Comparison

ComplicaJSON vs WristBuddy

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

Head to head
About

ComplicaJSON

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ComplicaJSON transforms any JSON data source into a personalized Apple Watch complication. Connect to your favorite APIs for weather, stock prices, server metrics, or any other JSON endpoint and get access to your data at a glance. The Apple Watch will automatically update the data at regular intervals, ensuring you always have the latest information right on your wrist. With support for Image URL, String, Number, Boolean, and Percentage data types, you can customize your watch face with the exact metrics you need.

About

WristBuddy

Features
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Know how your phone is doing — without picking it up. WristBuddy lives on your Apple Watch and shows what your iPhone is doing right now: battery, charging, Wi-Fi and cellular, motion, silent mode, Focus, lock state, air pressure, and thermal state — all glanceable from your wrist. SOUND FAMILIAR? • Phone charging in another room? Glance at your wrist and unplug it when it's ready. • About to walk into a meeting? Know it's really on silent without pulling it out under the table. • Charging it inside a bag, or tethering a hotspot? Keep an eye on its temperature and catch it running hot. • Left your phone away on purpose? Stay aware of anything urgent without breaking the moment. WHAT'S FREE • Battery range (Below 20% / 20-50% / 50-90% / Above 90%) • Watch dashboard with stale-snapshot indicator • "Hey Siri, ring my iPhone with WristBuddy" (beta) UNLOCK PRO (pay once, yours forever) • Exact battery percentage and charging state • Wi-Fi and Cellular connectivity (separate rows), with network generation (5G / LTE) • Motion detection — is the iPhone being touched right now? • Silent and Focus mode • Lock state — is the iPhone locked right now? • Distance from your iPhone (UWB; iPhone 11+ paired with Apple Watch S6+) • Air pressure — barometric pressure (hPa) from your iPhone's barometer • Thermal state — is your iPhone running hot while it charges or works? (Normal / Fair / Serious / Critical) • Find My Watch (beta) — buzz your Apple Watch from your iPhone • Apple Watch screen on iPhone — see your Watch's battery from your iPhone • Reorderable status rows — drag to reorder which features show on your Watch • Lock Screen Live Activity — both batteries and link state pinned to your iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Get iPhone Status shortcut for Shortcuts automations WHY WRISTBUDDY • Pay once. Never a subscription. Never ads. • No account. No sign-up. • No cloud. No analytics. No tracking. No third-party SDKs. • Everything stays on your iPhone and Apple Watch. • Privacy nutrition label: Data Not Collected — every category unchecked. PRIVACY BY DESIGN WristBuddy uses Apple's built-in WatchConnectivity framework, so your iPhone and Apple Watch talk directly to each other over Bluetooth or local Wi-Fi. No data ever leaves your devices. There is no WristBuddy server, because there isn't one. REQUIREMENTS • iPhone running iOS 16 or later (iOS 16.1+ for the Lock Screen Live Activity) • Apple Watch running watchOS 9 or later • UWB distance feature requires iPhone 11+ and Apple Watch Series 6+ • Dynamic Island layout requires iPhone 14 Pro or newer Open the iPhone app once, then forget about it — the iPhone responds in the background. Open the Watch app to see everything at a glance.

Screenshots

ComplicaJSON4 screens
WristBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ComplicaJSON at none against WristBuddy's 1. WristBuddy's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.5). On price, ads and device support 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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. WristBuddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ComplicaJSON asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
ComplicaJSON versus WristBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComplicaJSONWristBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.516.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlmost Good Enough ApSMario Longhi

In-app purchases

None

ComplicaJSON

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

WristBuddy

One-time1
  • WristBuddy$2.99

Questions

Is ComplicaJSON free?
ComplicaJSON is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WristBuddy free?
WristBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ComplicaJSON or WristBuddy have ads?
Neither ComplicaJSON nor WristBuddy shows ads.

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