# i vs HOTMAC

The clearest difference is update cadence: HOTMAC at every 3 months against i's every 14 months. HOTMAC also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). i's advantage is review sentiment (20% vs 0%) and ratings volume (35 vs 5). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 2.7 for i against 2.8 for HOTMAC. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: i has 35 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 20% of i's written reviews are positive against 0% of HOTMAC's.

i ships an update every 14 months, HOTMAC every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | i | HOTMAC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.7 (35 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i-seeing/id926099814/reviews) | **[2.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hotmac/id1179972301/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **35** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | **20.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 6 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Shanghai Qingying Electronic Technology LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/926099802) | [有发 赖](https://appshunter.io/developer/1061367764) |

## What reviewers say

### i

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i-seeing/id926099814)

Transform your smartphone into a powerful magnification tool. Observe and record microscopic details with your phone's camera and a macro lens. Measure objects with a scale bar and add notes to your digital micrographs.

**Highlights:** Professional magnification tool, Record digital micrographs, Optical magnification, Up to 10x digital zoom, Scale bar for measurement, Add notes and remarks, Direct photo sharing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### HOTMAC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hotmac/id1179972301)

Connect a digital microscope to your iPhone or iPad via Wi-Fi to view live image streams. This software receives the stream and displays it on your device.

**Highlights:** Wi-Fi microscope connection, Live image streaming, Display microscope frames, iPhone and iPad compatibility

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is i free?

i is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is HOTMAC free?

HOTMAC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, i or HOTMAC?

HOTMAC is rated higher. i averages 2.7 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while HOTMAC averages 2.8 from 5 ratings.

### Do i or HOTMAC have ads?

Neither i nor HOTMAC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, i or HOTMAC?

i ships an update every 14 months, and HOTMAC every 3 months. Most recently, i was updated on October 14, 2026 and HOTMAC on October 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*