Comparison

Athena Eye Control vs Riff

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

Head to head
About

Athena Eye Control

This app uses eye tracking and AI to automatically scroll content as you read, adapting to your speed and focus. It offers eye gestures for navigation and reading aids like rulers to improve comprehension and accessibility.

Highlights
  • Eye-controlled smart scrolling
  • Simple eye gesture swiping
  • Cursor control via eye tracking
  • Multiple reading modes
  • Clutter-free reader view
  • Content sharing from other apps
Features
Read full description

Athena Reader is a smarter, easier, more accessible way to read. Using eye tracking and artificial intelligence, Athena’s patented technology detects when, where, and how fast you are reading and automatically scrolls the display accordingly. If you can’t touch your screen or you prefer not to, you can use simple eye gestures to swipe up and down. If you have trouble focusing or remembering what you read, Athena’s reading rulers paired with Eye Control, will help keep you on track. Key Features: -Reading Detection with Smart Scroll tracks when, where, and how fast you are reading and automatically scrolls the content for you. If you skip a few lines or read past a picture, Athena scrolls that much more. -Simple Eye Gestures allow you to swipe up and down with the blink of an eye. -Use eye tracking to move the cursor and test gaze estimation. -Choose from three different reading modes to accommodate your reading needs, Fullscreen, Focus, and Highlight. -Reader view automatically strips out the clutter, like ads, pop ups, and other distracting elements so you can focus on what’s important. -Share content from any web browser or iOS application directly to Athena. If you have questions, feedback, or requests, please email us at: contact@athenahci.com

About

Riff

Read full description

Your best thinking happens out loud — on a walk, in the car, pacing the kitchen. Riff is where it goes. Talk. Riff turns what you said into a clean transcript, then a short recap with the action items pulled out, right in front of you. The rambling was the thinking. The recap is what you keep. And if the recap isn't quite what you meant, say so — every riff comes with its own agent. "Focus it on the budget." "Add an action about the dentist." "Shorter." It reshapes the recap while you watch, tells you exactly what it changed, and keeps versions so one tap steps you back. Ask it questions, too; it answers only from what you actually said. And it never rewrites your transcript — your words stay yours. Here's the part that matters: all of this happens on your iPhone. Not on "secure servers" — on the phone in your hand. Flip on airplane mode and Riff works exactly the same: recording, transcript, recap, agent. No account, no sign-in, and a privacy label that reads Data Not Collected, because nothing is. That's also why there's no subscription. No cloud means no cloud bills, so riff+ costs $19.99, once. And because the AI is Apple's on-device intelligence, Riff genuinely improves as iPhones do — buy it once, and it gets smarter every year. A thought can arrive anywhere, so Riff can start from anywhere — the Action Button, your Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island — before it gets away. Free, forever: recording, live transcription, editing, your full history with search, and export. Plus 5 recaps and 10 agent requests to try everything. riff+ simply makes recaps and the agent unlimited — everything else was already yours. Riff is for your own thinking — ideas, plans, the stuff you'd otherwise lose. It's a small, fast, private AI, and honest about it: treat a recap as a sharp first draft, not a legal document. Requires Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or later, iOS 26+).

Screenshots

Athena Eye Control4 screens
Riff4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Athena Eye Control at none against Riff's 1. Athena Eye Control also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). Riff's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Riff sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Athena Eye Control asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Athena Eye Control ships an update every 2 months, Riff every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Athena Eye Control versus Riff: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAthena Eye ControlRiff
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (12 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAthena Accessible Technology, Inc.CognitiveCore Technologies, LLC

In-app purchases

None

Athena Eye Control

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Riff

One-time1
  • riff+$19.99

Questions

Is Athena Eye Control free?
Athena Eye Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Riff free?
Riff is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Athena Eye Control or Riff have ads?
Neither Athena Eye Control nor Riff shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Athena Eye Control or Riff?
Athena Eye Control ships an update every 2 months, and Riff every 2 weeks. Most recently, Athena Eye Control was updated on November 3, 2026 and Riff on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons