PXS External Screen Desktop vs DeskState
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PXS External Screen Desktop
Transform your phone into a full desktop experience, accessible on AR glasses, monitors, TVs, or web browsers. Control your phone as a trackpad and keyboard, or pair external devices for a complete laptop feel.
- Desktop environment on external screens
- Phone as trackpad and keyboard
- Tabbed desktop-class browser
- Window management
- Spotlight-style launcher with voice input
- Offline voice dictation
Read full descriptionHide full description
Leave the laptop at home — your phone IS the computer. PXS Desktop turns your phone into a real desktop: windows, a dock, a launcher, a desktop-class browser — on AR glasses, a monitor, a TV, or even a web browser. Your phone becomes the trackpad and keyboard. Pair a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for the full laptop feel. FOUR WAYS TO GET A SCREEN • Cable — AR display glasses (Viture, XREAL, RayNeo, Rokid, Lenovo Legion Glasses), any USB-C monitor or portable display, HDMI via adapter • Screen Mirroring — Apple TV, a Mac, or any AirPlay 2 TV • AnyScreen — any modern browser becomes your display: a laptop, a smart TV, even the browser in your parked car • Open on this screen — the desktop right on an iPad or iPhone Duo WIRED? CHECK YOUR CABLE Charging cables carry power only — including the white one in your iPhone box. A wired screen needs a USB-C cable that supports video (DisplayPort Alt Mode): the cable that came with your glasses or monitor, a Thunderbolt cable, or Apple's USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter for HDMI. UNFOLD IT On iPhone Duo the desktop fills the big inner screen. Half folded, it stands like a laptop: the desktop on top, a touchpad below. A fold or a turn keeps your windows and pages as they are. A REAL DESKTOP • Windows you can move, resize, snap, minimize and fullscreen • A desktop-class tabbed browser — Gmail, Google Docs, Office, video calls with camera and mic (Teams, Meet), file downloads • Install any website as an app with its own icon • Spotlight-style launcher with voice input and natural-language commands • Files, Photos, Notes, Preview (PDF markup), Camera and scanner, Clock with alarms, Calculator, video, text editor, terminal, games • Daily Overview: calendar, tasks and weather • Themes and chrome styles, movable widgets, on-screen keyboard TALK INSTEAD OF TYPING There is a Dictate button right under the trackpad, and a microphone in the menu bar: either one speaks into whatever field you are in — a web form, an email, a search box. It all happens on your iPhone, so nothing is sent anywhere and it works with no signal. If you work in two languages, switch between them in one tap. Requires iOS 26. IT GREETS YOU Connect a screen and your computer says hello — "Welcome back. You have three calendar items today" — in a studio-quality neural voice that runs entirely on your iPhone. One download, then it works offline forever; nothing is sent anywhere. Write your own greeting, or turn it off. MADE FOR AR GLASSES PXS was built for the pocket-computer dream: glasses on your face, phone in your hand, a huge desktop nobody else can see. If your glasses act as a USB-C display, they work. TRY IT FREE FIRST Your free trial starts when you first connect a screen — not when you install — so no trial time is wasted waiting for your glasses to arrive. After that, one purchase makes it yours forever: $39.99 at the launch price, down from $49.99 (or $24.99/year, cancel anytime). Your setup, your signed-in apps and your files always remain yours. THE HONEST LIST We're a small shop and we'd rather tell you up front: Netflix, HBO Max and Apple TV+ won't play in the browser (a service choice, not an iOS limit — Disney+, Prime Video, Apple Music and Plex all play fine); copy/paste works best with a Bluetooth keyboard (⌘C/⌘V); other apps' iOS notifications can't appear on the desktop; a Bluetooth mouse needs a one-time AssistiveTouch setup, and typing in Mouse Mode wants a Bluetooth keyboard (iOS hides the touch keyboard while a mouse is connected). The spoken greeting is English only. And in a car, AnyScreen is for passengers and parked use only — never while driving. Feature requests are voted on publicly at bytenine.com — the board genuinely drives the roadmap. No ads. No tracking. No account required. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
DeskState
Transform your iPhone into a focused external workspace. This app creates a windowed environment on a monitor with floating panels, keyboard/mouse support, and customizable layouts. Pin favorite web panels to maintain a consistent and efficient setup.
- External display workspace
- Floating windows
- Keyboard and mouse support
- Pin favorite web panels
- Customizable backgrounds
Read full descriptionHide full description
iOS mirrors your iPhone with black bars. DeskState gives you a desktop instead: plug into a monitor, TV or projector and get windows, a Dock, Launchpad, Spotlight and Mission Control at the display's full resolution. Your iPhone becomes the trackpad and keyboard. A REAL DESKTOP • Windows you move, resize and snap to halves or quarters of the screen • A Dock you arrange yourself, Launchpad, Spotlight with quick sums, and Mission Control • A web browser with tabs, bookmarks, history and downloads, and any site as an app in your Dock • Notes, documents, console, calculator, focus timer and more • Your desktop remembers: windows come back where you left them YOUR IPHONE IS THE TRACKPAD • Swipe, tap, two-finger scroll, double-tap and hold to drag, three fingers for all your windows • Type with the iPhone keyboard and see what you type; arrow keys, Tab and Esc above it • Works with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse too CONNECT • iPhone 15 and later: any USB-C to HDMI cable • Earlier iPhones: Lightning Digital AV Adapter • Apple TV and AirPlay displays PLANS Your first five desktop sessions are Pro, free. After that the free plan gives you 20 minutes of desktop a day. DeskState Pro removes the limit and adds quarter snapping, a desktop for each display, themes and wallpapers, Pro tools and iCloud sync, monthly, yearly or once. Streaming services with copy protection show video only over a cable, not over AirPlay. DeskState is a desktop inside the app: it runs its own apps and websites, not other iOS apps. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PXS External Screen Desktop at 100% against DeskState's 0%. PXS External Screen Desktop also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 days). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. PXS External Screen Desktop sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and DeskState sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PXS External Screen Desktop holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of PXS External Screen Desktop's written reviews are positive against 0% of DeskState's.
PXS External Screen Desktop ships an update every 2 days, DeskState every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PXS External Screen Desktop | DeskState |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 207 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | byteNine AS | Abraham Rubio |
Customer experience
PXS External Screen Desktop
DeskState
In-app purchases
PXS External Screen Desktop
- PXS Pro — Monthly$6.991 Month
- PXS Pro — Yearly$24.991 Year
- PXS Pro — Lifetime$39.99
DeskState
- Monthly subscription$2.991 Month
- Monthly subscription$4.991 Month
- Yearly subscription7 Days trial$14.991 Year
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Yearly subscription$14.991 Year
- Yearly subscription$24.991 Year
- Lifetime subscription$29.99
- Lifetime$59.99
Questions
Is PXS External Screen Desktop free?
Is DeskState free?
Which has better reviews, PXS External Screen Desktop or DeskState?
Do PXS External Screen Desktop or DeskState have ads?
Which is updated more often, PXS External Screen Desktop or DeskState?
Other comparisons















