Trex AR vs Approach
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Trex AR
Visualize outdoor living spaces with this augmented reality tool. Explore different decking and railing options in your own environment. Design basic deck shapes, estimate square footage, and find local professionals.
- AR visualization of decking and railing
- View entire decking portfolio
- Experiment with railing pairings
- Build basic deck shapes
- Estimate square footage
- Order samples
- Find builders and retailers
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Discover your outdoor inspiration with this unique visualizer. This AR tool is designed to quickly and easily show how Trex® decking and railing can be the perfect platform for outdoor living for years to come. It allows you to develop basic deck shapes in nearly any outdoor or indoor environment to get you started on the journey to building an outdoor oasis. Using the latest in AR technology you can: >> View Trex's entire decking portfolio as a live view either in your backyard space or your living room >> Experiment with the most popular railing offerings to pair with your favorite Trex deck color >> Build basic shapes and get square footage for your design >> Order samples through links in the My Deck page >> Find builders or retailers to help get you started
Approach
This app helps you know when friends and family are available to connect without direct communication. It displays availability through simple color blocks and allows users to set their own status to indicate when they welcome company. Seamlessly integrates with existing calendars to visualize everyone's free time.
- Visualizes friend and family availability
- Set custom 'Please Approach' status
- Integrates with multiple calendars
- Anonymous busy blocks option
- Group contacts for easy management
- Trip planning based on availability
- Real-time status updates with friends
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Connecting is hard. You want more of it — more calls that aren't about anything, more "are you around?", more someone just showing up. But you're never sure when a good time is. And sometimes you need to connect and asking is the hardest part: you don't want to interrupt, you don't want to be a bother, you don't want to say out loud that today is a lot. Approach is for that. It shows you, in simple blocks of color, when the people closest to you are free — without showing you their business. And when you'd welcome company, you set yourself to Please Approach. You don't have to ask anyone. The people you've chosen simply know: now is a good moment. Come closer. Set your availability. In the hours you'd like to connect, let the people who matter know. Your family, your friends, your support circle — everyone you add will know when to approach. WHO CAN I TALK TO RIGHT NOW? The Now screen answers one question. Everyone you've added is sorted by how approachable they are this minute: Please Approach, Available, Working, Approach with Caution, Do Not Disturb. YOUR STATUS, YOUR WAY • Automatic — worked out from your calendar and your approachable hours • Or set it by hand: Available to Approach, Please Approach (for 30 minutes, an hour, until you turn it off, or scheduled for later), Do Not Disturb • Approachable hours: weekly bands like "Work, Mon–Fri 9–5" or "Approach, evenings" that shade your week and tell people how approachable you are SEE YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN ONE PLACE Every calendar already on your iPhone — iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange — plus any shared calendar link. Day, 3-day, week and month views. Flip between anonymous blocks and event titles with one tap. Mark anything private and it stays private everywhere. FAMILY, FRIENDS, YOUR SUPPORT CIRCLE Add the people who matter and group them — Family, Close Friends, Work, a support group, the trip crew. Connect with someone who also has Approach and you'll see each other's real status, live; choose what you share: status only, status and hours, or anonymous busy blocks too. For anyone else, paste the calendar link they share with you. PLAN THE TRIP WITHOUT THE 80-MESSAGE THREAD A weekend away, the family reunion, a friends' trip that's been "we should really" for two years. Tap Plan, pick the group and what you're after — a day, an evening, a weekend, a long weekend, a week — and Approach lists the dates when everyone's free, then the near-misses with the one holdout named. Tap a date to see it on the grid; share the shortlist with one tap. KNOW THE MOMENT THEY'RE READY Turn on the bell for the few people it matters for, and you'll get a time-sensitive notification the moment they set Please Approach. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no sign-up, no Approach servers. Your calendars are read on your device. What you choose to share with a friend is encrypted so only they can read it. Event titles, locations and notes never leave your phone. ALSO • Home Screen widget: how many people are approachable right now, and your own status • Call, Message, FaceTime or Email someone straight from their page • Pin the people you check on most FREE AND PLUS Approach is free to download, and free always includes your calendars, your status and approachable hours, the widget, up to three people and one group, connecting with friends, and sharing your status, hours and busy blocks with them. Approach Plus is a single one-time purchase — no subscription — that unlocks unlimited people and groups, Plan a trip or visit, and Hold the date. Approach is for anyone who wants more connection and less guessing. For the person living alone who'd love a knock on the door. For new parents and carers whose free minutes come without warning. For anyone far from family, anyone in recovery or leaning on a support group, anyone who has stared at a name in their contacts and thought "I don't want to bother them." You're not a bother. Let them know when to approach.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Approach at 5.0 against Trex AR's 3.9. Approach also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). Trex AR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (723 vs 1). On price 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
Both are free to download. Approach sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Trex AR asks for nothing beyond the download.
Approach holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Trex AR has 723 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Trex AR ships an update every 4 months, Approach fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Trex AR | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (723 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 5.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 723 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 536 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Trex Co, Inc | MARISA FAHRNER GIBAUD |
Customer experience
Trex AR
Approach
Bugs and requests
Trex AR
Reported bugs
4 issues- Camera function doesn't work
- Can't save or restart scans
- Deck placement and sizing issues
- Crashes and freezes frequently
Requested features
4 requests- Allow uploading photos to build off of
- Add ability to adjust deck height and add stairs
- Improve visualization and make it more realistic
- Provide more guidance and instructions
Approach
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Trex AR
No in-app purchases
Approach
- Approach Plus$4.99








