Comparison

systemsoundtest vs Shell Keyboard

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

Head to head
About

systemsoundtest

Explore over 100 official iOS system sounds with a clean, modern interface. Tap buttons to instantly play notification tones and alerts, with dynamic visual feedback.

Highlights
  • Over 100 official iOS system sounds
  • Instant sound playback
  • Clean, user-friendly interface
  • Dynamic button color changes
  • Explore notification tones and alerts
Features
Read full description

This App offers an exciting way to explore iOS system sounds , featuring over 100 sound clips that you can play with a simple tap. Designed with a clean, modern interface, each button represents a different system sound, from familiar notification tones to rarely heard alerts. When you press a button, the corresponding sound plays instantly, giving you insight into the auditory world behind iOS devices. //Access to 100+ official iOS system sounds. //Sleek, user-friendly design with soft pink buttons for an aesthetically pleasing experience. //Real-time sound feedback with dynamic button color changes during playback. //AppDeveloper, sound designers, and anyone curious about system audio.

About

Shell Keyboard

This custom keyboard provides essential keys like Ctrl, Esc, and arrow keys that are missing from the standard iOS keyboard. It's designed for terminal applications, sending precise control codes and escape sequences for seamless command-line interaction on iOS and iPadOS devices.

Highlights
  • Dedicated terminal layer with Ctrl, Esc, Tab, arrow keys
  • Ctrl and Alt as proper modifiers with lock functionality
  • Full function-key layer (F1-F12)
  • Configurable arrow key behavior for different apps
  • Multiple keyboard layouts for iPad (60% and 75%)
  • Seven customizable themes (light and dark)
  • Privacy-focused, no Full Access required
Features
Read full description

Shell Keyboard adds the keys a terminal actually needs — the ones iOS's default keyboard leaves out. Working over SSH or in a local shell needs Ctrl, Esc, Tab, arrow keys, and function keys, none of which exist on the standard iOS keyboard. Shell Keyboard is a custom keyboard built specifically for terminal apps like Blink, Termius, Prompt, a-Shell and iSH — it sends the exact ASCII control codes and ANSI/VT escape sequences your terminal expects, the same bytes a physical keyboard would send. NEW ON IPAD: A REAL KEYBOARD Choose a 60% or 75% layout, the compact keyboards terminal users already type on. The 75% layout puts Esc, F1–F12, a number row, Caps Lock, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down and inverted-T arrow keys on one screen, and Shift types the symbol printed on each key, just like a physical keyboard. The 60% layout keeps the function keys, navigation and arrows one fn press away. iPad opens in the 75% layout; the original ShellKey layout is one tap away in Settings. WHAT'S INCLUDED • A dedicated terminal layer: Ctrl, Alt, Esc, Tab, arrow keys, Home/End/PgUp/PgDn, and the punctuation a shell prompt uses constantly • Ctrl and Alt as proper modifiers — latch one for a single keypress, or double-tap to lock it on, like a hardware keyboard • A full function-key layer: tap fn and the top row becomes F1 through F12, while every other row stays exactly where it was • Arrow keys that match the app you're in — Normal for shells, Application for vim, tmux, less and htop, or Move the Cursor for ordinary text fields • Return or Enter: long-press the Return key to switch between a carriage return and a line feed • A plain QWERTY layer and a complete symbols layer, for ordinary text — hostnames, paths, commit messages — without leaving the keyboard • Seven themes — Shell, Ember, Glacier, Dusk, Moss, Void (pure black) and High Contrast — each in light and dark, and an Appearance option to keep the keyboard light or dark everywhere • On iPad, 60% and 75% layouts (75% by default), described above • A searchable reference inside the app, listing every key alongside the exact escape sequence and hex bytes it sends • Every key emits the exact byte sequence a real terminal expects SETTINGS LIVE IN THE KEYBOARD Touch and hold the key with the small gear (or tap the gear key on the iPad's 60% and 75% layouts) for Haptic feedback, Theme, Appearance and, on iPad, Layout. They live in the keyboard itself because, without Full Access, iOS keeps a keyboard and its app apart, and Shell Keyboard never asks for Full Access. BUILT FOR PRIVACY Shell Keyboard never asks for Full Access. It cannot reach the network. It never reads, stores, or transmits anything you type — every key it sends is decided from the key you tapped, and nothing else. No analytics, no crash reporting, no account. GOOD TO KNOW In a terminal or editor running inside a web browser — code-server, Jupyter and the like — the keys that send a multi-character escape sequence don't get through: the arrow keys, F1 through F12, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Shift+Tab and Alt combinations. Everything that sends a single byte works there normally, including every Ctrl combination, Esc, Tab, Return and ordinary typing. Web pages listen for key press events and iOS only lets a keyboard extension insert text, so this is an iOS limitation that applies to every third-party keyboard, not something an app can work around. WHO IT'S FOR Anyone who SSHes from an iPhone or iPad — sysadmins, developers, and anyone tired of missing Ctrl+C.

Screenshots

systemsoundtest3 screens
Shell Keyboard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Shell Keyboard at fortnightly against systemsoundtest's every 24 months. Shell Keyboard also leads on chart position (#6 vs #130) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). systemsoundtest's advantage is price ($0.49 vs $1.99). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

systemsoundtest costs $0.49 and Shell Keyboard $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for systemsoundtest against 5.0 for Shell Keyboard. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

systemsoundtest ships an update every 24 months, Shell Keyboard fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
systemsoundtest versus Shell Keyboard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametersystemsoundtestShell Keyboard
Price$0.49 — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#130#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSHUNJI KUSAKANguyen Nguyen

Customer experience

systemsoundtest

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shell Keyboard

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

systemsoundtest

No in-app purchases

None

Shell Keyboard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is systemsoundtest free?
systemsoundtest costs $0.49, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shell Keyboard free?
Shell Keyboard costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, systemsoundtest or Shell Keyboard?
systemsoundtest and Shell Keyboard are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do systemsoundtest or Shell Keyboard have ads?
Neither systemsoundtest nor Shell Keyboard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, systemsoundtest or Shell Keyboard?
systemsoundtest ships an update every 24 months, and Shell Keyboard fortnightly. Most recently, systemsoundtest was updated on October 30, 2026 and Shell Keyboard on November 1, 2026.
Which is more popular, systemsoundtest or Shell Keyboard?
systemsoundtest currently peaks at #130 in the App Store charts, and Shell Keyboard at #6. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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