Simple Shell vs MiSTer Connect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simple Shell
This utility app offers a secure and efficient SSH client for iOS devices. It provides a cost-effective alternative for remote terminal access, based on an open-source project.
- SSH client functionality
- Mosh protocol support
- Remote terminal access
- Cost-effective alternative
- iOS compatibility
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This project is a clone of shell application for iOS by Nicolas Holzschuch, https://github.com/holzschu/blink It is created to provide lower cost version of the ssh client for iPhone and iPad with older iOS versions
MiSTer Connect
Control your retro gaming console remotely from your phone. Browse your game library, launch titles, and navigate menus without a keyboard. Offers a virtual gamepad and advanced settings management.
- Virtual gamepad with d-pad and buttons
- Browse and launch games from your library
- Save and load game states
- Instant screenshots
- Edit MiSTer.ini settings
- Customizable themes and haptics
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Your MiSTer FPGA, in your pocket. MiSTer Connect is a native remote control, retro game launcher and virtual gamepad for the MiSTer FPGA platform. Over your home Wi-Fi, browse your library, launch arcade classics and navigate the menu from the couch, no keyboard required. It works with the open-source Remote service from the mrext project, the same one behind the Remote web app. THE REMOTE • Full d-pad with real press-and-hold, like a proper controller • OSD, back and escape keys, volume and media keys, full keyboard and number pad • L and R to jump letters in the MiSTer menu, and a trackpad for Amiga, AO486 and Macintosh cores • Save and load states with a hold, safe from stray taps • Instant screenshots of whatever is on screen YOUR COLLECTION • Search every indexed game and launch it in seconds • Filter by genre, decade, players, region or developer, and save any filter as a section of its own • Tap a game for its page: cover, screenshots, year, genre, developer, players and a short description • Browse by system or by folder, with covers and game pages in folders too, and a letter strip to jump ahead • Launch any game with the core you choose, RetroAchievements builds included • Find Cover searches another title (like the Japanese name) when a cover is missing or wrong • Menu shortcuts, wallpapers, music, scripts and MiSTer.ini settings from your phone YOUR GAMES, YOUR WAY • Mark games To play, Playing, Beaten or Shelved: what you're playing waits on Home, beaten games fill your Hall of Fame • Star your favorite games and make lists of your own, like "Couch co-op" • Browse the whole catalogue for your systems, even away from home, and mark the games you're missing as Wanted • Hide the games, systems and folders you never play, and BIOS files, betas and prototypes too • Put your systems in sections of your own DISCOVER • Surprise Me picks a random game from your own collection • Shelves from your card: your top 10, couch multiplayer, party games, a decade of platformers and more PLAY STATS With PlayLog from the mrext project running on your MiSTer: • Time played, sessions, streaks, and your top games and systems • A live play timer on Home, and every game's history on its page RETRO SOUL • CRT phosphor look: scanlines, glow and pixel fonts • Per-system accent colors, haptics and optional 8-bit sounds CONNECT PRO (one-time purchase) Everything the web app can do stays free, forever. A single tip unlocks the native extras: • Live Activity mini-remote in the Dynamic Island and Lock Screen • Box art from the MiSTer Artwork Pack (2D, 3D or with a screenshot), kept offline once seen • A cover grid you can resize with a pinch • RetroAchievements progress on covers and game pages, and the achievements you're tracking on Home while you play • All themes, including Dot Matrix in Game Boy LCD greens • Multiple saved MiSTers • iCloud sync of your favorites, lists, filters, covers, MiSTers and settings across iPhone, iPad and Mac REQUIREMENTS A MiSTer FPGA running the open-source Remote service (part of the mrext project) on your local network. MiSTer Connect is an unofficial companion app, not affiliated with the MiSTer or mrext projects. Thanks to wizzomafizzo for mrext, to chipster6502 for the MiSTer Artwork Pack, and to the libretro-thumbnails project for box art. TERMS AND CONDITIONS (EULA) & PRIVACY TERMS: Terms: https://devcells.it/apps/misterconnect/terms.html Privacy: https://devcells.it/apps/misterconnect/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
Simple Shell and MiSTer Connect both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of MiSTer Connect's written reviews are positive against 0% of Simple Shell's. MiSTer Connect also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 40 months). Simple Shell's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On rating, ads 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
MiSTer Connect is free to download; Simple Shell costs $1.99 up front. MiSTer Connect sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simple Shell asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Simple Shell against 5.0 for MiSTer Connect. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MiSTer Connect has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 0% of Simple Shell's written reviews are positive against 100% of MiSTer Connect's.
Simple Shell ships an update every 40 months, MiSTer Connect every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simple Shell | MiSTer Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 40 months | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ASHER SYED | Alberto Paladino |
Customer experience
Simple Shell
MiSTer Connect
In-app purchases
Simple Shell
No in-app purchases
MiSTer Connect
- PRO Forever$8.99
Questions
Is Simple Shell free?
Is MiSTer Connect free?
Which has better reviews, Simple Shell or MiSTer Connect?
Do Simple Shell or MiSTer Connect have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simple Shell or MiSTer Connect?
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