Widgets for Dynamic Island vs Shelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Widgets for Dynamic Island
Create custom Live Activities for your lock screen and Dynamic Island. Display glanceable information with customizable styles and themes, including health data, device status, and weather. Some features require a Pro subscription.
- Custom Live Activity creation
- Lock screen and Dynamic Island display
- Customizable styles and themes
- HealthKit integration for health data
- Picture in Picture support
- Variety of module options (Health, Device, Weather)
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ActivityBuilder is the perfect app to create your own custom Live Activities that can be displayed on your lock screen and Dynamic Island. Live Activities are perfect glanceable widgets to view information quickly. These widgets are also customizable, you can change the style and theme of them. ActivityBuilder takes full advantage of the latest iOS features and tech to provide you with unique features on your lock screen and Dynamic Island Choose from a variety of different modules such as Health, Device, Weather and more to customize and start a Live Activity which is displayed on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. You can also view some activities in Picture in Picture! There are plenty of options to choose from and we are adding more regularly. Download ActivityBuilder now to try out the awesome new experience to customize your device. ActivityBuilder uses HealthKit and integrates with the Apple Health app to display your health data such as steps, active energy, exercise minutes, and more. Some features may require ActivityBuilder Pro. Pricing (USD): - Monthly: $1.49 per month - Yearly: $11.99 per year - Lifetime: $29.99 one time Contact: https://innovativedigitaltechnologies.software/ActivityBuilder Privacy Policy: https://innovativedigitaltechnologies.software/ActivityBuilder/privacypolicy Terms & Conditions: https://innovativedigitaltechnologies.software/ActivityBuilder/terms Dynamic Island is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
Shelf
Pin photos, text, or app shortcuts to your iPhone's Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Customize the appearance with themes, colors, and fonts. Access content with a tap or use Siri and App Shortcuts for automatic launching.
- Pin photos, text, and app shortcuts
- Dynamic Island and Home Screen support
- Customizable themes, colors, and fonts
- Always-on display integration
- App Shortcuts and Siri integration
- Quick access with a tap
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Shelf lets you pin content to the Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, and Home Screen! Create shelves that display a photo, text, or quick links to open apps, shortcuts, or websites. Each are visually customisable; apply themes or manually change colours and fonts. Thanks to the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on-display, shelves can be viewed at a glance - with actions a simple tap away. Automatically launch shelves with App Shortcuts support, such as when a Focus is turned on, or ask Siri "Create a Text Shelf" to quickly pin a spoken comment to your Lock Screen. More types of shelves will be coming soon, such as; a Timer, Checklist, and Weather. If you have any questions, please reach out to shelf@michaeltigas.com.au Privacy Policy: https://michaeltigas.notion.site/Shelf-Privacy-Policy-d1eee01d6bc845b29052d1d75de8968f Terms of Use: https://michaeltigas.notion.site/Shelf-Terms-of-Use-0f7815e773e3420db9a5e6b1cdddbd54
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Shelf at none against Widgets for Dynamic Island's shown. Shelf also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Widgets for Dynamic Island sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and Shelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Widgets for Dynamic Island against 4.5 for Shelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 290 and 280 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of Widgets for Dynamic Island's written reviews are positive against 58% of Shelf's.
Widgets for Dynamic Island ships an update every 4 weeks, Shelf every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Widgets for Dynamic Island | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (290 ratings) | 4.5 (280 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews | 57.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 290 — better | 280 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | INNOVATIVE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED | Michael Tigas |
Customer experience
Widgets for Dynamic Island
Shelf
Bugs and requests
Widgets for Dynamic Island
Reported bugs
3 issues- Subscription issues after app updates
- Weather widget not refreshing automatically
- Inconsistent performance on older devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add more free widgets
- Improve weather widget functionality
- Allow customization of text/icons in dynamic island
- Implement a trial period or one-time purchase option
Shelf
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Widgets for Dynamic Island
- ActivityBuilder Pro Weekly$0.997 Days
- ActivityBuilder Pro Weekly3 Days trial$3.997 Days
- ActivityBuilder Pro Weekly$3.997 Days
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- ActivityBuilder Pro Monthly2 variants$4.991 Month
- ActivityBuilder Pro Yearly$24.991 Year
- ActivityBuilder Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
- ActivityBuilder Pro - Lifetime$59.99
Shelf
- Shelf Pro - Monthly$1.991 Month
- Shelf Pro - Yearly3 Days trial$12.991 Year
Questions
Is Widgets for Dynamic Island free?
Is Shelf free?
Which has better reviews, Widgets for Dynamic Island or Shelf?
Do Widgets for Dynamic Island or Shelf have ads?
Which is updated more often, Widgets for Dynamic Island or Shelf?
Other comparisons
