Comparison

Rowmote vs The Big Keyboard

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

Head to head
About

Rowmote

Control audio, video, and presentation applications on your Mac from your iOS device wirelessly. Seamlessly switch between apps, manage playback, and even wake your Mac remotely. It offers a convenient and cost-effective alternative to physical remotes.

Highlights
  • Wireless Mac control
  • App switching and launching
  • Media playback control
  • Wake sleeping Macs
  • Secure authentication
  • Proximity sensor support
Features
Read full description

Rowmote lets you seamlessly control audio, video, and presentation applications on your Mac from your iOS device. You love the remote control which came with your Mac - so simple yet elegant, with easy control of Front Row, iTunes, Quicktime, DVD Player, Keynote, and more. Or, your Mac didn’t come with a remote control or doesn’t even have an infrared port. Buying a remote control, from Apple or a third party, would carry a significant cost! You carry your iPhone or iPod Touch wherever you go... so why should you carry a second device just to control your computer? Furthermore, why should you need line-of-sight to do so? Enter Rowmote! Rowmote is like your Mac’s remote control, but over the wireless network and even better! By tapping the Apps button, you get bonus abilities, switching between controlled programs, toggling the iTunes Visualizer, and more. Rowmote will even wake sleeping Macs. FEATURES - Control your Mac over a wireless network. No line of sight necessary. - Functions just like the hardware Apple Remote Control in: • Adobe Lightroom • Airfoil Video • Amarra • Aperture • BBC iPlayer • Beamer • Boxee • Decibel • DVD Player • Ecoute • eyeTV 3.x • Firefox • Front Row • Hulu Desktop • iPhoto • iTunes • Keynote ‘08 & later • kJams Pro • Kodi • Last.fm • Logic • Microsoft Powerpoint ‘04 & later • mPlayer • Movist • OpenOffice Impress • Preview • PandoraBoy • PandoraJam • PandoraOne Desktop • Photos • Plex, Plex Home Theater, & Plex Media Player • Quicktime • Rdio • Safari • Skim • Songbird • Spotify • Squire • The Tube • VLC • xbmc (Xbox Media Center) - SWITCH: Access your Mac’s Dock, launching & switch between all controllable applications on the Mac, toggle the iTunes visualizer, and more. Order & display customizable. - Click-and-hold works just like on the physical remote in applications; for example, holding the right button fast-forwards, while a single click is ‘next’. This is a feature no other iPhone remote control I know of does properly! - Sleep on demand; wake the Mac automatically - Pause the music or video automatically when you answer a call on your iPhone - Proximity sensor support to automatically turn the screen off if the device is face-down - Secure authentication - Optional dark interface - Connect via WiFi or Bluetooth (Bluetooth requires Personal Hotspot Bluetooth tethering) REQUIREMENTS • Mac OS X 10.4.0 or later. • Mac: The free Rowmote Helper program must be running on the Mac to be controlled. Download at www.rowmote.com. Some features require later versions of Mac OS X. Rowmote is a steal! Couple it with Apple’s free Remote app to turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into the ultimate controller for home stereo, mobile presentation, or casual video viewing. The artwork of Rowmote was designed by Rik Schennink.

About

The Big Keyboard

This keyboard app offers larger text and buttons for improved readability, especially for users with vision difficulties. It provides customizable themes, multiple layouts including a numeric keypad and arrow keys, and supports various languages.

Highlights
  • Scalable text size up to 2.5x
  • Comfortable button sizes
  • Word suggestions and autocorrect
  • Multiple keyboard layouts (QWERTY, numeric, arrows)
  • Full emoji collection
  • Customizable themes (light, dark, high contrast)
  • Sound and haptic feedback controls
Features
Read full description

LARGE TEXT & BIG KEYS: Scale text size up to 2.5x larger - perfect for better readability Button sizes stay comfortable while text gets bigger No more squinting at tiny letters Word suggestions + Autocorrect Supported Keyboard Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian, German (QWERTZ), French (AZERTY), Finnish, Danish, Polish, Turkish, Romanian, and Swedish. MULTIPLE KEYBOARD LAYOUTS: Full QWERTY keyboard with smart auto-capitalization Dedicated numeric keypad for numbers Arrow keys for precise cursor control Complete emoji collection with categories Symbols and punctuation layouts CUSTOMIZABLE EXPERIENCE: Light, Dark, High Contrast and themes Adjustable text and emoji sizes Sound and haptic feedback controls ACCESSIBILITY FOCUSED Perfect for users with vision difficulties Large, clear text that's easy to read High contrast themes for better visibility Simple, intuitive design EASY TO USE Quick setup in just minutes Works with all your favorite apps Smooth, responsive typing experience No complicated settings - just works! Why choose The Big Keyboard? Unlike other keyboards that make everything bigger, The Big Keyboard smartly scales only the text while keeping buttons the perfect size. This means better readability without losing screen space! Perfect for: Seniors who need larger text Users with visual impairments Anyone who wants a more comfortable typing experience People who prefer customizable keyboards Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Rowmote4 screens
The Big Keyboard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Big Keyboard at 3.5 against Rowmote's 2.9. The Big Keyboard also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 weeks). Rowmote's advantage is ratings volume (86 vs 13) and price ($0.99 vs $1.99). On review sentiment, 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

Rowmote costs $0.99 and The Big Keyboard $1.99 up front. Rowmote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Big Keyboard asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Big Keyboard holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rowmote has 86 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of Rowmote's written reviews are positive against 64% of The Big Keyboard's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rowmote ships an update every 6 weeks, The Big Keyboard every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Rowmote versus The Big Keyboard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRowmoteThe Big Keyboard
Price$0.99 — better$1.99
Rating2.9 (86 ratings)3.5 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.0% of reviews — better64.3% of reviews
Number of ratings86 — better13
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEvan SchoenbergDefriction LLC

Customer experience

Rowmote

All ratings87 ratings
Positive47.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative49.4%
Written reviews898 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative29.6%

The Big Keyboard

All ratings13 ratings
Positive53.8%
Neutral15.4%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative21.4%

Bugs and requests

Rowmote

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent disconnections
  • Crashes on startup
  • Unresponsive controls
  • Incompatibility with newer OS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Keyboard support
  • Improved mouse/trackpad functionality
  • Sleep/power controls
  • Support for more apps and devices

The Big Keyboard

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Rowmote

One-time1
  • Rowmote Pro Upgrade$3.99
None

The Big Keyboard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rowmote free?
Rowmote costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is The Big Keyboard free?
The Big Keyboard costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rowmote or The Big Keyboard?
The Big Keyboard is rated higher. Rowmote averages 2.9 out of 5 from 86 ratings, while The Big Keyboard averages 3.5 from 13 ratings.
Do Rowmote or The Big Keyboard have ads?
Neither Rowmote nor The Big Keyboard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rowmote or The Big Keyboard?
Rowmote ships an update every 6 weeks, and The Big Keyboard every 2 days. Most recently, Rowmote was updated on November 6, 2026 and The Big Keyboard on November 7, 2026.

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