Retrospecs vs PXL2000
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Retrospecs
Transform your photos and videos into retro pixel art. Emulate the look of classic computers and consoles from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Customize your output with various graphics engines, color palettes, and fonts.
- Pixelate images and video clips
- Emulate 40+ classic computer/console systems
- Create custom graphics modes
- Variety of color palettes and fonts
- Supports Commodore 64, IBM PC, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, and more
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A retro computing / pixel art camera app. Retrospecs lets you convert images and video clips so they appear as they would on a wide variety of home computers and consoles from the 70's, 80's and 90's. Simply take a picture (or select one from your photo library) and you can display it as it would appear on over forty systems including the Commodore 64, IBM PC (DOS, CGA, EGA and VGA), Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Game Boy and even the original 1984 model Apple Macintosh. If that's not enough you can also create your own custom modes based around four different graphics engines and a wide variety of color palettes and character fonts. (The free version only contains a limited number of systems/dither modes and the custom editors, video clip processing and animation options aren't available.) All trademarks are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.
PXL2000
Recreate the lo-fi aesthetic of 1980s toy video cameras. Achieve a deliberately "bad" video quality with a retro glitch filter. Perfect for those who want a vintage, grainy look for their footage.
- Retro 80s Pixelvision look
- Toy camera aesthetic
- Glitch filter effect
- Low video quality simulation
- Shareable retro videos
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When the camera on your rad new iPhone is just too good, desperate measures must be taken! Do it the wrong way with the retro 80s Pixelvision PXL2000 look. That's right, when you're sick of the super "high-quality" VHS camcorder glitch filter look, it's time to take things to the next level of awful video quality. Think: toy camera. Because that's what it is. Good luck even figuring out what you just shot! But hey, that's part of the fun, right? RIGHT?!?! Be one of those old dudes or dudettes that gets excited when they see some old piece of vintage video camcorder gear. Share you videos on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Tell your friends you've gone retro. See if they stick around. Probably not. This app is awesome, so don't believe the haters. What do they know? Hey, they're probably still shooting video in 4K. What a bunch of dorks. Follow Rarevision: http://instagram.com/rarevision http://twitter.com/rarevision http://facebook.com/rarevisionfans Copyright © 2019 Rarevision LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Retrospecs at Free against PXL2000's $1.99. Retrospecs also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months) and review sentiment (94% vs 72%). PXL2000's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and chart position (#198 vs unranked). 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
Retrospecs is free to download; PXL2000 costs $1.99 up front. Retrospecs sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. PXL2000 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Retrospecs holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Retrospecs has 367 ratings behind it against 55, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Retrospecs's written reviews are positive against 72% of PXL2000's.
Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, PXL2000 every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retrospecs | PXL2000 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (367 ratings) — better | 4.6 (55 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better | 72.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 367 — better | 55 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #198 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Parker | Rarevision |
Customer experience
Retrospecs
PXL2000
Bugs and requests
Retrospecs
Reported bugs
3 issues- Animation option not working properly
- Video import and saving issues
- Occasional image loading failures
Requested features
5 requests- Add more retro systems (e.g. NES, TI-99/4A)
- Improve video encoding capabilities
- Allow adjusting dithering levels
- Add support for transparent PNGs
- Implement batch processing and export options
PXL2000
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Retrospecs
- Small tip$0.99
- Medium tip$1.99
- Unlock everything$1.99
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- Big tip$4.99
- The king of tips$9.99
- Tipapottamus Prime$24.99
PXL2000
No in-app purchases









