Comparison

FlareCON vs AsteraNext

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

Head to head
About

FlareCON

Control lighting fixtures wirelessly with dynamic scene creation. Easily manage effects, group lights, and save/load shows for events. Designed for the FlareCON Air 2 hardware.

Highlights
  • Dynamic scene creation
  • Create effects like Fade, Flicker, Paparazzi
  • Find my Light
  • Grouping fixtures
  • Master commands
  • Export and import shows
Features
Read full description

Designed for easy operation, the FlareCON Air 2 by CHAUVET DJ is the ideal way to create dynamic scenes with WDMX enabled fixtures. For more information, check us out on www.chauvetdj.com  What's new Completely fresh and updated look and experience for the FlareCON app. Easily create effects like Fade, Flicker, Paparazzi with few clicks, simple static scenes. Other new features: - Find my Light - Grouping Fixtures - Master Commands - Export and Import Shows - And more...  User Manual: https://www.chauvetdj.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FlareCon-App_UM_Rev1_Draft1.pdf "Please note, this App is for the FlareCON Air 2, and will NOT function with FlareCON Air 1"

About

AsteraNext

Control complex lighting setups with intuitive tools for creating custom programs and effects. Manage DMX addresses, diagnose and update fixtures, and ensure seamless runtime for your productions.

Highlights
  • Intuitive lighting control
  • Customizable programs and effects
  • DMX address and footprint setup
  • Fixture diagnosis and updates
  • Layer effects for pixel control
  • Scheduled standby mode
Features
Read full description

The AsteraNext offers intuitive and fast control of complex lighting setups of current and upcoming Astera products. It provides fully customizable programs and effects and also it is designed to work seamlessly with other control methods. It can set up DMX addresses and footprints for CRMX control. In addition, lamps can be diagnosed, updated or reset from the AsteraNext. Here are some of the features: Layer Effects It is now easier than ever to control pixels of your Astera lights and create complex effects. CRMX Support That would make it much easier for customers to understand how the DMX works, also easier to operate the CRMX module. Talkback+ Detect all available lights, set them up, check their status, configure DMX addresses and DMX profiles. Seamless Runtime Set the length of your production and be sure that your lights won`t run out while still getting the maximum brightness. Effects Quickly build programs out of colors and effects, trigger them or make them match a beat. Targets Quickly create groups of lights, assign positions and select which lights should receive commands. Scheduled StandBy Switch lights into power-saving standby and schedule them to wake up when the production starts. Dynamic PowerBoost This exclusive feature makes the light able to display the maximum brightness at all time and intensify non-white colors. Green/Magenta Correction Adjust green/magenta during content creation to reduce postproduction work. Emergency Lights Switches to white light when AC power is cut to keep your event save DJ Feature Auto BPM analyzes the beat and matches programs to it, flash buttons can trigger special effects while being held down. Other Features The AsteraNext is packed with many additional items and new features are frequently added via software update.

Screenshots

FlareCON4 screens
AsteraNext4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AsteraNext at 2.3 against FlareCON's 1.2. AsteraNext also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 10%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). FlareCON's advantage is ratings volume (73 vs 8). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AsteraNext holds the better App Store score, 2.3 against 1.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FlareCON has 73 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of FlareCON's written reviews are positive against 50% of AsteraNext's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlareCON ships an update every 4 months, AsteraNext every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and August 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
FlareCON versus AsteraNext: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlareCONAsteraNext
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.2 (73 ratings)2.3 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.3% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings73 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.2
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB166 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChauvet ProfessionalAstera LED Technology GmbH

Customer experience

FlareCON

All ratings73 ratings
Positive5.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative94.5%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive10.3%
Neutral14.4%
Negative75.3%

AsteraNext

All ratings8 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

FlareCON

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App does not connect to FlareCON Air/Air 1/Air 2
  • Connection drops after phone powers down
  • Auto channel selector not functioning
  • Presets not saving between sessions
  • Shows randomly disappearing/being deleted
Show 12 more
  • Cannot save more than 6-7 presets without data loss
  • Backup and restore feature failing
  • All color wheel controls offset/incorrect
  • Master dimmer not working
  • Auto programs starting wrong program
  • Incompatible with iOS 15 and newer
  • Crashes on iPhone XS and newer models
  • App crashes on iPad with current OS
  • Incompatible with original FlareCON on Apple devices
  • Cannot expand manual on mobile devices
  • Lights going dark when switching between shows
  • No delay compensation between old and new versions

Requested features

14 requests
  • Restore previous app version (2.0/1.0)
  • Add fade, pulse, strobe, and chase effects
  • Sound activation mode
  • More than 9 programmable buttons/scenes
  • Individual fixture addressing
Show 9 more
  • Full DMX channel control (512 channels)
  • Support for additional fixture types (GigBar 2, Flex Q, Tri6)
  • UV control access
  • Landscape/rotation support for iPad
  • Ability to name scenes on shows screen
  • Save fixture patches to avoid re-selection
  • sACN stream recording and playback
  • Better manual and documentation
  • Option to keep old app alongside new version

AsteraNext

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

FlareCON

No in-app purchases

None

AsteraNext

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FlareCON free?
FlareCON is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AsteraNext free?
AsteraNext is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FlareCON or AsteraNext?
AsteraNext is rated higher. FlareCON averages 1.2 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while AsteraNext averages 2.3 from 8 ratings.
Do FlareCON or AsteraNext have ads?
Neither FlareCON nor AsteraNext shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FlareCON or AsteraNext?
FlareCON ships an update every 4 months, and AsteraNext every 3 weeks. Most recently, FlareCON was updated on September 20, 2026 and AsteraNext on August 2, 2026.

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