Highlights vs When I Die
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Highlights
This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.
- Read and browse PDF documents
- Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text
- Add comments and sticky notes
- Extract annotations into organized notes
- Convert table data and recognize text
- Smart copy annotations to various formats (CSV, BibTex)
- Lookup citation metadata and DOI links
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"... an app that students, academics, and anyone who does substantial amounts of PDF-based research should try" - Macstories.net "It’s the novel approach to PDF annotation that makes this app a cut above the rest"- TapSmart.com *** "App of the Day" - App Store, US *** USE HIGHLIGHTS FOR FREE Highlights is a fast and lightweight PDF reader (under 10MB) packed with features to help you do your best research. Free users have access to standard PDF reader features including document browsing, reading and annotating. There are NO ADS, time limits or tracking. READ PDF DOCUMENTS • Open PDF documents from anywhere • Browse files using the familiar document browser • Open PDFs in Single Page or Two Page scroll mode • Double tap to Smart Zoom in on a paragraph or figure • Scrub smoothly to the desired page • Search the entire document in an instant • Navigate using any connected keyboard or mouse STORE YOUR FILES WHERE YOU WANT • Full support for "Open In Place" lets you make edits to the file where it is • Access your files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Box using the document browser • Or keep them privately on device only HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE FASTER • Select text with your finger, Apple Pencil or mouse pointer • Highlight, underline, strikethrough text and make image selections • Add comments to annotations or as individual sticky notes • Annotate with fewer taps using context aware popovers • Default annotation colors prevents you from having to repeatedly setting the color for the same type of annotation every time TURN ANNOTATIONS INTO NOTES • As you markup text and images the contents are extracted and sorted into notes • Customize the formatting and contents of your notes • Sort the annotations chronologically or create your own color coding EXTRACT TABLE DATA AND RECOGNIZE TEXT • Convert images containing text or tables to actual text and tables using machine learning - letting you get to the underlying data with a single tap SMART COPY Copy annotations to the desired format with one tap: • Text markup as text • Image selections as images • Tables as CSV • Citations as BibTex LOOKUP CITATIONS • Highlights will fetch DOI-links and metadata • Markup any reference and tap the link icon to look it up • If you have read the work already or have it in your reference manager library, Highlights will link you to it EXPORT ANYWHERE • Save or share your notes as portable files: Markdown, TextBundle, HTML, WebArchive or PDF • Share them to your favorite notes app: Apple Notes, Bear, Craft, Evernote, DEVONThink, Keep It, MindNode, Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research or Ulysses • Or send them to a colleague via mail. It's your notes, you decide where they go MUCH MORE • Dark mode • Multi-window support on iPadOS • Keyboard shortcuts and navigation • Support for system Copy and Undo gestures • Alternative app icons • Custom accent colors • Apple Pencil double-tap gestures • Power annotation tools For a full list of features see: highlightsapp.net/features HIGHLIGHTS PRO The Highlights Pro subscription unlocks advanced features on your iPhone, iPad and Mac: • Export options for other apps and easily editable formats • Extract information using table and text recognition • Customize accent colors and alternative app icons • Power annotation tools • Citation lookups • Smart Copy Highlights Pro includes a 14-day free trial. You can cancel your subscription at any time. The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off within 24-hour prior to the end of of the current period. Payments will be charged to your iTunes account and your account will be charged within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. For more information about Highlights Pro: highlightsapp.net/pro Privacy Policy: highlightsapp.net/privacy Terms of Use: highlightsapp.net/terms
When I Die
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If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know who to call, where the will is, which banks you use, what the pets need and what you wanted? The Envelope asks you those questions in plain words, one at a time, and turns your answers into a single printed document to keep in the drawer. The quick start is twelve questions and gives you a first copy in about fifteen minutes. The rest fills in at your own pace, section by section: who to call, health, money, home and bills, papers, things, pets, online life, final wishes, and a last section that asks nothing at all, for whatever you want to say in your own words. IT NEVER ASKS FOR A SECRET There is no field for a password, a PIN, a card number or a full account number. You write where things are and who to contact: the bank and the branch, the password manager and where its emergency kit is kept. The document is a map to the things that matter, not the things themselves. NOTHING LEAVES THIS PHONE No account, no cloud, no server of ours anywhere, and nothing for Apple to see. Everything you write stays in the app's own storage on this phone. The only copies that exist are the ones you make: a page you print, a PDF you share, or an encrypted backup file you save. The app reaches the network for one thing only, to check the price of the single purchase. SOMEONE HOLDING YOUR PHONE CAN READ IT Tap Read it and the whole envelope appears on screen in large, plain type, with every phone number ready to dial. Lock the app with Face ID if you like: your iPhone passcode still opens it, so the person you trust who knows your passcode can find what they need at the worst possible moment. Reading it on the phone is always free, whether you buy anything or not. THE DOCUMENT A cover, a first page with the twelve answers that matter most, then every section you have filled in, on A4 or Letter. Print it with AirPrint, save it to Files, or share a passphrase-locked copy with one trusted person. After printing, the app asks where you will keep the paper copy and prints that on the cover of the next one, so a family finding one copy learns about the other. KEEPING IT TRUE Every page carries the date it was last checked. Ask the app to remind you every few months, and mark it checked when nothing has changed. FOR THE UK AND THE US The questions follow the country you choose, so it asks about the papers and the people that actually exist where you live. A neutral set covers everyone else. The app gives no advice of its own: what it holds is what you wrote. The free version holds every section, reads on screen in full, and prints the first two pages. A single purchase, with no subscription, prints the whole document and adds the passphrase option and the backup file.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Highlights at 4 against When I Die's 1. Highlights also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, 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. Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and When I Die sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Highlights | When I Die |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonas Myren Ribe | Conor Hannah |
Bugs and requests
Highlights
Reported bugs
5 issues- Highlights and annotations randomly disappearing
- Text selection issues, especially with footnotes
- Compatibility problems with certain PDF files
- Syncing issues across devices
- Export functionality not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add handwriting and freeform annotation support
- Implement a table of contents or bookmarking feature
- Allow editing of notes directly in the app
- Provide a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Improve search capabilities with visual results and navigation
When I Die
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Highlights
- Highlights Pro: Monthly$4.991 Month
- Highlights Pro14 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade1 Year trial$29.991 Year
When I Die
- The whole envelope$14.99









