XScreenSaver vs Beach Ball Runner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
XScreenSaver
Explore a vast collection of historic and educational graphics demos originally designed for Linux and Unix systems. This application allows you to interact with hundreds of these visual demonstrations, ported from the classic screen saver collection.
- Historic graphics demos
- Educational visual content
- Interactive demo playback
- Large collection of visuals
- Cross-platform heritage
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The XScreenSaver application is a large collection of historic and educational graphics demos. XScreenSaver is the standard screen saver collection shipped on most Linux and Unix systems. I released the first version in 1992. In 2006, I ported it to MacOS, and in 2012 I ported it to iOS. This application is not a screen saver, of course, since iOS doesn't have those. But it does let you play with the hundreds of graphics demos that are a part of the XScreenSaver collection.
Beach Ball Runner
Guide a beach ball through an endless, increasingly fast-paced obstacle course. Collect coins for points, stars for invincibility, and hearts to stay alive. Compete on the leaderboard and use ads to revive yourself.
- Endless obstacle course gameplay
- Coin collection for scoring
- Invincibility power-ups
- Revive with ads
- Leaderboard for high scores
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Does the beach ever end? Guide the beach ball through the obstacles as it gradually speeds up. Capture coins to score points! Capture stars to be invincible. Capture hearts to stay alive! How far can you go? Enjoy this highly addictive never ending madness. Check the leaderboard to see how you rank! View ads to revive yourself, but careful you only have a certain amount before restarting!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: XScreenSaver at none against Beach Ball Runner's shown. XScreenSaver also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (109 vs 12). Beach Ball Runner's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Beach Ball Runner holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: XScreenSaver has 109 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of XScreenSaver's written reviews are positive against 100% of Beach Ball Runner's.
XScreenSaver ships an update every 6 months, Beach Ball Runner every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | XScreenSaver | Beach Ball Runner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (109 ratings) | 4.9 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 109 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jamie Zawinski | App Factorial LLC |
Customer experience
XScreenSaver
Beach Ball Runner
Bugs and requests
XScreenSaver
Reported bugs
5 issues- Photo library screensaver crashes on iOS 13
- GLText reveals password when system info is selected
- Framebuffer loading failures requiring app restart
- Crashes on certain devices or configurations
- Difficult UI for exiting screensavers on larger phones
Requested features
11 requests- Favorites or bookmarking system to save preferred screensavers
- Hide or exclude unwanted screensavers from rotation
- Ability to select specific channels in XAnalogTV screensaver
- Widget support for iOS standby mode
- Prevent auto-lock feature to keep screen on
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- Apple TV version
- Windows port of the application
- Larger hit areas for corner icons
- Faster scrubbing through screensavers
- Donate button for supporting development
- Screensavers featuring pentagons
Beach Ball Runner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
XScreenSaver
No in-app purchases
Beach Ball Runner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is XScreenSaver free?
Is Beach Ball Runner free?
Which has better reviews, XScreenSaver or Beach Ball Runner?
Do XScreenSaver or Beach Ball Runner have ads?
Which is updated more often, XScreenSaver or Beach Ball Runner?
Other comparisons
