iPad—no musical experience or talent necessary! To play, simply hold down the keys on the screen and blow lightly into the microphone at the same time. - Tilt your device to the left to play flat notes - Tilt your device to the right to play sharp notes - Tilt your device up and down to play across three successive octaves Play through the list of guided songs, or whatever you want! Make sure to unmute your iPhone or iPad and turn up the volume. Play over your device's speakers, wireless headphones, regular headphones, or REALLY LOUD over wireless Bluetooth-enabled speakers! Enjoy!

About

ThereminAir

This app transforms your Apple Watch into a unique theremin instrument. Play music through arm gestures, controlling pitch and volume without touching any buttons. Explore different modes and scales to create a variety of sounds.

Highlights
  • Gesture-based pitch and volume control
  • Pure mode for continuous glide
  • Scale modes for staying in tune
  • Adjustable pitch ranges and vibrato depths
  • Live readout of frequency and note name
  • Complication for instant play
Features
Read full description

ThereminAir turns your Apple Watch into a theremin — the legendary instrument you play without ever touching it. Anchor your elbow and sweep your forearm like the hand of a clock: raise it and the pitch rises, lower it and the pitch falls. Rotate your wrist to swell the volume. There are no buttons to press while you play, no strings, no keys — just the motion of your arm in the air, exactly like the real thing. Your arm becomes the antenna. HOW IT WORKS • Sweep your forearm for pitch — glide smoothly or lock to musical notes • Rotate your wrist for volume — from a whisper to full voice • Wobble your wrist on a held note and it sings with real vibrato • Turn the Digital Crown to set your maximum volume • Watch the live readout — frequency, note name, and a scrolling trace of your vibrato PLAY IN KEY Pure mode gives you the classic continuous theremin glide. Prefer to stay in tune? Choose a scale and every note snaps to it: • Major and Minor • Major and Minor Pentatonic • Pick any root note Vibrato sings around the note you land on, so playing in key never sounds locked to a grid. MAKE IT YOURS • Three pitch ranges — Precise for playing in tune, Standard for everyday play, Wide for drama • Three vibrato depths — Subtle, Natural, Wide • The tone brightens as you play louder, the way an acoustic instrument does • Plays the right way round on either wrist, in either crown orientation • Vibrato-only mode, so travelling to a new note stays clean RECOMMENDED SETTINGS Precise range · Pure scale · Dynamic timbre on · Wide vibrato depth · Vibrato only on · Travel-proof vibrato off · Exclusive audio off TAP AND PLAY Add the ThereminAir complication to your watch face and a single tap launches you straight into play mode — no menus, no waiting. Or just say "Hey Siri, play ThereminAir". BUILT FOR THE WATCH • Smooth, low-latency synthesis tuned for Apple Watch • Clean, glanceable interface • Works on the go — your instrument is always on your wrist Whether you're making eerie sci-fi sweeps, practicing pitch, or just playing with sound while you wait for coffee, ThereminAir puts a real instrument on your wrist.

Screenshots

Windy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Windy at Free against ThereminAir's $3.99. Windy also leads on ratings volume (40 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.3 vs 17.0). ThereminAir's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Windy is free to download; ThereminAir costs $3.99 up front. Windy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ThereminAir asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ThereminAir holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Windy has 40 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Windy ships an update monthly, ThereminAir every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Windy versus ThereminAir: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWindyThereminAir
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.0 (40 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings40 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS11.3 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKindred, Inc.Tom Pardee

Customer experience

Windy

All ratings38 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive51.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative40.4%

ThereminAir

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Windy

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes after update
  • App stops working after first minute
  • App closes when phone is tilted
  • No sound output from the app
  • Sound not working at all
Show 5 more
  • App does not work as intended
  • Notes do not prolong
  • Notes play randomly or not at all
  • Poor recognition of microphone input
  • App not set up for iPad, defaults to iPhone position

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more instruments (harmonica, clarinet, oboe, french horn)
  • Allow resizing and moving buttons on screen
  • Add dynamic range (volume) for each note
  • Add reverb
  • Prevent sound dropout when changing fingers
Show 5 more
  • Add chromatids
  • Compress buttons on iPad display
  • Make sounds better
  • Make app less complicated
  • Add ability to play eighth notes on one note

ThereminAir

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Windy

One-time1
  • Windy Plus$1.99
None

ThereminAir

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Windy free?
Windy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ThereminAir free?
ThereminAir costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Windy or ThereminAir?
ThereminAir is rated higher. Windy averages 4.0 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while ThereminAir averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Windy or ThereminAir have ads?
Neither Windy nor ThereminAir shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Windy or ThereminAir?
Windy ships an update monthly, and ThereminAir every 11 days. Most recently, Windy was updated on October 22, 2026 and ThereminAir on October 11, 2026.

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