Comparison

AppLights vs Onkyo Controller

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

Head to head
About

AppLights

Create and control stunning holiday light displays directly from your smartphone. This app offers a wide range of effects, colors, and themes for both indoor and outdoor decorating, making custom holiday lighting easy to manage.

Highlights
  • Smartphone control
  • Dozens of effects and colors
  • Multiple holiday themes
  • Customizable color options
  • Easy setup and management
  • Indoor and outdoor use
Features
Read full description

Put on a dazzling holiday light display–and control it all from your smartphone. The AppLights® app works exclusively with AppLights® holiday lighting products to control dozens of effects and colors directly from your smartphone. It’s super easy to set up and manage. Choose from multiple holiday themes, lighting technologies and color options for each lighting product. Perfect for outdoor or indoor holiday decorating, AppLights® delivers the latest in holiday decorating technology for a custom look that’s a breeze to manage.

About

Onkyo Controller

Control compatible Onkyo network products with this official remote app. Stream music from various sources, manage playback, and operate connected home theater devices. Features automatic sound field correction for compatible products.

Highlights
  • Music playback from streaming services
  • Control music library and NAS drives
  • Remote control functions (play, volume, input)
  • Operate connected Blu-Ray players and TVs
  • Automatic sound field correction (Dirac Live)
  • Check audio/video formats
  • Turn on compatible units remotely
Features
Read full description

Onkyo Controller is the official Onkyo remote control application that allows users to conveniently operate compatible Onkyo network products from their iPhone/iPod touch/iPad. The intuitive, user-friendly interface makes it easy to get more from your AV home entertainment experience. Main functions that can be operated through this application. (1) Play music in each room or every room - Lets you play music from music streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify, DEEZER and TIDAL, your music library on your smart device, or your NAS drive on compatible products. - You can play your music via radio, Bluetooth and USB. (2) Remote control functions - You can operate general control functions (play/stop, control the volume, select the input source, etc.) from your smartphone. (3) Operation of connected product(home theater product such as AV amplifier) - Lets you control a Blu-Ray Disc player or TV that is connected to an AV amplifier or home theater product via HDMI. (4) Dirac Live-enabled products measure automatic sound field correction. In addition, filters can be edited. (5) Audio/Video formats of input and output can also be checked. *By setting the “Network Standby” menu item in the unit’s initial settings to ON, you can use this application to turn on the power of the unit. Compatible models Network AV Receivers/Network Audio Player/Home Theater/Wireless Speaker in April 2016 or later ■ Please note ・To use Application it needs to read and agree Terms of Service. ・All models require a firmware update to use Onkyo Controller. ・Available Service depends on regions. ・Why Device's location is needed? Answer: In order to set-up your wireless devices which are located around you, SSID and Access Point info is needed. There is no other purpose to use the information of Device’s Location.

Screenshots

AppLights4 screens
Onkyo Controller4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AppLights at 4.0 against Onkyo Controller's 2.2. AppLights also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). Onkyo Controller's advantage is ratings volume (620 vs 3). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AppLights holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Onkyo Controller has 620 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of AppLights's written reviews are positive against 26% of Onkyo Controller's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 10, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AppLights versus Onkyo Controller: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAppLightsOnkyo Controller
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (3 ratings) — better2.2 (620 ratings)
Positive reviews29.4% of reviews — better25.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3620 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGemmy Industries Corporation11 Trading Company LLC

Customer experience

AppLights

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews143 reviews
Positive29.4%
Neutral8.4%
Negative62.2%

Onkyo Controller

All ratings620 ratings
Positive26.6%
Neutral6.0%
Negative67.4%
Written reviews506 reviews
Positive25.7%
Neutral12.1%
Negative62.3%

User reviews

AppLights

From 3 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works great
  • 🎨 Variety of lighting effects
  • ⏱️ Lights last for years
  • 👍 Easy to use app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues
  • 🔧 Unreliable/unstable
  • 💡 Limited customization
  • 🕰️ No timer feature
  • 🔍 App not updated/supported

Onkyo Controller

From 620 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient remote control
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 💡 Supports Tidal and Spotify
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connection issues
  • 🐛 App crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Unreliable performance
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with older devices

Bugs and requests

AppLights

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lights not responding to app commands
  • Lights stuck in demo/default mode
  • Bluetooth connectivity problems
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Custom color/pattern creation
  • Ability to sync multiple strings
  • Timer/scheduling functionality
  • More lighting effects/modes
  • Improved app UI/UX

Onkyo Controller

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App doesn't recognize receiver
  • Fails to connect to Wi-Fi
  • Loses connection during use
  • Doesn't work with iOS 13 and newer
  • Causes receiver to enter Direct mode unexpectedly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Apple Music
  • Improve Tidal and Deezer integration
  • Allow customization of input names
  • Add sleep timer and power off options
  • Improve volume control and speaker balance adjustments

In-app purchases

None

AppLights

No in-app purchases

None

Onkyo Controller

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AppLights free?
AppLights is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Onkyo Controller free?
Onkyo Controller is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AppLights or Onkyo Controller?
AppLights is rated higher. AppLights averages 4.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Onkyo Controller averages 2.2 from 620 ratings.
Do AppLights or Onkyo Controller have ads?
Neither AppLights nor Onkyo Controller shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AppLights or Onkyo Controller?
AppLights ships an update every 2 months, and Onkyo Controller every 2 months. Most recently, AppLights was updated on June 10, 2026 and Onkyo Controller on September 28, 2026.

Other comparisons