Happy vs DualMac
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Happy
This app provides a secure mobile interface for AI coding assistants, allowing you to continue sessions and monitor progress from anywhere. It features end-to-end encryption and a zero-knowledge architecture for ultimate privacy. Seamlessly switch between desktop and mobile for uninterrupted AI coding.
- Seamless desktop and mobile session continuation
- Push notifications for AI tasks
- Offline access to conversation history
- End-to-end encryption for code privacy
- Real-time streaming of AI responses
- Zero-knowledge architecture
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Your coding agent shouldn't wait for you to get back to your desk. A task can run for an hour and then stop five minutes in to ask for permission or a decision. Happy lets you answer from your phone, and the same agent carries on in the same repository with the same tools and context. Happy is the mobile app for Claude Code and Codex. The agents keep running on your own computer, and your phone is how you start them, steer them and review their work. WHAT YOU CAN DO FROM YOUR PHONE • Start a new session or pick up one you began at your desk • Get notified when an agent needs input or finishes • Approve or deny permission requests, or let a session run in Auto mode • Choose the model and reasoning effort from the providers set up on your computer • Review changes: a file list, colored diffs, and the full set of changes on a branch • Attach a screenshot or photo to your prompt • Browse sessions in one list or grouped by project, with each checkout's chats as tabs • Open a side chat next to a session without losing your place • Drafts follow you between your phone and your computer HOW IT WORKS Happy runs on your computer, and this app connects to it. 1. Install Happy Desktop from happy.engineering, or if you prefer the terminal, run: npm install -g happy 2. Create an account in the app. You don't need an email address or a password. 3. Scan the QR code your computer shows to link it to your phone. Then start a session from either device. What you see on your phone is the same live session that's running on your computer. YOU WILL NEED • A computer running Happy Desktop or the Happy CLI • Access to the coding agents you want to use, such as a Claude or ChatGPT/Codex plan or API key. Happy uses your existing accounts. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Sessions are end-to-end encrypted. Your code, agent and encryption keys stay on your devices. Happy's servers only relay and store encrypted session data and can't read your prompts, responses or code. OPEN SOURCE The app, the CLI and the server are MIT-licensed and on GitHub. Read the code, run your own build or host your own server. ALSO ON DESKTOP Happy Desktop adds a harness that works across providers and lets you switch models in the middle of a task. The sessions it starts show up on your phone too. Happy is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic or OpenAI. Claude and Claude Code are trademarks of Anthropic. Codex and ChatGPT are trademarks of OpenAI. Privacy Policy: https://happy.engineering/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
DualMac
Access and control your Mac remotely from your iPad or iPhone. Connects directly to macOS Screen Sharing without needing extra software on your Mac. Offers features like clipboard sharing, hardware keyboard support, and multi-display switching.
- Direct VNC connection to macOS Screen Sharing
- No Mac companion app required for basic VNC
- Local network, Tailscale, or SSH tunnel connectivity
- Save and manage multiple Macs
- Full touch, pointer, keyboard, and Apple Pencil support
- Clipboard sharing and file transfer (with companion app)
- Multi-display switching and adaptive quality
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DualMac is a VNC remote desktop for iPad and iPhone that shows and controls the Mac you own. No account needed. Nothing to install on the Mac • Connects straight to macOS Screen Sharing, the remote desktop built into every Mac. Standard VNC (RFB) with Mac authentication. No Companion needed for VNC. • Works on your local network, through your own Tailscale network when away, or over an SSH tunnel with keys. DualMac never exposes VNC to the public Internet and never routes your screen through a relay. • Ideal for a headless Mac mini, a studio Mac or a build machine you check from the couch. All your Macs, one library • Save every Mac you own and open any of them in one tap. • Touch and hold the app icon for your recent Macs, or open any Mac by name with Siri or Spotlight. • Observe or control, per session. Built for iPad • Direct touch, pointer, hardware keyboard, trackpad and Apple Pencil. • Mac shortcuts and Mission Control in one tap, configurable toolbar. • Multi-display switching, adaptive quality, on-device dictation. • Clipboard sharing, Face ID lock, hidden previews in the App Switcher. • Shortcuts, URL schemes, Stage Manager windows, optional iCloud sync of your library (off by default). On iPhone Duo • Open iPhone Duo and DualMac switches to its iPad layout, with your Mac on the inner display. • With iPhone Duo closed, DualMac keeps the iPhone layout on the outer display. Companion for more Install DualMac Companion on the Mac, available from dualmac.app, to add: • Enhanced H.264 streaming • File transfer with pause and resume, rich clipboard • Wake the Mac through your other Mac, privacy curtain, lock and sleep • Remote display selection Enhanced requires DualMac Companion plus Tailscale on both devices. Privacy DualMac has no account and no advertising, and the only service the developer runs is in-app support. Your Macs' names and addresses, screens, files and clipboard never reach the developer. Credentials stay in Keychain. Screen, clipboard and file traffic goes directly between your devices, never through a developer server. DualMac is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple or Tailscale. Requirements • iPad with iPadOS 17.6 or later, or iPhone with iOS 17.6 or later, including iPhone Duo • A Mac you own or are authorized to control, with Screen Sharing enabled • For Enhanced: DualMac Companion, Tailscale on both devices, and the required macOS privacy permissions Enjoy every feature and unlimited use with DualMac Pro: a yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time purchase. Family Sharing included. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Happy and DualMac both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of DualMac's written reviews are positive against 71% of Happy's. Happy's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 15) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, rating, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Happy sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per month and DualMac sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Happy against 5.0 for DualMac. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Happy has 1.1K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Happy's written reviews are positive against 100% of DualMac's.
Happy ships an update weekly, DualMac every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Happy | DualMac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.1K ratings) | 5.0 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #70 — better | #77 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bulka, LLC | MARIUS LABS |
Customer experience
Happy
DualMac
In-app purchases
Happy
- Plus Plus Monthly$19.991 Month
DualMac
- DualMac Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- DualMac Pro Lifetime$24.99









