Comparison

MagicQ Remote Control vs Photon

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

Head to head
About

MagicQ Remote Control

Control your ChamSys lighting console remotely. Adjust focus, color, and test your rig. Edit and update lighting cues, palettes, and groups directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Remote control for MagicQ consoles
  • Pan and tilt focusing controls
  • Rainbow color picker
  • Execute Window for rig testing
  • Edit and update palettes, groups, and cues
Features
Read full description

ChamSys Ltd MagicQ Remote Control ChamSys MagicQ systems provide leading edge control of stage lighting, LED pixelmapping and media systems. The MagicQ Remote enables remote control of MagicQ systems including MagicQ consoles and MagicQ PC Wing solutions. MagicQ Remote supports focusing with pan and tilt controls, colour adjustment using the rainbow colour picker and rig testing through the unique MagicQ Execute Window. Palettes, Groups and Cues can be edited and updated. ChamSys MagicQ software supports up to 102,400 channels (200 DMX universes) and is available to download and use for free from ChamSys website www.chamsys.co.uk. For instructions please use the in app link to the manual; go to Connection, Help and tap the Open Manual button. For bug reports, please submit them to our bugtracker: https://secure.chamsys.co.uk/bugtracker/

About

Photon

Control DMX lighting wirelessly for events, clubs, and theaters. Create sequences, synchronize lights to music with beat tracking, and manage fixtures with a user-friendly interface. Offers advanced features via in-app purchase.

Highlights
  • Wireless Art-Net/sACN DMX control
  • Multi-touch interface optimized for iPad
  • Light group management
  • Scene and animation creation
  • Beat tracker for music synchronization
  • Fixture database and creator
  • Sequencer with timeline editing
Features
Read full description

Photon, the next generation of professional user friendly DMX lighting console perfect for night­clubs, musicians, live events, filmmakers, theaters... Wireless (Art-Net or sACN through WIFI) and easy to use, Photon reinvents the way to control DMX devices with its single interface for all your lights. Indeed, combine multiple presets to a sequence and synchronize your lights to music. Our beat tracker listens and animates your devices to the rhythm of the music. Live events will have no more secret for you. Features of the free version: - Multi-touch interface designed and optimized for the iPad. ⁃ Light group management. Associate multiple lights together to perform similar controls (colors, positions, brightness ...). - Classic DMX console for sophisticated controls (gobos/fog/focus...) ⁃ Managing scenes. Create and play animations/effects on your lights. ⁃ Smart color manager. ⁃ Art-Net /sACN / DMX output channel analyzer. ⁃ Complete control of an Art-Net universe with 512 channels. ⁃ Art-Net in multicast or unicast. ⁃ sACN in multicast or unicast. ⁃ Database with hundreds of pre-configured devices (fixtures). - Fixture creator to configure your custom devices. Features of the in-app purchase: ⁃ Sound analyzer : sync your lights to music. ⁃ Multi scene / multi group sequencer. Combine multiple cues to a sequence and animate it. ⁃ Edit your sequences as in a video editor with the timeline. ⁃ Automatic, manual or semi-automatic beat control for the sequencer. - Ableton Link support : Sync lights animations with your favorite DJ app or musical instrument. Link is a technology that keeps devices in time over a local network for a perfect synchronization between lights and music. ⁃ Management of the animation curve in/out. - Background mode * Requires an Art-Net (or sACN) Bridge to DMX. Photon is based on the open lighting architecture (open lighting project). ** Purchase of the "Sequencer" with the in-app purchase

Screenshots

MagicQ Remote Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MagicQ Remote Control at none against Photon's 1. MagicQ Remote Control also leads on review sentiment (63% vs 42%) and device support (3 vs 1). Photon's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (10 vs 14.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Photon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. MagicQ Remote Control asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for MagicQ Remote Control against 4.4 for Photon. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 27 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of MagicQ Remote Control's written reviews are positive against 42% of Photon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MagicQ Remote Control ships an update every 3 months, Photon every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MagicQ Remote Control versus Photon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagicQ Remote ControlPhoton
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (10 ratings)4.4 (27 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews — better41.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1027 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS14.010 — better
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChamSys LtdPhoton Studio

Customer experience

MagicQ Remote Control

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative12.5%

Photon

All ratings27 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative58.3%

In-app purchases

None

MagicQ Remote Control

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Photon

One-time1
  • Light Sequencer$24.99

Questions

Is MagicQ Remote Control free?
MagicQ Remote Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Photon free?
Photon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MagicQ Remote Control or Photon?
Photon is rated higher. MagicQ Remote Control averages 4.3 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Photon averages 4.4 from 27 ratings.
Do MagicQ Remote Control or Photon have ads?
Neither MagicQ Remote Control nor Photon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MagicQ Remote Control or Photon?
MagicQ Remote Control ships an update every 3 months, and Photon every 6 weeks. Most recently, MagicQ Remote Control was updated on October 9, 2026 and Photon on September 17, 2026.

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