Pho vs BeeFocus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Pho
This app replaces your native photo gallery and synchronizes your pictures to cloud storage. It offers a streamlined experience for viewing and managing your photo library.
- Photo gallery replacement
- Cloud photo synchronization
- SMB, WebDAV, NFS support
- Simple user experience
- View and manage photos
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Pho is a serverless photo sync and gallery app. It backs up your photos directly to your own network storage ā Samba (SMB), WebDAV, NFS, S3 and Google Drive ā without routing them through any third-party cloud photo service. No middleman server. No database. No subscription lock-in. The files are entirely yours. [Your photos, only in your own storage] Pho never uploads your photos to a third-party server. All photos are stored in your own network storage using a "year/month/day" directory structure, with original filenames preserved. You can access, migrate, or reuse these raw files anytime without Pho ā they're ordinary files, not packaged, not locked, not hidden behind a proprietary format. This is the fundamental difference between Pho and every cloud photo service. [Replace your built-in gallery] Pho isn't just for sync ā it works as your daily gallery. Local and cloud photos appear in a single timeline, with: Ā· Grouping by date, pinch-to-zoom Ā· Lazy thumbnail loading ā smooth even with tens of thousands of photos Ā· Full EXIF info Ā· Live Photo playback Ā· Native HEIC / HEVC / RAW (DNG) / video support [Original quality, no compression] Pho preserves the original quality of your photos and videos ā no compression, no re-encoding, no EXIF stripping. Your 4K videos and DNG RAW files stay exactly as they were. Cloud browsing is also original quality ā no silent downscaling like some cloud photo services. [Background auto-sync] Scheduled sync runs in the background: on iOS, the system schedules it while charging ā no need to open the app manually. Wi-Fi-only option avoids cellular data usage. A passive local notification is sent on completion (silent, no screen wake). After the first sync, Pho incrementally compares local and cloud, uploading only new photos. [AES encryption] Privacy-conscious? Pho supports AES encryption: photos are encrypted before upload and decrypted before download. Encrypted files use a .aes suffix ā even if storage is inspected or leaked, originals cannot be recovered. Encrypted videos stream natively without downloading the whole file. You can always find these encrypted files in your own storage and decrypt them without Pho using the same algorithm and password. [Supported storage] Ā· Samba (SMB) ā works with NAS, router USB storage, Windows shared folders Ā· WebDAV ā works with self-hosted services, Jianguoyun, Nextcloud, etc. Ā· NFS ā works with Linux / NAS Ā· Baidu Netdisk ā popular in China, OAuth login Each storage type only needs to be configured once and connects automatically afterwards. Switch or reconfigure anytime. [Pro features] Ā· Parallel upload: upload multiple photos at once for faster backups Ā· Encrypted storage: AES encryption to protect your privacy Ā· Custom upload filters: filter by file type and date Ā· Camera-only album: intelligently filter out screenshots and downloads Ā· Theme color: switch to your preferred theme Ā· Free up storage: delete synced photos to reclaim phone space Three plans available: monthly, yearly, and lifetime. Subscriptions can be canceled anytime via App Store subscription management. [Who it's for] Ā· Privacy-conscious users who don't want photos hosted by third-party cloud services Ā· Users with a NAS, router USB storage, self-hosted WebDAV, or Baidu Netdisk Ā· Users looking to replace the native gallery and manage local + cloud photos in one place Ā· Users who need local encryption before backup [About Pho] Pho is an open-source project with source code publicly available on GitHub. No ads, no tracking, no data collection. Maintained by a single developer, continuously improved based on user feedback. For issues or suggestions, find feedback channels in Settings ā About, or contact the developer directly. Thank you to every user who chose Pho. Privacy Policy: https://pho.tools/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
BeeFocus
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BeeFocus is a focused Pomodoro timer for studying, working, reading, planning, and deep work. Choose a mission, start a focus session, and let a simple rhythm of concentration and breaks help you make steady progress. FOCUS WITH A CLEAR RHYTHM Use a proven focus timer workflow: ⢠Focus sessions for uninterrupted work or study ⢠Short breaks to reset between sessions ⢠Long breaks after completing a focus cycle ⢠Automatic countdowns for every phase ⢠Optional notifications when a session or break ends MAKE EVERY TIMER FIT YOUR WORK Create missions for the things that matter to you. Set a different focus duration, short break, long break, and number of focus cycles for each mission. Switch between study, work, reading, exercise, creative projects, and personal goals from one mission list. STAY ACCOUNTABLE WITH FOCUS MODES Choose Loose Mode when you need flexibility. Choose Strict Mode when you want stronger accountability: leaving the app during an active focus session ends that session. SEE YOUR DAILY PROGRESS Your completed focus sessions build a visual hive throughout the day. Review your focus history by date, browse weekly activity, and use statistics to understand your focus time, break time, session count, and mission distribution. PREMIUM INSIGHTS BeeFocus Premium includes: ⢠Ad-free focus sessions ⢠Advanced focus statistics ⢠Weekly focus heatmap WHY BEEFOCUS? ⢠Simple enough to start a session in seconds ⢠Flexible enough for study and professional work ⢠Designed for consistent daily focus, not complicated setup ⢠Separate missions keep your goals and timer settings organized ⢠Calm visual feedback makes progress easy to see Whether you are looking for a Pomodoro study timer, a work focus timer, a deep work timer, or a simple productivity timer, BeeFocus helps turn your next task into one clear session at a time. Start your first focus session with BeeFocus today. Privacy Policy: https://asktao.notion.site/Policy-bf8327c581b2470590cf65c43777758f Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Pho at every 5 days against BeeFocus's every 4 months. Pho also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Pho sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and BeeFocus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pho ships an update every 5 days, BeeFocus every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pho | BeeFocus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | ā |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days ā better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | ā |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac ā better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 ā better | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ęøęµ© å¼ | äŗ®č¾ čµµ |
In-app purchases
Pho
- Pho Pro - Monthly$2.99
- Pho Pro - Yearly$19.99
- Pho pro - lifetime$34.99
BeeFocus
- Weekly$1.997 Days
- Monthly$3.991 Month









