Comparison

a vs ReqSpec AI

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

Head to head
About

a

Run a full Unix-like terminal environment on your iOS device. Execute a wide range of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers. Supports multitasking and integration with Shortcuts.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS)
  • C/C++ compiler
  • TeX distribution
Features
Read full description

a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2.  Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS. a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc). a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.

About

ReqSpec AI

Features
Read full description

Easily create and manage requirements and specifications on your smartphone or tablet. Organize requirements and specifications in a hierarchical structure, and clearly manage necessary conditions, decisions, and supplementary information. It can be used not only for app and web service development, but also for business requirements, product specifications, operational rules, production requirements, and other information you want to manage as requirements or specifications. With AI-powered creation, editing, and checking, you can efficiently organize requirements, review specifications, check for missing details, and add new items. It can be used in situations such as: ・Managing requirements for app development ・Organizing specifications for web services ・Defining requirements for system development ・Organizing requirements for business systems ・Managing specifications for internal tools ・Organizing product and service specifications ・Organizing requirements for business workflows and operational rules ・Managing screen and feature specifications ・Organizing customer requests and improvement requests ・Preparing for specification reviews ・Listing requirements before development ・Creating a draft of requirements/specifications with AI It can also be used in any situation where you want to organize the necessary conditions and decisions as requirements or specifications. If you want to manage requirements definitions and specifications more easily, please give it a try. ■ Features ・Intuitive usability Simple features are most valuable when they are easy to use. The app runs smoothly and can be edited intuitively. ・Manage requirements/specifications in a hierarchy Organize requirements and specifications using a parent-child structure. You can manage everything from major items to detailed conditions in an easy-to-understand way. ・AI-powered automatic creation Just share the key points, and AI supports the creation of requirement and specification items. This is useful when you want to create an initial draft from scratch. ・AI-powered automatic editing AI supports adding, modifying, and organizing items based on existing requirements and specifications. You can efficiently manage changes while reflecting the updated content. ・Check with AI Check the content in chat format based on the requirements and specifications you have created. You can ask questions such as “What is the specification for this feature?” or “Is this condition defined?” while referring to the registered requirements and specifications. It is also useful for checking missing details and reviewing the content. ・Group management with headings Use headings to categorize requirements and specifications. You can create an easy-to-understand structure organized by category. ・Collapsible headings Headings can be collapsed and expanded, making it easy to manage a large number of items efficiently. ・Priority management Manage important requirements and specifications by priority. This helps clarify the order of response and the items that need confirmation. ・Assignee management Set an assignee for each item. This makes it easy to understand who is responsible for each requirement or specification. ・Notes Add descriptions and supplementary information to each item. This is useful for managing background details, cautions, and discussion notes. ・Label management Set labels for each item. You can organize items by purpose, such as feature, screen, business, important item, or under review. ・Excel / Text export Export the requirements and specifications you create in Excel or text format. This is useful for sharing or checking the content on a PC. ・Export and sharing Save and share the data you create. This is useful for sharing with team members and creating backups. ・Import Import saved data and edit it again at any time. ・Ready to use No account registration is required. You can start using the app immediately.

Screenshots

a4 screens
ReqSpec AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: a at monthly against ReqSpec AI's every 3 months. a also leads on chart position (#22 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update monthly, ReqSpec AI every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
a versus ReqSpec AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraReqSpec AI
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (561 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings561 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#22 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB52 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchYUKI TANAIKE

Bugs and requests

a

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
  • Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
  • Sourcing certain script files causes crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
  • Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
  • Integrate Git for version control
  • Allow installing additional packages and libraries
  • Improve clipboard and file management integration

ReqSpec AI

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

ReqSpec AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ReqSpec AI free?
ReqSpec AI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do a or ReqSpec AI have ads?
Neither a nor ReqSpec AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or ReqSpec AI?
a ships an update monthly, and ReqSpec AI every 3 months. Most recently, a was updated on October 22, 2026 and ReqSpec AI on October 14, 2026.

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