Comparison

Flash Reader vs Phone Drive

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

Head to head
About

Flash Reader

This app helps you read faster by displaying words rapidly, bypassing subvocalization. It supports various document formats and offers customization options to improve reading speed and comprehension.

Highlights
  • Rapid word display (RSVP)
  • Supports numerous document formats (PDF, EPUB, DOCX, etc.)
  • Import from Pocket, Instapaper, Dropbox, and camera
  • Built-in web browser with article saving
  • Customizable reading speed and display
  • Bookmark and resume functionality
Features
Read full description

Ever had to read through a an email, book or an article on the web, but felt like it took ages to read through it all? Normally your brain will attempt to pronounce words you read, which is called subvocalization or internal speech. Flash Reader removes this limitation by showing you words so fast that your brain doesn't have time to subvocalize, but still allows you to retain everything you've read, by something called RSVP. Whether it's light reading, or complicated business emails, training your eyes to read faster couldn't be easier, while your reading skill and comprehension will keep getting better and better with each article you finish. 3rd Party Support: • Pocket, Instapaper & Dropbox support* • Open & import eBooks files and docs such as DOC, RTF, TXT, PDF, EPUB, DOCX, AZW (Amazon Kindle .AZW files only), MOBI and ODT (OpenDocument) files* Note: Documents need to be DRM-free (no copy protection) and have no OCR (scanned) elements. Key Features: • Massive document format support* • Import from Dropbox, iTunes and any other app capable of opening files • Built-in web-browser, with full support for Google search and saving articles* • Bookmarking, easily resume where you left off • Import documents by using your Camera* • iOS 8 Extension for easy importing of both files and websites* • Different reading modes to suit your needs • Customization, including words per minute (WPM), words per flash, themes, fonts and font sizes • Boost your productivity and learn to speed read at lightning fast speeds • Universal, works on iPhone, iPod & iPad (iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus included!) For Instant Help, open up the Support-section of the app. Visit FlashReaderApp.com for more information. ••• What people are saying about Flash Reader ••• "I was very skeptical at first, then I tried it. Now I'm impressed!!! Using this tool to read a page, blog or instructions made made it seem like it took no time at all. I actually think using this app on a regular basis my even improve my reading skills. I'm so impressed, I'm recommending it on twitter!!!", 5/5 stars -Ninny2U "I like it so much I use it every day.", 5/5 stars -Joseph "Great for readers who find words move on the page! I can read so quickly with it. For studying materials - like journal articles - I start slower, read once, then up the speed again and again. Much greater retention than trying to read just in text!", 5/5 stars -Jacqjacq14 "It's now so easy to read faster with this app !", 4/5 stars -Manuel Klaassen "This app is a wonderful way to breeze through a long read!", 4/5 stars -Matthew Bartlett Coming up soon: - A cloud based solution for backing up and syncing articles and bookmarks - Evernote, Readability and Feedly support - Built-in bookstore (free ebooks) - Better article navigation (search by page or by word) - Spritz-like reading Thank you for the reviews, keep them coming! Based on the feedback we receive, we'll add and modify the features as much as we can. *Please note: Flash Reader DOES NOT have advertisements of any kind. Services such as Instapaper, Pocket, website article saving and certain file-specific document conversions have limits and might require the Flash Reader Pro upgrade, which is a permanent one-time payment that unlocks all features of the app. Some services (including PDF and ePub importing, as well as Microsoft Office files like DOCX) require an active internet connection when importing. Also note that Flash Reader does not have voice support, so no text-to-speech or anything like that.

About

Phone Drive

Transform your mobile device into a wireless flash drive and comprehensive file manager. Easily store, view, and manage local and cloud files, transferring them wirelessly to your computer via Wi-Fi. Stream media and utilize built-in tools for documents and file organization.

Highlights
  • Wireless file transfers via Wi-Fi
  • Manage local and cloud storage
  • Built-in media player and document viewer
  • File organization and security features
  • Support for multiple cloud services
  • Create playlists and stream media
Features
Read full description

Phone Drive – File Manager Turn your iPhone or iPad into a powerful wireless flash drive and file manager. With Phone Drive, you can easily store, view, and manage local and cloud files all in one place. Connect wirelessly to your Mac or PC over Wi-Fi and transfer files instantly with simple drag-and-drop through your browser, Finder, or Windows Explorer. Manage multiple cloud accounts seamlessly, stream music or videos directly from the cloud, and enjoy a complete set of built-in tools for documents, media, and file organization. Why You’ll Love Phone Drive • All-in-One File Hub – Access and manage files from your device, Wi-Fi, or cloud storage. • Seamless Transfers – Move files between your iPhone/iPad and computer without cables. • Built-in Media & Document Tools – View PDFs, Office files, images, play music, stream videos, and more. • Powerful File Management – Copy, move, rename, zip/unzip, share, or protect files with passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. • Universal Purchase – One app for both iPhone and iPad. Key Features • Cloud Storage Support: Connect Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, WebDAV, Yandex Disk, FTP, and iCloud Drive (some require in-app purchase). • Media Player: Create playlists, shuffle, repeat, play in the background, and stream directly from the cloud. • Document Viewer: Open MS Office, iWork, PDFs, text, HTML, and more. • Text Editor: Edit text files and source code on the go. • File Sharing: Transfer files between iOS devices via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (require in-app purchase). • Import & Create: Take photos, record audio/video, or import from your photo library. • Secure Access: Lock sensitive files with passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. Supported Formats • Audio: MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, AIFF, CAF • Video: MP4, MOV, M4V, MPV • Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, ICO • Documents: PDF, RTF, RTFD, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) • Other: Plain text, HTML, source code, web archives Learn more: https://sixbytes.io Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SixbytesApp Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sixbytesapp Terms of Service: https://sixbytes.io/products/phone-drive/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://sixbytes.io/products/phone-drive/legal/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Flash Reader1 screens
Phone Drive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phone Drive at 4.7 against Flash Reader's 4.2. Phone Drive also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 49%) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 162). Flash Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.0). 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. Flash Reader sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Phone Drive sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phone Drive holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phone Drive has 1.8K ratings behind it against 162, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Flash Reader's written reviews are positive against 73% of Phone Drive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flash Reader ships an update monthly, Phone Drive fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Flash Reader versus Phone Drive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlash ReaderPhone Drive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (162 ratings)4.7 (1.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.3% of reviews73.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1621.8K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.3 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB130 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperDidstopiaEightythree Technology

Customer experience

Flash Reader

All ratings162 ratings
Positive79.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews136 reviews
Positive49.3%
Neutral5.9%
Negative44.9%

Phone Drive

All ratings1,813 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.9%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews882 reviews
Positive73.1%
Neutral6.7%
Negative20.2%

User reviews

Flash Reader

From 162 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Ahead of its time
  • 👍 Simple to use
  • 🚀 Helps read books efficiently
  • 👍 Useful, easy to use
  • 👍 Brilliant app, great time saver

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Doesn't allow to open modern websites
  • 🐛 Restarts the book being read
  • 🐛 Crashes when using camera
  • 🐛 Bugs and stops working
  • 🐛 Loses reading progress

Phone Drive

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast file transfers
  • 📁 Convenient file management
  • 🎵 Good audio playback
  • 👍 User-friendly interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 💰 Paywalled features
  • 🔄 Inconsistent updates
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing files

Bugs and requests

Flash Reader

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Crashes when switching modes
  • Loses reading progress
  • Inaccurate resume times

Requested features

10 requests
  • Fancy text like newer video captions
  • Bookmarks and navigation
  • Support for Google Drive
  • Quick rewind option
  • Table of contents
Show 5 more
  • Search option
  • Ability to go backward/forward
  • Choose page to go to
  • Dark mode
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

Phone Drive

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Unreliable file transfers
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Playlist management options
  • Video playback support
  • Improved cloud storage integration
  • Customizable file organization

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Flash Reader

One-time5
  • Flash Reader Pro$0.99
  • Flash Reader Pro2 variants$1.99
  • Flash Reader Pro$2.99
Show 2 more
  • Flash Reader Pro$3.99
  • Flash Reader Pro$4.99
5 purchases

Phone Drive

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Cloud Service Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Premium Cloud Service Yearly$6.991 Year
One-time3
  • Reset Password$1.99
  • Upgrade to Full Version$4.99
  • Premium Cloud Service Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Flash Reader free?
Flash Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phone Drive free?
Phone Drive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flash Reader or Phone Drive?
Phone Drive is rated higher. Flash Reader averages 4.2 out of 5 from 162 ratings, while Phone Drive averages 4.7 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Flash Reader or Phone Drive have ads?
Neither Flash Reader nor Phone Drive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flash Reader or Phone Drive?
Flash Reader ships an update monthly, and Phone Drive fortnightly. Most recently, Flash Reader was updated on October 18, 2026 and Phone Drive on October 20, 2026.

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