Comparison

Nature vs Note to Be

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

Head to head
About

Nature

This app translates visual information from your camera into sound using spectral synthesis. Control the sound's amplitude, type, and speed by interacting with the screen and camera feed. Record any generated sound with a simple button press.

Highlights
  • Camera-to-sound translation
  • Spectral synthesis
  • Adjustable scanning curve
  • Amplitude control
  • Speed control
  • Sound recording
Features
Read full description

The world around us is an endless source of visual information, the flow of the fractal code of life. "Nature - Oscillator" is one of the attempts to translate this code to sound, using spectral synthesis algorithm of the Virtual ANS engine (software simulator of the unique Russian synthesizer ANS). The program continuously reads the image from the camera and interprets it as the spectrum of the sound. And you can easily control the scanning curve: its amplitude, type and speed. [ How to use ] Start the app and you will hear the sound immediately. Try to move the camera and you will hear the sound change. If there is no sound for some reason - try to reduce the Quality parameter in the app menu. How to change the scanning curve: * amplitude: touch the screen and slide up or down; * speed: touch the screen and slide left or right; * type: use the slider at the top of the screen. Any sound can be recorded by pressing the REC button on the right side of the screen.

About

Note to Be

This app offers advanced MIDI quantization for iOS musicians. It allows precise control over note selection, octave flexibility, and MIDI CC integration for crafting harmonious compositions and dynamic live performances. Supports microtonal scales and multi-synth setups.

Highlights
  • Customizable note and octave selection
  • MIDI CC to note conversion
  • Multi-synth channel assignment
  • Live performance toggles
  • Microtonal scale support (Scala Library)
  • MPE polyphonic playback
Features
Read full description

Take full control of your MIDI experience with Note to Be—the powerful iOS app designed to transform how you interact with your music. Whether you're working with a MIDI keyboard, sequencer, or MIDI CC input, Note to Be ensures your notes are perfectly quantized to the nearest selected note, allowing you to craft precise, harmonious compositions with ease. Key Features: - Customizable Note Selection: Choose individual notes from any octave, or apply your selection across the full -1 to +8 octave range. - Octave Flexibility: Work within the entire octave spectrum, selecting and unselecting notes with a simple tap. - MIDI CC Integration: Use MIDI CC from hardware controllers or apps like ShiftBud to convert control changes into quantized notes. Easily create chord voicings and dynamic live performances. - Multi-Synth Support: Assign different MIDI channels to multiple synths, allowing each to respond to the quantized MIDI output independently. - Live Performance Enhancement: Engage the 'all notes' toggle to instantly apply note selections across all octaves or quickly select notes in a specific key and scale. - Microtonality: Select a microtonal scale from the Scala Library with +5000 microtonal scales, or import your own to the iCloud folder. Play the MPE supported synths polyphonically. With Note to Be, your music becomes a canvas, and every note is a brushstroke. Unlock new creative possibilities and refine your sound with the precision of MIDI quantization, right from your iOS device. Note to Be is a MIDI app and does not produce any sound on its own. You need a MIDI input source and an audio output destination in order to work with Note to Be. The AUv3 plugin requires an AUv3 host app such as AUM, Logic Pro for iPad, Loopy Pro, Cubasis, Nanostudio, apeMatrix, Audiobus etc.

Screenshots

Nature2 screens
Note to Be4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nature at 94% against Note to Be's 50%. Nature also leads on price ($1.99 vs $4.99). Note to Be's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 36 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.5). On ratings volume, 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

Nature costs $1.99 and Note to Be $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Note to Be holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 94% of Nature's written reviews are positive against 50% of Note to Be's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nature ships an update every 36 months, Note to Be weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nature versus Note to Be: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNatureNote to Be
Price$1.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.5 (19 ratings)4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.8% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings19 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 36 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander ZolotovCem Olcay

Customer experience

Nature

All ratings19 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive93.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.3%

Note to Be

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Nature

No in-app purchases

None

Note to Be

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nature free?
Nature costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Note to Be free?
Note to Be costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nature or Note to Be?
Note to Be is rated higher. Nature averages 4.5 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Note to Be averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.
Do Nature or Note to Be have ads?
Neither Nature nor Note to Be shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nature or Note to Be?
Nature ships an update every 36 months, and Note to Be weekly. Most recently, Nature was updated on October 7, 2026 and Note to Be on October 18, 2026.

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