Comparison

charging play vs Widget Lab

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

Head to head
About

charging play

Enhance your charging experience with custom animations. This app automatically displays vibrant visuals when your device is plugged in or placed on a wireless charger, and exits when charging stops. It also intelligently calibrates charging percentage data for a more personalized display.

Highlights
  • Automatic charging animation display
  • Wireless charging animation support
  • Intelligent charging percentage calibration
  • IOS 14 shortcut command automation
  • Automatic exit when charging stops
Features
Read full description

A charging animation software with IOS 14 shortcut command automation is used. When the mobile phone is connected to the data line or the wireless charging panel is placed, the program will automatically start and turn on the charging animation display. When the data line is pulled out or removed from the wireless charging panel, the program will automatically exit, which is convenient and practical. 
 the program will automatically calibrate the decimal data of charging percentage according to your charging data, and automatically learn to calibrate so that the device can understand you better 
 the software needs to cooperate with IOS 14 shortcut command automation to achieve a perfect experience. Please set it according to the configuration process. For low version system, please add boot to shortcut center, and then manually start charging animation

About

Widget Lab

Personalize your home screen with a variety of useful widgets. Track system info, enjoy daily poems, set countdowns for important dates, and make waiting times more enjoyable. More widgets are continuously being added.

Highlights
  • Personalize home screen
  • System Info Widget
  • Daily Poems Widget
  • Count Down Widget
  • Slack Off Widget
  • Customizable widgets
Features
Read full description

Widget Lab is an application collecting various of widgets together. Widget Lab not only allows you to personalize and design your own HOME screen based on your preferences easily, but also provides you different kinds of useful widgets to help you gather and collect information from several different fields. System Info Widget: To check your phone's status including RAM, battery, system version etc. in Home. Daily Poems Widget: To feel the beauty of literature across 5000 years. Count Down Widget: Remember every important date. Slack Off Widget: Let Waiting Time to Get Off be Happier. More widgets are under development and will be updated in the near future. [Description of Widget Lab App membership service 1. Membership includes several subscription types Subscription period: 1 month, 3 months, 12 months 2. The first subscription will be paid directly through iTunes account; the account will be charged within 24 hours before the expiration date, and the subscription period will be automatically postponed after the successful deduction. 3. You can choose whether to renew the subscription or not, if you want to cancel, please cancel in the AppleID settings 24 hours before the subscription expires. 4.Widget Lab App Membership Agreement Widget Lab App Member Service Agreement: https://post.jellow.club/小组件盒子会员付费协议/ 5.Widgetbox App Software User Agreement and Privacy Policy Widgetbox Software License and Service Agreement: https://post.jellow.club/xzh-agreement/ Widgetbox Privacy Agreement: https://post.jellow.club/xzh-privacy/

Screenshots

charging play4 screens
Widget Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: charging play at 4.5 against Widget Lab's 3.9. charging play also leads on ratings volume (14K vs 400) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 14.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. charging play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Widget Lab sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

charging play holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: charging play has 14K ratings behind it against 400, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of charging play's written reviews are positive against 31% of Widget Lab's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

charging play ships an update monthly, Widget Lab fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
charging play versus Widget Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametercharging playWidget Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (14K ratings) — better3.9 (400 ratings)
Positive reviews36.2% of reviews — better31.4% of reviews
Number of ratings14K — better400
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size123 MB285 MB
Age rating4+12+
Developer妮琳 张Ningbo If Technology Co.,Ltd

Customer experience

charging play

All ratings13,597 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.0%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews874 reviews
Positive36.2%
Neutral13.0%
Negative50.8%

Widget Lab

All ratings399 ratings
Positive68.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative24.8%
Written reviews236 reviews
Positive31.4%
Neutral12.7%
Negative55.9%

User reviews

charging play

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good app
  • 🚀 Works well
  • 💕 Enjoyable to use
  • 🝮 Customizable animations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy
  • 🤔 Confusing to use
  • 🔋 Drains battery
  • 🤯 Crashes frequently
  • 🙄 Unnecessary notifications

Widget Lab

From 400 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Cute and creative widgets
  • 💖 Customizable lock screen options
  • 🎵 Music sharing and playback features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches with widgets
  • 💰 Many features require paid subscription
  • 🌐 Language and localization issues
  • 🔍 Difficulty connecting to music services

Bugs and requests

charging play

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Can't change animation after initial setup
  • App gets stuck on charging screen
  • Ads don't close properly
  • Compatibility issues with certain phones
  • Sound doesn't work with headphones

Requested features

6 requests
  • Allow changing animations while locked
  • Add more animation options
  • Make it work with headphones
  • Improve translation quality
  • Add widget support
Show 1 more
  • Optimize for iPad

Widget Lab

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widgets not displaying properly
  • App crashes or fails to open
  • Music playback issues and sync problems

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add more music service options (e.g. YouTube Music)
  • Improve widget reliability and functionality
  • Provide better language support and localization

In-app purchases

1 purchases

charging play

One-time1
  • Advanced features$1.99
10 purchases

Widget Lab

Subscriptions5
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
Show 2 more
  • Quarterly$7.993 Months
  • Annual$19.991 Year
One-time5
  • StandbyFree
  • Retro widget$0.99
  • musicwidget$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Charge animation$4.99
  • Lifetime$15.99

Questions

Is charging play free?
charging play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Widget Lab free?
Widget Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, charging play or Widget Lab?
charging play is rated higher. charging play averages 4.5 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Widget Lab averages 3.9 from 400 ratings.
Do charging play or Widget Lab have ads?
Both charging play and Widget Lab show ads.
Which is updated more often, charging play or Widget Lab?
charging play ships an update monthly, and Widget Lab fortnightly. Most recently, charging play was updated on November 7, 2026 and Widget Lab on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons