Comparison

PhaseRings vs DroneSynth

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

Head to head
About

PhaseRings

Create expressive music with intuitive touch gestures. Explore various sound schemes and generative composition tools to craft unique musical pieces. Supports MIDI and Audiobus for advanced integration.

Highlights
  • Expressive touch gesture music creation
  • Seven unique sound schemes
  • Generative composition engine
  • Customizable pitch compositions
  • Core MIDI support
  • AudioBus and Inter-App Audio support
Features
Read full description

PhaseRings is a musical instrument for performing expressive music with touch gestures. Anyone can create a beautiful piece of music with our sound schemes and generative composition engine! Each ring on the screen represents a different pitch, and you can tap and swirl on each ring to create combinations of long and short notes. The angle and size of your tap will change the timbre of the notes you create! New in version 3.0, PhaseRings is also an AUv3 Audio Unit plugin. Load it as an instrument in hosts like AUM, GarageBand, Logic Pro for iPad, and Cubasis — play the rings inside your host, run several instances at once, drive it from MIDI tracks, and record it through your host's effects. PhaseRings includes seven expressive "sound schemes" featuring percussive sounds like marimba and singing bowls as well as pure synth sounds like phase and string synthesis. Four "compositions" of pitches are included in the app, but you can also create your own custom composition by choosing three base notes and scales. PhaseRings will do the rest, generating a series of great setups from the harmony you choose! Features: - AUv3 Audio Unit instrument for AUM, GarageBand, Logic Pro, Cubasis, and other hosts - 7 sound schemes - 4 built-in compositions - Custom generative composition - 11 scales and modes - Core MIDI in and out for iOS MIDI accessories and MIDI-enabled apps - VoiceOver support and light/dark appearance

About

DroneSynth

Create ambient textures, evolving pads, and hypnotic soundscapes with an analog-style drone synthesizer. Shape your sound with multiple oscillators, envelopes, LFOs, and built-in effects like delay and reverb. Offers hands-on control without complex menus.

Highlights
  • Three independent oscillators
  • ADSR envelope and LFO modulation
  • Stereo-capable Moog Ladder filter
  • Tempo-syncable delay and reverb
  • Drone/sustain mode for hands-free use
  • On-screen keyboard with adjustable range
  • Save and recall unlimited presets
Features
Read full description

As both a musician and a software engineer, I've always found drones incredibly useful for my musical creativity, supporting my practice with singing, flute, didgeridoo, and other instruments like synthesiser and guitar. That passion for music and technology led me to bring DroneSynth to iOS, built from the ground up for the Apple ecosystem. Including AU support for supported DAWs DroneSynth turns your iPhone and iPad or Mac into a hands-on, analog-style drone synthesiser built for ambient textures, evolving pads, and hypnotic soundscapes — no menus to dig through, knobs you can hear. It now includes AU Support on all platforms. Layer three independent oscillators — sine, triangle, square, saw, and pink noise — each with its own volume, octave, semitone, and fine-tune. Shape the blend with a full ADSR envelope and two independent LFOs modulating filter cutoff and pitch, each with sine, triangle, or random shapes and drift. STEREO-CAPABLE MOOG LADDER FILTER Sculpt your tone with a classic Moog Ladder filter, featuring live cutoff and resonance. Upgrade to true stereo filtering — two independently detuned filters panned hard left and right — for a wider, richer, more three-dimensional drone. BUILT-IN EFFECTS • Tempo-syncable delay with tap-tempo and ping-pong stereo bouncing • Lush reverb across four distinct spaces — Room, Hall, Plate, and Cathedral — each with its own size, pre-delay, and decay character PERFORMANCE-READY • Drone/sustain mode for endless, hands-free evolving tones • On-screen keyboard with adjustable octave and range • Save and recall unlimited presets, so your favourite patches are always one tap away • Adaptive layout — a focused portrait view and a full landscape control surface with a persistent sidebar, so every parameter stays reachable Whether you're scoring a film, building a meditation soundscape, or want a synth that rewards knob-twisting over menu-diving, DroneSynth gives you real-time control over every stage of the signal path. Stereo Filters is available as an optional one-time in-app purchase.

Screenshots

PhaseRings3 screens
DroneSynth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DroneSynth at 5.0 against PhaseRings's 4.5. DroneSynth also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 months). PhaseRings's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (18 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. DroneSynth sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. PhaseRings asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DroneSynth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhaseRings has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhaseRings ships an update every 5 months, DroneSynth every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PhaseRings versus DroneSynth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhaseRingsDroneSynth
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (18 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCharles Martinfrederick bertram

Customer experience

PhaseRings

All ratings12 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative15.0%

DroneSynth

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PhaseRings

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

DroneSynth

One-time2
  • Stereo Filters$0.99
  • Motion Controller$4.99

Questions

Is PhaseRings free?
PhaseRings is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DroneSynth free?
DroneSynth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PhaseRings or DroneSynth?
DroneSynth is rated higher. PhaseRings averages 4.5 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while DroneSynth averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PhaseRings or DroneSynth have ads?
Neither PhaseRings nor DroneSynth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhaseRings or DroneSynth?
PhaseRings ships an update every 5 months, and DroneSynth every 2 days. Most recently, PhaseRings was updated on October 24, 2026 and DroneSynth on October 29, 2026.

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