XScreenSaver vs Heada
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.
Heada
Find the direction and distance to any address. Share this information instantly with your iMessage contacts. Navigate with ease and keep friends updated on your location.
- Direction to address
- Distance to address
- Share via iMessage
- Location sharing
- Intuitive interface
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See the direction and distance to an address. Send the direction and distance to your iMessage contacts.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Heada at every 9 days against XScreenSaver's every 6 months. On price, review sentiment, ads 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.
XScreenSaver ships an update every 6 months, Heada every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | XScreenSaver | Heada |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (109 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 92.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 109 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jamie Zawinski | Dominik Hauser |
Customer experience
XScreenSaver
Heada
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
Heada
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
XScreenSaver
No in-app purchases
Heada
No in-app purchases
