Comparison

a vs Foxtail

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

Head to head
About

a

Run Unix commands locally on your iOS device with a powerful terminal emulator. Supports file transfer, editing, scripting with Python and Lua, and network utilities. Integrates with Shortcuts and supports multiple windows for multitasking.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting (Python, Lua, JavaScript)
  • Network utilities (nslookup, ping)
  • Shortcuts integration
  • Multi-window support
Features
Read full description

a-Shell mini is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on you iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. Work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with iOS underlying BSD Unix. a-Shell mini includes Python, Lua, JavaScript and webAssembly for programming and scripting. It also includes native ffmpeg and convert for fast image and video conversion. 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 mini 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 mini uses iPadOS 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. a-Shell mini is a minimalist terminal, designed to have a very small footprint (less than 250 MB). If you need more commands, please consider a-Shell, which has more Python packages, more JavaScript modules, Perl, make, a C and C++ compiler and TeX.

About

Foxtail

Features
Read full description

Foxtail — Positional Streaming Be part of the experience. Not just the audience. Foxtail transforms your phone into a spatial node — streaming your real-world position into immersive live experiences, concerts, domes, and LED environments in real time. Move through the space. Shape the sound. Influence the visuals. Your physical presence becomes part of the show. How it works Foxtail uses your phone's built-in AR tracking to stream your position to the venue's live experience engine. No special hardware. No headset. Just you, your phone, and the space around you. Built for — Immersive domes and planetariums — LED wall and large-format screen venues — Live concerts and festival experiences — Immersive theater and interactive installations Features — Real-time 6DOF position streaming — Ultra-low latency WebSocket connection — Simple session joining via QR code or code entry — Works with iOS ARKit — No account required Free to use. Just show up, scan, and become part of the experience.

Screenshots

a4 screens
Foxtail4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: a at #48 against Foxtail's unranked. On price, update cadence, 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

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 every 2 weeks, Foxtail every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
a versus Foxtail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraFoxtail
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (120 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings120 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#48 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.013.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size373 MB1 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchFoxy Ninja Studios

Bugs and requests

a

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Keyboard icons comically large
  • App deletes itself
  • Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display
  • Pasting text results in strange characters
  • App only uses half of the screen when editing files
Show 7 more
  • Command not found errors for all commands
  • App crashes on launch after update
  • Cannot get own absolute path
  • Cannot execute own programs
  • App messes up .txt file association
  • Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste
  • No module named requests in shortcuts

Requested features

8 requests
  • Option to use old keyboard buttons
  • Add openssl support
  • Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
  • Support telnet command
  • Add possibility to compile from source
Show 3 more
  • Make Ubuntu default
  • Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
  • Adjustable font size

Foxtail

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

Foxtail

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Foxtail free?
Foxtail is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do a or Foxtail have ads?
Neither a nor Foxtail shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or Foxtail?
a ships an update every 2 weeks, and Foxtail every 9 days. Most recently, a was updated on October 14, 2026 and Foxtail on September 30, 2026.

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