Comparison

Duet Air vs Desktop Computer by Shells

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

Head to head
About

Duet Air

Transform your iPad or iPhone into an advanced remote desktop or an extra display for your Mac or PC. Experience unparalleled performance and zero lag, with touch and gesture support. Offers professional-grade drawing capabilities with Apple Pencil integration for artists and designers.

Highlights
  • Remote desktop functionality
  • Extra display for Mac/PC
  • Touch and gesture support
  • Apple Pencil integration for drawing
  • Wireless and wired connectivity
  • Zero lag performance
Read full description

#1 best-selling iPad app in US, Japan, UK, Germany, and 17 other countries! Duet turns your iPad or iPhone into the most advanced Remote Desktop or extra display for your Mac & PC. Developed by a team of ex-Apple engineers, Duet offers unparalleled performance and display quality - all with zero lag. — DO MORE — Be twice as productive by multitasking with two screens. And for those that travel, have a portable way to stay productive. — INCREDIBLY SIMPLE — To get started, plug your iPad into your desktop using your charging cable or choose the desktop to wirelessly connect to. The Duet desktop app will automatically detect your device, and transform it into a high performance touchscreen display. — TOUCHSCREEN — Interact with Mac & PC like never before, with touch & gestures, including two-finger scrolling, pan and zoom. And with our latest release, you can even add a touch bar to any iPad with any Mac. — PERFECT FOR APPLE PENCIL — With Duet Pro, you can turn your iPad and Apple Pencil into a professional graphics tablet. We’ve re-engineered our rendering algorithms for ultra-responsive drawing, optimized specifically for designers, illustrators and artists. Duet Pro also unlocks pressure & tilt sensitivity, hover, palm rejection, and more to seamlessly draw in the most powerful programs for professionals. Get precise control in Photoshop, Corel Painter, Lightroom, ToonBoom, Illustrator, Manga Studio and more. — PRESS — TechCrunch - "Feels Like Magic" TIME - "Getting Work Done Faster and More Efficiently" The Guardian - "Lag-free" Forbes - "The simple thing to note is this...Duet Display works." The Verge - "Glorious Fluidity" Lifehacker - "It's fast, easy to use, and works great" Business Insider - "Zero lag and true retina resolution” Wall Street Journal - “It’s as easy as just plugging it in" — REVIEWS — “Awesome! My iPad Pro can be an extra monitor! Cool app” ~CEO of T-Mobile, John Legere “Very smooth and responsive indeed, plus you could use the touch screen to “click” on screen interfaces!” ~Photographer, Lok Cheung “Love the ability to use my iPad as a monitor with Duet.” ~Former Chief Evangelist of Apple, Guy Kawasaki “Just started using this app called Duet… Kinda love it so far.” ~Comedian and Youtube, Phillip DeFranco “All my mac folks look at the Duet app… GREAT!” ~Actor and Comedian, Sinbad "I really like the app, I suppose the biggest compliment I can give is that it's so easy to setup it almost seems like an Apple product.” ~Early Adopter, M. Nightingale "Amazing solution for me by the way. Works as I was hoping for and actually my main reason for getting an iPad : )” ~Early Adopter, M. Gemzoe Duet Works With: All iPhones and iPads with iOS 11.0 and later All Macs with 10.11 (Mavericks) and later All PCs with Windows 10 64-bit and later Duet Air is a $24.99 per year service built for professionals and remote workers. Price may vary by location. Duet Air subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. Manage Duet Air in Account Settings after the optional upgrade. Learn more at http://www.duetdisplay.com Terms: https://help.duetdisplay.com/duet-terms-services Privacy Policy: https://help.duetdisplay.com/duet-privacy-policy

About

Desktop Computer by Shells

Access your cloud-based virtual desktop for daily computing tasks. Edit documents, run desktop applications, create media content, and browse the web from anywhere. Requires an existing account.

Highlights
  • Cloud virtual desktop access
  • Daily computing tasks
  • Document editing and creation
  • Access desktop applications
  • Audio and video content creation
  • Internet browsing
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The Shells™ App connects you to your Shells cloud computer. Shells™ provides a virtual desktop computer in the cloud. Shells cloud computers can be used for your daily computing needs from editing and creating documents, accessing desktop applications, creating audio and video content, and surfing the internet. You need an existing Shells account in order to use this app.

Screenshots

Duet Air3 screens
Desktop Computer by Shells4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Duet Air at 4.3 against Desktop Computer by Shells's 3.4. Duet Air also leads on ratings volume (1.9K vs 12). Desktop Computer by Shells's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, review sentiment, device support 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. Duet Air sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year. Desktop Computer by Shells asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Duet Air holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duet Air has 1.9K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 24% of Duet Air's written reviews are positive against 25% of Desktop Computer by Shells's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Duet Air versus Desktop Computer by Shells: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuet AirDesktop Computer by Shells
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1.9K ratings) — better3.4 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews23.8% of reviews25.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.9K — better12
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsYes—
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB25 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDuet, Inc.E Shells Inc.

Customer experience

Duet Air

All ratings1,870 ratings
Positive82.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative13.5%
Written reviews421 reviews
Positive23.8%
Neutral6.2%
Negative70.1%

Desktop Computer by Shells

All ratings12 ratings
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

Bugs and requests

Duet Air

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incompatible with Citrix
  • Breaks Windows network
  • Bricked user's PC
  • Login screen issues
  • Inconsistent performance

Requested features

5 requests
  • Support for older devices
  • Improve wireless stability
  • Add audio support
  • Better integration with drawing apps
  • Easier subscription cancellation

Desktop Computer by Shells

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Duet Air

Subscriptions2
  • Duet Air (Annual)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Duet Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$79.991 Year
None

Desktop Computer by Shells

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Duet Air free?
Duet Air is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Desktop Computer by Shells free?
Desktop Computer by Shells is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Duet Air or Desktop Computer by Shells?
Duet Air is rated higher. Duet Air averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Desktop Computer by Shells averages 3.4 from 12 ratings.

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