Comparison

Clamshell vs Smart Card Inspector for PIV

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

Head to head
About

Clamshell

Monitor the status of all your Macs from your iPhone or iPad. This app allows you to track lid and system states remotely, ensuring you're always informed about your devices. It utilizes iCloud for secure data synchronization without third-party servers.

Highlights
  • Monitor Mac lid states
  • Track system statuses (Awake, Sleep, etc.)
  • Remote monitoring from iPhone/iPad
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Supports Mac desktops
Read full description

Clamshell goes to iPhone and iPad! This is an iOS version of the Clamshell app. It provides monitoring states of all your Macs from your iPhones and iPads that are signed in to the same iCloud account. Clamshell now supports sharing the laptop lid statuses and system statuses (Awake, Sleeping, Logging out, Restarting, Shutting down, Restarted, Shut Down, User Logged Out, App Terminated). More statuses will come in the year. No data is shared with third-party providers. Clamshell is not using any external servers but only Apple's iCloud servers. You're in full control of your data! Note for users of iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro: Clamshell is useful for you finally! Use it to monitor statuses of your Mac desktops remotely from iPhone/iPad. Yay!

About

Smart Card Inspector for PIV

Features
Read full description

Smart Card Inspector (SCI) is a professional iPhone and iPad tool for inspecting, troubleshooting, and managing smart cards and security tokens. Designed for developers, system administrators, and security professionals, SCI helps diagnose issues with PIV cards, certificates, identities, smart card readers, and compatible security tokens directly on iOS and iPadOS. Smart Card & Token Inspection Explore certificates, identities, and public smart card data available from connected cards and tokens. Quickly inspect certificate details, review card information, and identify potential configuration issues. PIV Card Diagnostics Inspect and validate Personal Identity Verification (PIV) smart cards and analyze their configuration. SCI can: • detect connected readers and inserted cards • read public PIV data objects • inspect certificates and verify certificate chains • detect potential configuration problems • identify reused key material across PIV slots • export public certificates for external analysis When a PIN is provided, SCI can also perform identity integrity checks. PIN & PUK Management Manage cardholder secrets directly on the card: • change PIN • unblock or reset PIN using PUK • change PUK SCI provides a focused and native iPhone and iPad experience for working with smart cards, security tokens, certificates, and PIV credentials.

Screenshots

Clamshell2 screens
Smart Card Inspector for PIV4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Clamshell at none against Smart Card Inspector for PIV's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Smart Card Inspector for PIV sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Clamshell asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clamshell ships an update every 6 weeks, Smart Card Inspector for PIV monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Clamshell versus Smart Card Inspector for PIV: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClamshellSmart Card Inspector for PIV
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.418.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander Kovrazhkin3D Space Works

In-app purchases

None

Clamshell

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Card Inspector for PIV

One-time1
  • Full Version Unlock$14.99

Questions

Is Clamshell free?
Clamshell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smart Card Inspector for PIV free?
Smart Card Inspector for PIV is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Clamshell or Smart Card Inspector for PIV have ads?
Neither Clamshell nor Smart Card Inspector for PIV shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Clamshell or Smart Card Inspector for PIV?
Clamshell ships an update every 6 weeks, and Smart Card Inspector for PIV monthly. Most recently, Clamshell was updated on November 4, 2026 and Smart Card Inspector for PIV on October 31, 2026.

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