Comparison

shift vs Playback for Eos

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

Head to head
About

shift

This tool helps lighting designers and electricians monitor show progress on an Eos family console. It allows observation of pending and active cues, annotation of any cue, and live streaming of channel levels. Users can manage notes, track progress, and even edit console labels directly from their device.

Highlights
  • Connect to Eos consoles
  • Monitor cue details
  • Annotate cues with custom tags
  • View live channel levels
  • Manage and filter notes
  • Edit console labels and notes
  • Apple Watch app for cue monitoring
Features
Read full description

An essential new tool for Lighting Designers and Electricians Shift-Label allows you to monitor the progress of your show on an eos family console - observe the pending and active cue and annotate any cue you wish. Key features include (note that some features require an in app purchase): - Connect to any Eos family console with minimal setup - Monitor details of all cues in any cue list, viewing labels, times and other attributes - divided by scene if required - Follow along with the current cue - Add multiple notes to cues, tagging notes with categories such as "Plotting", "Cueing" or "Focus" - all tags are user definable - View live streaming channel levels directly on your device (uses sACN) - Review all notes, or filter them down by taf - Mark notes as completed, or 'sleep' notes for a set time period to revisit later - Maintain separate sets of notes for different shows (great for when working in rep, or revisiting an old production) - Keeps cue details cached on device, allowing you to review details of the show and your notes when not at the console - On iPad run app in "split view" so you can monitor your show while using another app (such as safari or reading a pdf) - Jump directly to a cue on the console from a note - Edit the console label and notes fields directly from your iPad - Keypad control for basic channel manipulation from within app - Apple Watch app - monitor your console's current cue on your wrist! Note that for the watch app to function it must be paired with an iPhone with Shift-Label active and open, I suggest enabling "stop device from sleeping" in shift-label's settings Note that Shift-Label is not an official ETC product and is not authorised or endorsed by ETC in any way. ETC technical support will have no knowledge of the app

About

Playback for Eos

This app connects to ETC Eos family consoles, allowing users to monitor and control playback status for live events. It offers features like triggering commands, adding notes to cues, and syncing status with cue lists.

Highlights
  • Monitor playback status
  • Trigger Go and Stop/Back commands
  • Add notes to cues
  • Sync cue status
  • Discover consoles automatically
  • Save console settings
Read full description

Playback for Eos combines seamless connectivity with elegant simplicity, allowing you to keep track of your production. With a native iOS app connected to an ETC Eos® family console, you can control, view, and note the playback status. Customisable Console Connections • Automatically discover consoles on your local Wi-Fi network. • Intuitively edit console settings to fit your system. • Save console settings for effortless portability. • Seamlessly integrate with consoles in a restricted local network. Powerful Playback • Trigger Go and Stop/Back commands on the connected console. • Attach notes to the current cue for production review. • Sync cue status to a specified cue list. Our responsive support team is always ready to help – reach out anytime at support@artificers.co.uk. Eos® is a registered trademark of ETC, INC. Artifice Industries Ltd. is an independent developer and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ETC, INC.

Screenshots

shift4 screens
Playback for Eos4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Playback for Eos at 100% against shift's 0%. Playback for Eos also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). shift's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and device support (4 vs 2). On 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

shift is free to download; Playback for Eos costs $9.99 up front. shift sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Playback for Eos asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

shift ships an update every 2 months, Playback for Eos every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 3, 2026 and June 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
shift versus Playback for Eos: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametershiftPlayback for Eos
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.2 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRichard WilliamsonArtifice Industries Ltd.

Customer experience

shift

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative80.0%

Playback for Eos

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

shift

One-time1
  • Full Access$10.99
None

Playback for Eos

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is shift free?
shift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Playback for Eos free?
Playback for Eos costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do shift or Playback for Eos have ads?
Neither shift nor Playback for Eos shows ads.
Which is updated more often, shift or Playback for Eos?
shift ships an update every 2 months, and Playback for Eos every 3 weeks. Most recently, shift was updated on June 3, 2026 and Playback for Eos on June 6, 2026.

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