PXS External Screen Desktop vs Open Minis
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
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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 or a game controller 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 • Your phone's own apps in the dock and launcher, opening on the phone • Screen Sharing: your Mac in a window, with sound via the free PXS Helper • Play cloud games with a controller, or with your phone as one • 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 • A spoken greeting when you connect, in a natural voice that runs offline • Themes and chrome styles, movable widgets, on-screen keyboard TALK INSTEAD OF TYPING Press Dictate under the trackpad, or the microphone in the menu bar, and speak into any field — 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. Requires iOS 26. 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. Switch them to 3D and the desktop gets depth, and 3D films and photos show in 3D. 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: Apple TV+ won't play in the browser (a service choice, not an iOS limit — Netflix, HBO Max, 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/
Open Minis
This AI agent runs locally on your device, taking actions like browsing the web, managing your schedule, and controlling smart home devices. It integrates deeply with iOS frameworks and allows you to bring your own API keys from various AI providers. Customize its capabilities with a skills system and enjoy persistent memory for a personalized experience.
- On-device AI agent
- Multi-model AI provider support
- Deep iOS framework integration
- Built-in web browser
- Customizable skills system
- Persistent memory
- Siri Shortcuts integration
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Minis — Local-First On-Device AI Agent Minis is a local-first, on-device AI agent that goes beyond chat. All your data stays on your iPhone — nothing is uploaded to a server by default. Running locally means lower latency and stronger privacy, while the agent still takes real action: browsing the web, accessing your health data, managing your schedule, controlling your smart home, and automating complex tasks. Local-First AI Agent Unlike cloud-only chatbots, Minis runs directly on your device and keeps your data there. The agent executes multi-step tasks autonomously, using tools and native iOS frameworks to get things done — not just answer questions, and not just relay everything to the cloud. Multi-Model, Your Choice Bring your own API key. Choose from leading AI providers: • Anthropic Claude • OpenAI GPT • Google Gemini • DeepSeek • Kimi (Moonshot AI) • OpenRouter • Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint Deep iOS Integration The agent accesses Apple frameworks natively: • HealthKit — steps, heart rate, sleep, workouts, SpO₂ • Calendar & Reminders — create events, check availability, manage tasks • HomeKit — control lights, switches, scenes, and smart accessories • Photos — search, organize, and export from your library • Location & Maps — current location, directions, nearby POIs • Vision — OCR text recognition, object detection, barcode scanning • Speech — real-time transcription and text-to-speech • Weather — current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts Built-in Web Browser Navigate pages, take screenshots, extract content, fill forms, and interact with websites — all driven by the AI agent in the background. Skills System Import or create custom AI skills to extend the agent's capabilities. Share skills with others or build your own for specialized workflows. Persistent Memory The agent remembers your preferences, project context, and recurring patterns across sessions — building a personalized assistant that improves over time, all stored locally on your device. Siri Shortcuts Automate AI tasks with Siri and the Shortcuts app. Send prompts with file attachments, wait for results, and chain into complex workflows — all hands-free. Privacy by Design Your API keys and data stay on-device. Fine-grained permission controls let you decide exactly which personal data the agent can access. No account required. No data collected.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Open Minis at none against PXS External Screen Desktop's 3. Open Minis also leads on ratings volume (95 vs 4) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). PXS External Screen Desktop's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. PXS External Screen Desktop sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Open Minis asks for nothing beyond the download.
PXS External Screen Desktop holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Open Minis has 95 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of PXS External Screen Desktop's written reviews are positive against 96% of Open Minis's.
PXS External Screen Desktop ships an update every 3 days, Open Minis weekly. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.
| Parameter | PXS External Screen Desktop | Open Minis |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 4.8 (95 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 96.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 95 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 207 MB | 398 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | byteNine AS | 森 王 |
Customer experience
PXS External Screen Desktop
Open Minis
In-app purchases
PXS External Screen Desktop
- PXS Pro — Monthly$6.991 Month
- PXS Pro — Yearly$24.991 Year
- PXS Pro — Lifetime$39.99
Open Minis
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PXS External Screen Desktop free?
Is Open Minis free?
Which has better reviews, PXS External Screen Desktop or Open Minis?
Do PXS External Screen Desktop or Open Minis have ads?
Which is updated more often, PXS External Screen Desktop or Open Minis?
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