pdf vs Garden Timer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Manage and annotate PDF files on your iPad with fast page turning and intuitive finger-writing. Easily import PDFs, organize them into bookshelves, and export annotated versions via email. Features include zoom, cropping, and multiple pen options.
- Fast page turning and scanning
- Intuitive finger-writing and annotation
- Easy PDF import via Dropbox, Email, iTunes
- Categorized bookshelves with search
- Export annotated PDFs via email
- Pinch zoom and crop page margins
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[notice] pdf-notes for iPad (ads) involves advertisements. Paid version is available at http://itunes.apple.com/app/id4172008446 Utilize pdf-notes to manage all the pdf files on your iPad. Fast display, quick page-turning even a thousand pages, useful finger-writing and email your notes to your friends. Differentiation-1. While turning pages of paperbooks fast, you can glance over the pages. While turning pages of pdf-notes fast, you can still run over the contents. Speedy page turning and scanning the contents with pdf-notes or paperbooks. Differentiation-2. There are many pdf readers allow you to annotate; but do you know which app allows you can write any notes in a second? If you are using pdf-notes, you may experience very fast and intuitive finger-writing like: zoom-in and note by double-tap or; writing with one finger, page-turning with two fingers, pen-changing with three fingers. - Easy importing PDF files through (DropBox, Email or Safari's) "Open In..." or iTunes - Categorized multiple bookshelves(booklists) with powerful search - Displaying pages as optimized size 1024x768 of iPad - Portrait and landscape view - Pinch zoom and crop page-margins - Fast loading and Speedy page-turning - Finger-writing with a variety of pens, highlighters and text notes - Easy "zoom-in and note" on a magnified screen by a double tap - One-step page-turning using 2 fingers on editing mode - One-step pen-changing or undo/redo using 3 fingers on editing mode - Exporting annotated PDF files to Email - External display and screen brightness controls - AirPrint and multi-tasking Misunderstandings about pdf-notes: - Not only pdf-notes but every app recently updated is removed from the open-in menu because iOS5 or formers currently show only 10 apps in open-in menu. - iPad/iphone Mail/iBooks can't display PDF annotations so that please open it in the other pdf apps. - please visit the support site for more information http://bit.ly/f6D31P Blog http://pdf-notes.com Email musebook@musebook.com Twitter http://twitter.com/musebook4u YouTube http://youtu.be/4AyRyFq9yxg NOTE: All content contained herein is subject to change without notice.
Garden Timer
This app transforms focus sessions into a growing virtual garden. Each completed focus period contributes to the evolution of your persistent garden world, offering a unique visual representation of your productivity. Ambient soundscapes enhance deep work sessions.
- Persistent virtual garden growth
- Dynamic Island and Lock Screen integration
- Ambient soundscapes for focus
- Detailed focus analytics (Pro)
- Landscape Desk Mode (Pro)
- Ad-free experience (Pro)
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Every time you focus, something grows. Garden Timer turns your focus sessions into a cherry blossom garden that remembers every minute you put in. Not a disposable plant that resets. A living world that evolves — bare branches to first buds to full bloom — all built by you showing up. Set your timer. Put the phone down. When you come back, your garden has grown. WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT Other focus apps grow a single tree and forget it. Garden Timer builds a persistent world across every session. Your garden is yours — it accumulates, it changes, it reflects how far you've come. That's not a gimmick. That's the thing that makes you open the app again tomorrow. YOUR FOCUS, ALWAYS VISIBLE Start a session and your timer appears on the Dynamic Island and Lock Screen. Glance at your phone without picking it up. See your time counting down, your garden stage progressing, right there. No need to unlock. No temptation to open anything else. SOUNDS THAT ACTUALLY HELP Rain on leaves. Morning birds. A quiet stream. Not a generic white noise loop — ambient soundscapes designed to pair with the garden you're growing. Put your headphones in and disappear into deep work. BUILT FOR iOS 26 Liquid Glass interface. Smooth crossfade animations between growth stages. Native SwiftUI from the ground up — this isn't a web app stuffed into a shell. It feels like it belongs on your phone because it was built for your phone. GARDEN PRO Unlock every garden scene with 12 growth stages, all ambient sound packs, unlimited session history, detailed focus analytics, landscape Desk Mode, and an ad-free experience. Start with a free trial. The people who build something every day are the ones who show up again. Your garden is proof you did. Privacy Policy: https://jmrely.github.io/gardentimer-site/privacy.html Support: https://jmrely.github.io/gardentimer-site/support.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Garden Timer at 5.0 against pdf's 3.3. Garden Timer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 68%). pdf's advantage is ratings volume (23 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. pdf sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Garden Timer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Garden Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: pdf has 23 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of pdf's written reviews are positive against 100% of Garden Timer's.
pdf ships an update every 3 weeks, Garden Timer weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garden Timer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (23 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 23 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 141 MB | 315 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AMuseTec Co., Ltd. | Ely Martinez |
Customer experience
Garden Timer
Bugs and requests
Reported bugs
4 issues- Annotated PDFs losing data during export
- Crashes after recent app updates
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
- Incorrect page numbering and navigation
Requested features
5 requests- Add text typing and editing capabilities
- Implement a table of contents feature
- Improve integration with cloud storage services
- Allow custom organization of PDF files
- Enhance the note-taking experience
Garden Timer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
- 2-Month Pass$0.99
- 1-Year Pass$4.99
- Lifetime License$9.99
Garden Timer
- Garden Pro3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Garden Pro7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Lifetime Garden Pro$49.99









