Comparison

Simple Phone vs Neutral Scroll

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

Head to head
About

Simple Phone

This app offers a minimalist home screen experience designed to reduce distractions and promote focused phone usage. It helps users break autopilot habits and create a calmer digital environment by decluttering the interface and prioritizing essential apps. Adapt your phone to your day for intentional use.

Highlights
  • Minimalist home screen with essential apps
  • Clean, text-first layout
  • Custom setups for focus, rest, or work
  • Simple widgets and themes
  • Dark and Light mode support
  • Redesigned home screen to reduce distractions
Features
Read full description

Your phone should support your life, not trap you in endless scrolling. Simple Phone helps you use your iPhone with clarity, intention, and calm. Simple Phone removes visual noise with a clean, minimalist home screen that keeps only what truly matters. By eliminating common triggers like bright icons, badges, and clutter, it helps you break autopilot habits and stay focused on what you actually want to do. Whether you are working, relaxing, or unplugging, Simple Phone adapts to your day instead of competing for your attention. Use Simple Phone to: • Focus deeply on work or study • Reduce mindless scrolling and screen time • Create a calmer, less stimulating phone experience • Separate work, personal, and rest modes • Use your phone intentionally without giving it up Key features: • Minimalist home screen with essential apps only • Clean, text-first layout with no visual distractions • Custom setups for focus, rest, or work • Simple widgets and themes for a consistent look • Dark and Light mode support • Fast, intuitive, and easy to use Simple Phone does not block your phone or force limits. It redesigns your home screen so distractions stop fighting for your attention and your phone feels useful again. Build a calmer digital space and take control of your time with Simple Phone.

About

Neutral Scroll

This app offers a sensory pause from habitual phone use. It provides a calming, content-free experience with haptic feedback and visual gradients to help you disengage from endless scrolling. It also acts as a gentle reminder when you attempt to open other apps.

Highlights
  • Content-free scrolling experience
  • Haptic feedback for engagement
  • Visual gradients and color shifts
  • Time-boxed usage periods
  • Optional app opening reminder
  • Privacy-focused, no tracking
Read full description

A sensory pause for the moment your hand reaches for the feed. The urge to scroll isn't really about content. It's about regulation - a fidget, a friction, something to hold. Neutral Scroll gives you that, without the algorithm underneath. You open it. You stay for a time boxed period of time. The screen quietly winds itself down, and you put your phone away. — TWO MODES — Scroll A paged gradient of muted hues. Each swipe snaps cleanly to the next color, with one soft haptic pulse per page. No content. No counter. Just rhythm. Find A target somewhere on the screen, invisible. The closer your finger gets, the faster and heavier the haptic feedback. Land it, and the colour collapses to your fingertip and washes in a new hue. — A SOFTER DOOR — Pick the apps you reach for out of habit. When you open them, Neutral Scroll catches you at the door with a gentle reminder, and points you here instead. Built on Apple's Screen Time framework. Always opt-in. Always your choice. — WHAT IT DOESN'T DO — No likes, no streaks, no scores. No notifications, ever. No tracking, no analytics, no account. No social features, no sharing, no leaderboards. No reason to come back besides the experience itself. — PRIVACY — Neutral Scroll collects nothing. No analytics, no telemetry, no account. The optional shield runs entirely on-device through Apple's Family Controls. Nothing leaves your phone. — REQUIREMENTS — iPhone running iOS 17 or later. Uses the Taptic Engine, so iPhone only — no iPad, no Mac. One-time purchase. No subscription. No in-app purchases. No ads. neutralscroll.com

Screenshots

Simple Phone4 screens
Neutral Scroll4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Neutral Scroll at none against Simple Phone's 5. Neutral Scroll also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Simple Phone's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, 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. Simple Phone sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Neutral Scroll asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Phone ships an update every 5 weeks, Neutral Scroll every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Simple Phone versus Neutral Scroll: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple PhoneNeutral Scroll
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (40 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings40 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIlya NikolenkoProfoundLabs Ltd

Customer experience

Simple Phone

All ratings40 ratings
Positive82.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.5%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.3%

Neutral Scroll

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Simple Phone

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • 🐛 App doesn't work after a while
  • 🐛 Clunky shortcut protocol
  • 🐛 Too many setup steps, then doesn't work

Neutral Scroll

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Simple Phone

Subscriptions3
  • Simple Phone Pro3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Simple Phone Pro (1 month)$19.991 Month
  • Simple Phone Pro (1 year)2 variants$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Minimalist Phone Pro$24.99
None

Neutral Scroll

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Phone free?
Simple Phone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Neutral Scroll free?
Neutral Scroll is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simple Phone or Neutral Scroll have ads?
Neither Simple Phone nor Neutral Scroll shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Phone or Neutral Scroll?
Simple Phone ships an update every 5 weeks, and Neutral Scroll every 5 months. Most recently, Simple Phone was updated on October 21, 2026 and Neutral Scroll on October 24, 2026.

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