Comparison

Kernel vs ScreenHitsTV

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

Head to head
About

Kernel

This AI-powered app helps you discover, organize, and share movies and TV shows. Describe a title to find it, get recommendations directly from friends, and track upcoming releases. It also shows you where to stream content across various services.

Highlights
  • AI-powered search by description
  • Direct friend recommendations
  • Create movie/TV show playlists
  • Automatic release tracking and notifications
  • Streaming service availability
  • Widgets and Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

Kernel is the movie and TV show tracker that counts down to every release and tells you where to watch it. Add what you want to see to your watchlist, get a countdown and a reminder on release day, find out where it's streaming in your country, and rate it once you've seen it. Can't remember the title? Describe it and Kernel AI finds it. RELEASE COUNTDOWNS Add upcoming movies and shows and Kernel counts down the days on your Home Screen, Lock Screen and Apple Watch, then reminds you when they're out. WHERE TO WATCH See whether a movie or show is streaming, for rent or to buy on Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max and more, for the country you're in. TOP 10 ON EVERY SERVICE What's most popular right now on Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, Prime Video and HBO Max. KERNEL AI MOVIE FINDER Forgot the name? Describe the plot, a scene or an actor and Kernel AI finds the movie or show. RATE IT Half-star ratings for movies, shows and every episode, plus the Kernel Rating from everyone else. WATCHLIST AND PLAYLISTS Seen, Upcoming and a playlist for every mood, synced with iCloud. SHARE WITH FRIENDS Send a movie, show or episode. The link opens straight in Kernel and shows a rich preview in Messages. WIDGETS AND APPLE WATCH Countdown, Up Next and Kernel AI widgets, a Control Center button, and an Apple Watch app with complications. ON EVERY SCREEN iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro, and made for iPhone Duo. Kernel is a tracker and a guide. It doesn't play movies itself; it shows you where you can watch them. Available in English and Spanish. KERNEL PREMIUM Kernel AI includes free searches every month. Kernel Premium unlocks unlimited Kernel AI searches and opens any title in its streaming app with one tap. Kernel Premium is a weekly, monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. It renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://kernelmovieapp.com/privacy-policy.html Movie and show information, posters and artwork belong to their respective owners. Studio logos and other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

About

ScreenHitsTV

Consolidate all your streaming services into one app for unified search and discovery. Find trending content, access exclusive offers, and protect children with a PIN. Save money by avoiding duplicate rentals and purchases.

Highlights
  • Unified streaming search
  • Content discovery
  • Child PIN protection
  • Friend-based content recommendations
  • Discounts and cashback offers
  • Live TV access
  • Multi-screen viewing
Features
Read full description

ScreenHits TV One app. One Search. All your favourite Streamers. ScreenHits TV lets you access all of the world's best streaming services via a single, beautifully designed application. See what you are watching and what's trending from across all of your streaming services in one place. Our Child Pin protects your younger children from accessing all 17+ content from across all your streamers. The new app lets you discover great content through your friends via our TV Friends feature and saves you money - with ScreenHits TV you will never again pay to rent or buy a show or film that you already had access to in one of your existing streaming services, because you will be able to search for a show/film across all of your platforms in one place. There’s always something new to discover. With ScreenHits TV you get: • Discounts and cash back offers from the leading streamers. • A child Pin to prevent children from accessing 17+ content across all your streamers. • TV Friends feature that lets you discover great content from your friends. • Unlimited profiles for family members. • Access to great content at no extra cost from Lionsgate, Bloomberg, BBC, Kidoodle and many more. • Live TV from the leading channels • The ability to watch on four screens at once at no extra cost For help with ScreenHits TV, please visit: http://www.screenhits.tv For our Terms of Use and other policies please visit: https://screenhitstv.com/landingpage/termsandconditions Your Privacy Rights: https://screenhitstv.com/landingpage/privacypolicy The available streamers on ScreenHits TV may vary by region. Some titles shown above may not be available in your country. Start organising all your favourite streamers in one place and stop flicking about. Payment will be charged on a recurring monthly or annual basis to your Apple ID account. Your monthly or annual subscription automatically renews unless you cancel before the end of the current billing period. No refunds or credits for partial months or years. You can manage and cancel your subscription anytime by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Access to ScreenHits TV will continue through the month or year of your current subscription.

Screenshots

Kernel4 screens
ScreenHitsTV4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Kernel at 4.0 against ScreenHitsTV's 3.0. Kernel also leads on ratings volume (226 vs 8) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). ScreenHitsTV's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Kernel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and ScreenHitsTV sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kernel holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kernel has 226 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Kernel's written reviews are positive against 50% of ScreenHitsTV's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kernel ships an update every 2 weeks, ScreenHitsTV every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Kernel versus ScreenHitsTV: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKernelScreenHitsTV
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (226 ratings) — better3.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings226 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB37 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperNikias MolinaScreenHits LTD

Customer experience

Kernel

All ratings226 ratings
Positive72.6%
Neutral8.4%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews164 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral13.4%
Negative22.0%

ScreenHitsTV

All ratings8 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Kernel

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Apple Watch app doesn't work, shows blank screen
  • Release dates are sometimes inaccurate
  • Can't remove movies from 'Upcoming' playlist after release

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to rate movies and shows
  • Implement a 'mark all as seen' feature for TV shows
  • Allow sorting playlists manually
  • Add support for more streaming services
  • Integrate Rotten Tomatoes ratings
Show 1 more
  • Develop an iPad version of the app

ScreenHitsTV

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Kernel

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$0.997 Days
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly$15.991 Year
2 purchases

ScreenHitsTV

Subscriptions2
  • Basic Monthly1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Basic Yearly1 Month trial$7.991 Year

Questions

Is Kernel free?
Kernel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ScreenHitsTV free?
ScreenHitsTV is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kernel or ScreenHitsTV?
Kernel is rated higher. Kernel averages 4.0 out of 5 from 226 ratings, while ScreenHitsTV averages 3.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Kernel or ScreenHitsTV have ads?
Neither Kernel nor ScreenHitsTV shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kernel or ScreenHitsTV?
Kernel ships an update every 2 weeks, and ScreenHitsTV every 2 months. Most recently, Kernel was updated on October 26, 2026 and ScreenHitsTV on October 20, 2026.

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