Comparison

xDesk vs PointerDeck

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

xDesk

Organize all your personal data in one place, from notes and photos to documents and recordings. Create custom cards for anything, with built-in tools for scanning, recording, and managing deadlines. Share information securely with others via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Customizable data cards
  • Integrated recorder with transcription
  • Document scanner to PDF
  • Deadline tracking and countdowns
  • Secure iCloud sharing
  • Cross-device support (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch)
Features
Read full description

Why switch between five apps when one will do? xDesk is the Swiss Army knife of your personal data: an archive you build yourself, where everything has a card and every card has its place. Notes, photos, scanned documents, recordings with their transcript, deadlines, the grocery list, contacts, routes. One app, and the same one in your pocket, on the table, on the desk and on your wrist: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch. NO SERVERS, NO SIGN-UP Your data lives in your iCloud. We don't ask for an account, we don't ask for an email, we have no servers to put it on: we never had any. What you write in xDesk is yours, stays yours, and is seen only by you and the people you choose to share it with. A CARD FOR EVERYTHING A folder for the house, one for the car, one for clients, one for grandma and her recipes. You build each card yourself, as a grid: text, numbers, dates, photos, maps, QR codes, drawings, signatures. Twenty seconds. Or start from one of sixteen ready-made models: document, vehicle, warranty, Wi-Fi network, subscription, meeting, list. RECORD, AND IT BECOMES TEXT A recorder that writes down what it hears, on your phone, without sending the audio to anyone. If there are two of you, it tells the voices apart. A scanner that straightens crooked pages and turns them into a PDF. A calendar that picks the deadlines out of every card and puts them on your first page, with a countdown. SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY A folder shared through iCloud: the grocery list your kids update from their phone, quotes with colleagues, site photos with the crew. Inside there is also the space's chat, end-to-end encrypted, so the important thing sits next to the thing it refers to. WALK, TRAVEL, TRAIN Record a route, plan the stops of a trip with computed times, keep your heart rate from the watch. It all ends up in cards, like everything else. FREE TO START The free part stays free: unlimited cards and folders, the recorder, the scanner, one shared folder. When xDesk becomes the way you work there is xDesk Pro: full transcripts with speakers told apart, unlimited models, PDFs with your letterhead, messages in shared spaces, the password vault. Monthly, yearly, or once and forever. Next time someone asks "where did you put it?", answer with a tap. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PointerDeck

Read full description

PointerDeck turns your iPhone or iPad into a focused wireless trackpad for your Mac. The free PointerDeck Receiver for Mac is required, and both devices must be on the same local network. SET UP ONCE Open Add Device on the Mac and create an 8–12 digit Connection PIN. PointerDeck rejects repeated or sequential patterns; use at least five different digits. Then select that Mac on your iPhone or iPad and enter the PIN. After pairing, PointerDeck remembers the trusted connection and reconnects when both apps are open and reachable. TRACKPAD CONTROLS • Move the pointer with one finger • Scroll with two fingers • Tap or use the dedicated Left Click button • Two-finger tap or use the dedicated Right Click button • Use Drag Lock for click-and-drag TUNE THE FEEL • Adjust pointer sensitivity and scrolling speed • Choose Natural or Reversed scrolling • Turn tap-to-click on or off • Switch to a left-handed button layout DIRECT BY DESIGN PointerDeck does not stream or display your Mac screen. The release has no account, advertisements, subscription, analytics SDK, or cloud service. Controller traffic travels directly between your devices and is encrypted on the local network. REQUIREMENTS • iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 17 or later • Apple silicon or Intel Mac running macOS 14 or later • Free PointerDeck Receiver from the Mac download page • Both devices on the same local network • Accessibility permission enabled for PointerDeck Receiver on the Mac Guest, corporate, public, or client-isolated networks may prevent devices from discovering each other.

Screenshots

xDesk4 screens
PointerDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PointerDeck at none against xDesk's 3. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. xDesk sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year. PointerDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
xDesk versus PointerDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterxDeskPointerDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNas-GamesEliyahu Mechtcheriakov

In-app purchases

3 purchases

xDesk

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Year sub. 15 days trial$6.991 Year
  • All Features (1Year)$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • lifetime unlock$24.99
None

PointerDeck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is xDesk free?
xDesk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PointerDeck free?
PointerDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do xDesk or PointerDeck have ads?
Neither xDesk nor PointerDeck shows ads.

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