Comparison

Retrospecs vs FRAYMIN

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

FRAYMIN

Features
Read full description

FRAYMIN turns your photos into something you'd actually want to hang on a wall, or send to someone who matters. Wrap a photo in paper. Add a handwritten note. Draw across the whole image with a real pen. Save your favorites and arrange them on a cork board, a fridge, or a brick wall. Ready to post, print, or keep. It's the feeling of writing on a photo, without ruining the original. —— FRAME IT Nine paper styles to pick from: Classic, Square, Instax, Postcard, Receipt, Gallery, Scrap, Film 1, and Film 2. Choose square, portrait, or original aspect. Use the film styles for a textured negative-frame look, with optional Original, B&W, or Negative photo looks. Export clean, or drop it on a 9:16 backdrop in white, gray, black, gradients, or any color you like. MARK IT Type a note in one of six hand picked marker fonts. Pick from classic ink colors or choose your own custom color. The text auto fits, moves naturally, and stays easy to place. Or switch to draw mode and sketch anywhere across the photo. Pen, eraser, adjustable stroke, smoothing, full undo and redo. SAVE YOUR STYLES Found a combination that feels right? Save it as one of your My Styles. Keep favorite paper, font, ink, backdrop, and film-look settings ready for next time. Long-press a saved style to rename or delete it. COLLAGE IT Grab a handful of your saved Polaroids and build a collage. Five layouts: Pile, Grid, Strip, Hero, and Contact. Real backdrops: Cork, Brick, Fridge, plus solid colors and gradients. Pin them, tape them, shuffle the magnets until it feels right. GALLERY Every Polaroid you've saved, always one tap away. Revisit, edit, duplicate, or pull a few into a new collage. SHARE IT Save to your camera roll or share directly. Classic format or 9:16 for social. Your call. —— Simple. Tactile. Yours.

Screenshots

Retrospecs4 screens
FRAYMIN4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Retrospecs at Free against FRAYMIN's $2.99. Retrospecs also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). FRAYMIN's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). 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

Retrospecs is free to download; FRAYMIN costs $2.99 up front. Retrospecs sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. FRAYMIN asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, FRAYMIN every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Retrospecs versus FRAYMIN: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetrospecsFRAYMIN
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.8 (367 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews94.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings367 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn ParkerDavid Svensson

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

FRAYMIN

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Retrospecs

One-time5
  • Small tip$0.99
  • Medium tip$1.99
  • Unlock everything$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Big tip$4.99
  • The king of tips$9.99
None

FRAYMIN

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Retrospecs free?
Retrospecs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FRAYMIN free?
FRAYMIN costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Retrospecs or FRAYMIN have ads?
Neither Retrospecs nor FRAYMIN shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Retrospecs or FRAYMIN?
Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, and FRAYMIN every 9 days. Most recently, Retrospecs was updated on October 21, 2026 and FRAYMIN on October 25, 2026.

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