XScreenSaver vs Gravity Type
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.
Gravity Type
This app transforms typing into a playful physics sandbox. You can type letters and emojis, then manipulate them with realistic physics, including springs, strings, and collisions. It's a fun way to interact with text for those who enjoy a less conventional approach to word processing.
- Real-time 2D physics
- Letters and emoji with mass
- Springs, strings, and collisions
- Copy and paste functionality
- Eraser tool
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Gravity Type A physics-based word processor. Type, fling, and collide your letters into place. It’s a serious tool for people who don’t take typing too seriously. Features • Real-time 2D physics • Letters and emoji with mass • Springs, strings, and collisions • Copy and Paste • Eraser PRIVACY POLICY: Our privacy policy is available at: https://gravitytype.com/privacy TERMS OF SERVICE: Apple’s Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: XScreenSaver at 109 against Gravity Type's 4. Gravity Type's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for XScreenSaver against 4.8 for Gravity Type. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: XScreenSaver has 109 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
XScreenSaver ships an update every 6 months, Gravity Type every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | XScreenSaver | Gravity Type |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (109 ratings) — better | 4.8 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 109 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jamie Zawinski | Botto Studio LLC |
Customer experience
XScreenSaver
Gravity Type
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
Gravity Type
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
XScreenSaver
No in-app purchases
Gravity Type
No in-app purchases
