Comparison

KiwiLights vs Lowered Expectations

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

Head to head
About

KiwiLights

This app provides a charming flashlight and timer with adorable characters. It features smart brightness control, customizable timer presets, and widget support for quick access. Enjoy a blend of practicality and fun with its intuitive interface and battery-efficient design.

Highlights
  • Intuitive swipe controls
  • Smart brightness control
  • Customizable timer presets
  • Widget support
  • Multiple lovable characters
  • Battery-efficient design
Features
Read full description

A bedside clock that glows all night. An alarm with its own sound. A nightlight and a flashlight in one swipe. Prop your phone on your nightstand and Kiwi keeps the time, in StandBy and on your Lock Screen. Pick from four clock styles in the app. Set an alarm for the morning. On iOS 26 it rings even with the app closed or your phone on silent, and you can snooze it from the Lock Screen. Drag the sun down and the sky goes with it. Night settles into a soft light you can leave on until morning. Drag it back up and you have a flashlight. Set a timer for the evening, a nap, or a quiet hour. Watch the sun or the moon count it down. A small voice counts the last seconds so nobody gets startled awake. Layer rain, a stream, night sounds. Whatever settles your room. Play Kiwi's own songs, or connect Apple Music or Spotify. At night the Night Monster peeks over the hill. Leave the light on or play some music and your friend leaves him an offering. He leaves you a jar of fireflies. Kiwi stories, read aloud. A different one is free every week. Twelve friends, all free. Kiwi, Taro, Cheri, Mango and the rest. Pick one and the whole app takes their colors. Each of them has a song. Eight quick games for nights when sleep won't come. Wallpapers, trading cards, Kiwi stickers for Messages, and widgets that keep the clock, the timer and the alarm close. No account. No ads. Nothing to sign up for. The app sends how it's used, never who you are. FREE Twelve characters. Flashlight and nightlight. The bedside clock. Quick alarm times. The basic timer. All eight games. One ambient sound at a time. Six app icons. A narrated story that changes every week. PLUS $0.99 A MONTH, OR PREMIUM $4.99 ONCE Same unlocks either way. Custom alarm times, custom timer lengths, three more clock styles, five more timer looks, layered sounds, narration for the whole story library, and six more character app icons. Subscription details KiwiLights Plus: auto-renewing subscription, $0.99 per month, after a 1-week free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically at $0.99/month unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID Account Settings. KiwiLights Premium: $4.99 one-time purchase, unlocks the same features. No subscription. Privacy Policy: https://kiwithegreenkoala.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://kiwithegreenkoala.com/terms Made with care by Sahtu Press.

About

Lowered Expectations

This app provides sarcastic reminders and fictional contacts to deliver scheduled disappointment. It helps manage expectations with humorous, deflating messages, offering a unique form of emotional self-defense. Customize message tones, unlock new contacts, and enjoy multilingual support.

Highlights
  • Sarcastic reminders
  • Fictional contacts for scheduled disappointment
  • Customizable message tones
  • Unlockable contacts
  • Multilingual message library
  • Scratch-off reveals
Features
Read full description

Whether you're spiraling through a rough week, need someone (fake) in your corner, or just enjoy a little scheduled disappointment, Lowered Expectations has you covered. Sarcastic reminders are one of the simplest and most honest tools for emotional self-defense. It's all about lowering the bar early, so you're never caught off guard by hope. Now you can get gently let down without even trying. Create fictional contacts, set how often they text you, and let them deliver positive affirmations — or hilariously deflating non-affirmations — right when you least expect them. Unlock new contacts as you go, customize the vibe of your messages, and share the ones that hit a little too close to home with friends. The app includes a growing multilingual message library across a range of tones — from warm to bleak — with new lines added regularly. - Positive and disappointing affirmations - Unlock contacts as you engage - Multiple languages: English, Spanish, French, Chinese - Scratch-off reveals for that little dopamine hit - Custom notification intervals Affirmations, lowered.

Screenshots

KiwiLights4 screens
Lowered Expectations4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lowered Expectations at 5.0 against KiwiLights's 4.7. Lowered Expectations also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). KiwiLights's advantage is ratings volume (64 vs 10). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. KiwiLights sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Lowered Expectations sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lowered Expectations holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KiwiLights has 64 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of KiwiLights's written reviews are positive against 100% of Lowered Expectations's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KiwiLights ships an update every 2 months, Lowered Expectations every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
KiwiLights versus Lowered Expectations: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKiwiLightsLowered Expectations
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (64 ratings)5.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings64 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size208 MB12 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperSahtu Press, Inc.King Chen

Customer experience

KiwiLights

All ratings59 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative14.4%

Lowered Expectations

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

KiwiLights

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • App turns off unexpectedly
  • App doesn't open after update
  • App changes phone brightness settings

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add an alarm clock
  • Make clock numbers bigger
  • Add a game feature
  • Allow setting wallpaper
  • More characters
Show 2 more
  • Animals change position
  • Adjust clock size

Lowered Expectations

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

KiwiLights

Subscriptions1
  • Plus Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • KiwiLights Premium$4.99
3 purchases

Lowered Expectations

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$1.99
  • Large Tip$4.99

Questions

Is KiwiLights free?
KiwiLights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lowered Expectations free?
Lowered Expectations is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, KiwiLights or Lowered Expectations?
Lowered Expectations is rated higher. KiwiLights averages 4.7 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Lowered Expectations averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.
Do KiwiLights or Lowered Expectations have ads?
Neither KiwiLights nor Lowered Expectations shows ads.
Which is updated more often, KiwiLights or Lowered Expectations?
KiwiLights ships an update every 2 months, and Lowered Expectations every 11 days. Most recently, KiwiLights was updated on November 1, 2026 and Lowered Expectations on October 31, 2026.

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