Apple, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that they don’t want you just using any old sound for a ringtone, and due to restrictions on the iOS filesystem you need to jump through a few hoops if you want to use anything not sanctioned by the good folk of Cupertino. It’s possible to achieve this yourself with a bit of patience and some tinkering in iTunes, but many enterprising developers have released free iPhone apps that allow you to create your own ringtones with a little less effort.
Sadly they still all require access to a computer and you still need to do a little bit of manual work to add the ringtones to the iTunes library on your PC or Mac before syncing it back to your iPhone so you can actually use the ringtone. However, they do at least remove some of the trial and error, and some provide a few extra features that aren’t available if you do it “by hand”.
All the apps in the following list will guide you through the process of taking your creation and actually using it as a ring tone. Furthermore, they all take a slightly different approach, so if you’re trying a few of them out make sure you read the instructions provided by the developer and don’t rely on the fact you’ve used a different one before!
This app offers a few more features but consequently can be more awkward to use, so whether these extra features are worth it depends on your personal preferences. In addition to the basic functionality, they provide a library of ready-to-go ringtones in a variety of categories. Should you be feeling lazy, if you’re in a creative mood you can also record sounds using your iPhone’s microphone allowing you to turn pretty much any noise into a ringtone, and you also have the option of sharing your creations with others. The free version is ad-supported, and they can be a little intrusive, but in-app purchases are available to disable them.
Conclusion: The features are all robust, but the interface is a bit more complicated than its competitors, and the ads can be annoying.
Another feature-laden app, but it manages to keep most tasks simple. A library of pre-made ringtones in a selection of genres is available, and you can either browse them by function (phone calls, emails, etc.) or by style. Creating your own using music from your iTunes library or by recording sounds using the iPhone microphone is also straightforward, and the turntable-style jog wheel for fine tuning the start and end points is a nice feature. You also have the option of applying assorted effects to your creations – play them backward, change the pitch, etc. – which is probably more of a novelty than anything useful, but it’s nice that they’re there.
Conclusion: Manages to combine lots of features with a reasonably nice front-end, making it a decent all-rounder.
Remarkably (in fact almost uncannily) similar in name, layout, and functionality to Ringtones for iPhone & Ringtone Maker, but the similarities are largely superficial. It lacks some of the flashier features (there’s no recording level meter when you’re using the microphone, for instance) but makes up for it by having a slightly cleaner and easier to use interface, so what you lose on one hand you gain on the other.
Conclusion: Of all the feature-heavy offerings this is the easiest to use, but it goes a little overboard on the adverts when you’re browsing the library.
This app offers a relatively basic set of functionality – trim songs from your iTunes library or record your own sounds via the microphone – but it deserves a special mention as it’s the only one that has a UI that complies with Apple’s guidelines. Rather than assault your eyes with bright colors or a confusing mess of non-standard controls, this one almost (but not quite) could pass for an Apple-designed product.
Conclusion: The minimalist UI is a refreshing change from the other apps, but unfortunately it’s another one that has a tendency to be over-enthusiastic with the advertising.
Rather than try to grab your attention with dozens of cool but unnecessary features, this free app concentrates on just one job – taking a tune from your iTunes library and turning it into a ringtone. As a result the interface is clean and intuitive, and operates quickly. Pick a song from your library, use the controls to select the desired portion, add a fade in or out as desired, and hit the button to create a ringtone which you can then transfer to your computer for syncing back to the phone.
Conclusion: If all you want to do is make ringtones from existing tunes in your library and don’t need any additional features, this is the perfect choice.
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