Retrospecs vs ca
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.
ca
This app transforms your camera's live feed into unique, black and white pixelated images using a cellular automaton. Customize the output by adjusting automaton direction, resolution, brightness, and fidelity. Unlock advanced features through optional ad viewing.
- Cellular automaton image generation
- Black and white pixelated output
- Adjustable automaton direction
- Customizable resolution
- Control input brightness
- Adjust input fidelity
- Selfie mode
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Probably the nerdiest camera app ever made, ca-mera uses a cellular automaton to interpret the brightness values of your camera stream. The resulting images are black/white and pixelated, and contain unique patterns created by the cellular automaton (Wolfram rule 126). This app provides a "selfie" mode, and lets you change the appearance of the pictures by controlling the automaton application direction, the resolution, the input brightness, and the input fidelity (i.e. to which extent the cellular automaton is allowed to run freely). Furthermore, features from the more advanced ca-mera+ app can be unlocked inside ca-mera by tapping the "+" button and watching our handcrafted ads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ca at none against Retrospecs's 5. ca also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). Retrospecs's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 58 months) and ratings volume (364 vs 30). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Retrospecs sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. ca asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Retrospecs against 4.7 for ca. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Retrospecs has 364 ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Retrospecs's written reviews are positive against 91% of ca's.
Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, ca every 58 months. The most recent releases landed on August 26, 2026 and August 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retrospecs | ca |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (364 ratings) — better | 4.7 (30 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better | 90.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 364 — better | 30 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 58 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Parker | Fritz Menzer |
Customer experience
Retrospecs
ca
User reviews
Retrospecs
From 364 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Versatile and customizable
- 👍 Authentic retro filters
- 👍 Extensive system emulations
- 👍 Powerful editing capabilities
- 👍 Nostalgia-inducing effects
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🔍 Limited image resolution
- 📏 Aspect ratio issues with some filters
- 🙈 Aggressive upgrade prompts in free version
ca
From 30 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Unique and creative visual effects
- ⚡ Lightweight app with minimal storage footprint
- 💰 Free to use with no paywalls
- 🧠 Innovative Wolfram algorithm-based filters
- 📱 Simple and intuitive user interface
Room to improve
- 📹 No video recording capability
- 📸 Cannot import photos from camera roll
- 🚫 Limited to live camera input only
- 💧 Watermark present on images
- 🔤 Limited language support
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
ca
Reported bugs
6 issues- App crashes on launch with iOS 14 (iPhone XS)
- Black screen on startup (some devices)
- Crashes on iPhone X
- Display issues on iPhone 6s with iOS 12.1
- Incompatibility with older iOS versions
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- Inconsistent filter performance
Requested features
12 requests- Video recording functionality
- Import and process photos from camera roll
- Remove watermark option (premium feature)
- Post-processing for existing images and videos
- Auto mode for quicker photo capture
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Automatic album organization for saved photos
- Old OS window border frame option
- Additional color options (RGB palette)
- API access for personal projects
- Clearer/higher quality output
- More language support
- iPhone X/XS Max interface optimization
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
ca
No in-app purchases
