Comparison

OnDevice AI vs petal

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

Head to head
About

OnDevice AI

Features
Read full description

OnDevice AI - Private AI Assistant OnDevice AI brings artificial intelligence directly to your iPhone without requiring an internet connection. All processing happens on your device using Apple's on-device intelligence framework. How It Works Chat with an AI assistant that runs entirely on your iPhone. Your conversations are never sent to servers, uploaded to the cloud, or stored anywhere except your device. Works in airplane mode, underground, or anywhere without signal. Core Features Multiple AI personalities: Professional, Creative, Technical, and Friendly modes Complete conversation history stored locally on your device Export conversations as text files Works without WiFi, cellular data, or any internet connection Powered by Apple's Foundation Models for fast, efficient processing Use Cases Perfect for flights, subway commutes, international travel without roaming, rural areas with poor coverage, or when you need absolute privacy for sensitive questions. Students can study offline, professionals can brainstorm confidentially, and travelers can get help without data charges. Pricing Free tier includes 10 messages daily. Pro upgrade unlocks unlimited messages and full conversation history for $29.99 one-time purchase. Requirements iOS 26.0 or later. Requires iPhone with Apple Intelligence support.

About

petal

This app provides a private space to capture and organize your thoughts without immediate categorization. It offers smart sorting, rich text editing, document scanning, and offline functionality, ensuring your ideas are saved and easily retrievable.

Highlights
  • Capture first, file later
  • Smart sorting learns your preferences
  • Document scanning to searchable PDFs
  • Rich text editing with formatting options
  • Dictation for voice-to-text notes
  • Offline functionality
  • Recently deleted notes recovery
Features
Read full description

Petal is a forget-me-not for your mind - a quiet, private place to put every thought you don't want to lose. Most note apps ask you to decide where something belongs before you've finished thinking it. Petal doesn't. You open it, you write, and it handles the filing. CAPTURE FIRST, FILE LATER Start typing the moment the app opens. Your words are saved as you go, so a half-finished thought survives a phone call, a locked screen or a closed app. Nothing is categorized until you say so. SMART SORT When you're ready to save, Smart Sort reads the note and puts it in the right category for you. It learns from your corrections, so it gets better the more you use it. Prefer to file it yourself? Choose a category and Petal won't second-guess you. PHOTOS, FILES AND DOCUMENT SCANNING • Attach photos straight from your library, or take a new one with the camera. • Scan paper with the camera and Petal turns it into a searchable PDF, right inside the note. • Add files you already have, rename them, and preview them without leaving the note. A PROPER EDITOR Bold, italic and underline. Bulleted lists, numbered lists and checklists — with the option to drop ticked items to the bottom. Adjustable text size. Paste that keeps your structure and leaves someone else's formatting behind. Links recognized automatically. DICTATION Speak a note instead of typing it, punctuation and all. FIND ANYTHING Search across every note, browse by category, and create, rename, color and reorder categories to match the way you think. NOTHING LOST BY ACCIDENT Deleted notes wait in Recently Deleted for 15 days. Restore one and it goes back where it came from. WORKS OFFLINE Write on a plane, in a lift or in a basement. Changes are kept on your device and sync as soon as you're back online. LIGHT AND DARK Petal follows your system appearance automatically, or you can pin it to light or dark in Settings. YOURS ALONE Your notes belong to you. Sign in with an email and password, read the privacy policy any time from Settings, and permanently delete your account - and everything in it - whenever you choose. Plant your thoughts. Petal will remember them for you.

Screenshots

OnDevice AI3 screens
petal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: petal at none against OnDevice AI's 1. petal also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). 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. OnDevice AI sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. petal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OnDevice AI ships an update every 6 months, petal every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
OnDevice AI versus petal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnDevice AIpetal
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB7 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFlorin Valentin MicuAaditya Sharma

In-app purchases

1 purchases

OnDevice AI

One-time1
  • Unlock Pro Features$29.99
None

petal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OnDevice AI free?
OnDevice AI is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is petal free?
petal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do OnDevice AI or petal have ads?
Neither OnDevice AI nor petal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OnDevice AI or petal?
OnDevice AI ships an update every 6 months, and petal every 9 days. Most recently, OnDevice AI was updated on October 25, 2026 and petal on October 21, 2026.

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