Insteon for Hub vs Any Text · Widgets
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Insteon for Hub
Control your smart home devices remotely from your smartphone or tablet. Automate lighting, thermostats, and security sensors, and receive instant alerts for peace of mind. Access your home's configuration from any device without monthly fees.
- Remote device control
- Automated scheduling
- Push and email alerts
- Camera monitoring
- Cloud-based configuration
- Apple Watch support
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The new Insteon Hub connects you to your home from any smartphone or tablet. Control Insteon light bulbs, wall switches, outlets and thermostats. Receive instant email or push notification alerts from motion and water leak sensors while you're away. Download the Insteon for Hub app, connect your Insteon Hub, select your favorite Insteon devices for your home and enjoy! The Insteon Hub works in combination with your router and smartphone or tablet to control Insteon devices in your home while you're there, when you're at work, or out of town. Easy Device Scheduling Want to turn on your bedside lamp automatically to help wake you up in the morning? How about program the porch light to turn on and off automatically with the rise and fall of the sun? No problem. Get Alerts on Your Mobile Phone or Computer Create alerts by adding water leak sensors, motion sensors, door/window sensors and more. The Insteon Hub will send push notifications and email alerts to your mobile device. The Hub also stores the status of these sensors, so you can easily check on your sensors from within the app at any time. Stay Connected to What Matters Most Wonder what triggered the motion sensor or just want to check in on the kids or your pets? Add a wireless camera and you'll see it all from your smartphone. The Insteon cameras feature pan/tilt control and night vision. Setting up this camera within the Insteon for Hub app is the easiest setup that you have ever seen! Cloud-based Service The Insteon Hub stores your homes configuration in the cloud which allows access from any number of smartphones and tablets you may own. Add another smartphone by simply downloading the app, sign in and enjoy. NO MONTHLY FEES That's right. No monthly fees to view, control and monitor your home. Other systems on the market charge hundreds of dollars a year for services that you can enjoy for free with the Insteon Hub. Easy Installation with Videos The Insteon for Hub app features video installation wizards that walk you through setup of many Insteon devices. Detailed Insteon app features: • Now supports Apple Watch for control of scenes and devices throughout your home • Simple and clear user controls • Easy to follow onscreen wizards for fast setup • Insteon Thermostat support, temp, humidity, mode, cool, heat, fan • Supports Venstar thermostat (with Insteon Adapter) • Nest thermostat support • Ability to add Insteon/Smarthome indoor and outdoor WiFi cameras • WiFi camera configuration – ability to set username, password, add/edit/delete contrast, brightness, mirror, flip image, directional control (up/down/left/right – ie “pan/tilt”) • Create a scene – single activation with multiple devices • Create rooms for organization • Add a timer for on/off/days of week • Auto-detect of geo-location of smartphone to calculate sunrise/sunset and automatic time synchronization • Receive email and push notification alerts when sensors and devices are activated • Quick status of sensors with the Check-In page • Cloud service provides access via multiple devices without reconfiguration • Works over WiFi, 4G, 3G, and EDGE • Supports hundreds of Insteon devices • Technical support and feedback email link within the app
Any Text · Widgets
Display any text on your Lock or Home Screen to keep important notes, goals, or tasks visible. Customize text with Markdown and utilize 20 different widgets. Integrates with Shortcuts for powerful automations and syncs across devices via iCloud.
- Customizable text widgets
- Lock Screen and Home Screen support
- Markdown styling (bold, italic, strikethrough)
- Live Activity and StandBy support
- iCloud device syncing
- Shortcuts app integration
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Put any kind of text on your Lock Screen or Home Screen so you won't miss it. It could be an important note, your goal, a list of tasks, etc. It also supports Live Activity and StandBy. The app includes 20 widgets that lets you put different text on different Lock Screen configurations or Home Screen. You can style parts of the text bold, italic, or strikethrough using Markdown. Syncs seamlessly across your devices with iCloud. Simply tap the widget to open the app to edit the text. ■ Shortcuts The app is scriptable through the Shortcuts app, enabling a lot of powerful use-cases. For example, you could use an automation to change the text at a certain point in the day or at certain places. The only limit is your creativity. ■ Support You can contact me through the feedback button in the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Any Text · Widgets at 82% against Insteon for Hub's 21%. Any Text · Widgets also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.1) and chart position (#35 vs unranked). Insteon for Hub's advantage is price (Free vs $4.00) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 26.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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
Insteon for Hub is free to download; Any Text · Widgets costs $4.00 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Any Text · Widgets holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 262 and 593 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Insteon for Hub's written reviews are positive against 82% of Any Text · Widgets's.
Insteon for Hub ships an update every 2 months, Any Text · Widgets every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Insteon for Hub | Any Text · Widgets |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.00 |
| Rating | 2.1 (262 ratings) | 4.6 (593 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.6% of reviews | 81.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 262 | 593 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #35 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 89 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Insteon Technologies | Sindre Sorhus |
Customer experience
Insteon for Hub
Any Text · Widgets
User reviews
Insteon for Hub
From 262 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Works great
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 💡 Powerful home automation features
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
- ⏱️ Slow and unresponsive
- 🔧 Poor customer support
- 💰 Expensive hardware and subscription
Any Text · Widgets
From 593 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Useful utility
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🔒 Secure and bug-free
- 💡 Great for organizing screens
- 🔒 Helpful for lost phone info
Room to improve
- 🐛 Doesn't work on some devices
- 🔒 Family sharing doesn't work
- 🔒 Text not showing on Lock Screen
- 👎 Text box too small
- 👎 Difficult to apply
Bugs and requests
Insteon for Hub
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to connect to Insteon hub
- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Incorrect device status and controls
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Advanced scheduling options
- Compatibility with more smart home devices
- Improved app design and user experience
- Seamless integration with voice assistants
Any Text · Widgets
Reported bugs
3 issues- Widget not showing on Lock Screen
- Text not updating in a timely manner
- Force show when locked doesn't work
Requested features
6 requests- Allow alternating/rotating text
- Add custom font support
- Provide full-width widget options
- Add custom widget background colors
- Enable editing widgets directly
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- Add Apple Watch widget support
In-app purchases
Insteon for Hub
No in-app purchases
Any Text · Widgets
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Insteon for Hub free?
Is Any Text · Widgets free?
Which has better reviews, Insteon for Hub or Any Text · Widgets?
Do Insteon for Hub or Any Text · Widgets have ads?
Which is updated more often, Insteon for Hub or Any Text · Widgets?
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