Bark vs APTV
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bark
Send custom push notifications to your iPhone via an HTTP API. Supports advanced features like custom icons, grouping, and critical alerts. Offers privacy-protected, end-to-end encrypted pushes with self-deployable server options.
- HTTP API for push notifications
- Custom icons and grouping
- Continuous and critical alerts
- End-to-end push encryption
- Self-deployable server options
- Privacy-protected notifications
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You can send push notifications to your iPhone by simply calling an HTTP API. Bark supports many advanced iOS push features, such as custom icons, notification grouping, custom ringtones, continuous alerts, critical alerts, and encrypted pushes. Bark does not consume device battery, as its core functionality relies on system push services and push extensions, and the app itself does not need to be running. Bark ensures your privacy and security with high reliability. Bark supports self-deploying the server, which can be deployed via Docker, Serverless, or Cloudflare Worker. The bark-server supports most operating systems, and you can also run it manually. The app is compiled and uploaded through Github Action, ensuring that the version you’re using is compiled from open-source code, without any modifications by anyone (including the author). Bark supports end-to-end push encryption with a custom key, ensuring that the push content is not accessed or leaked by the Bark server or Apple’s APNs server during transmission. The notification message history saved locally by Bark is also very secure. Using the NotificationServiceExtension, the push message is only stored on the device when the push is received. Feedback email: to@day.app Privacy Policy: https://api.day.app/privacy User Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
APTV
A versatile IPTV player offering real-time previews and playback capabilities for M3U playlists. It supports various streaming protocols, high-quality video decoding, and advanced IPTV features like EPG and channel management across multiple platforms.
- Real-time M3U playlist preview
- Live playback and rewind (source dependent)
- HLS, HTTP, RTMP protocol support
- 4K/HDR/HLG video decoding
- EPG electronic program guide
- Channel management (categorization, favorites, history)
- iCloud data synchronization
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APTV，一款可实时预览的高颜值全平台 IPTV M3U播放器，是一个可播放可回看的多功能播放器。 跨平台支持： iOS, tvOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS 核心功能： 1. 播放能力 • 支持HLS, HTTP, RTMP等流媒体协议 • H.264/H.265硬件解码 • 4K/HDR/HLG支持 • 画中画 • AirPlay/DLNA投屏 2. IPTV特性 • M3U播放列表 • EPG电子节目指南 • 频道管理（分类、收藏、历史） • 多源配置 3. 数据存储 • 本地数据持久化 • iCloud云端同步 Email：support@aptv.app Github：Kimentanm/aptv
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Bark at 4.9 against APTV's 4.5. Bark also leads on review sentiment (98% vs 81%). APTV's advantage is chart position (#59 vs unranked) and ratings volume (457 vs 109). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Bark sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.69 per year and APTV sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bark holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 109 and 457 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 98% of Bark's written reviews are positive against 81% of APTV's.
Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, APTV every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bark | APTV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (109 ratings) — better | 4.5 (457 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 98.4% of reviews — better | 80.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 109 | 457 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #59 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 204 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 丰 黄 | Suzhou Xiying Guangnian Technology Co., Ltd |
Customer experience
Bark
APTV
In-app purchases
Bark
- Continuous support$2.691 Year
- One-time donation$2.69
APTV
- APTV Pro$4.99
