ShallowTV vs ZimPlayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
ShallowTV
Stream your M3U playlists on Apple devices with a modern, intuitive media player. Organize content by category, enjoy live channels and on-demand videos, and resume playback seamlessly. Features include a mini player, favorites, and intelligent search.
- Import M3U playlists via URL or local file
- Stream live channels and on-demand video
- Automatic content categorization
- Persistent mini player for multitasking
- Mark favorite channels and videos
- Intelligent search across playlists
- Auto-refresh for updated playlists
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ShallowTV is a modern, native media player for streaming your M3U playlists on all your Apple devices. Import your own playlists and enjoy a beautiful, intuitive viewing experience. FEATURES β’ Import M3U Playlists Add playlists via URL or local file. Smart parsing automatically organizes your content by category. β’ Live Channels & Video On Demand Stream live content with real-time playback. Watch videos with progress tracking and resume from where you left off. β’ Smart Categories Content is automatically organized into categories like Entertainment, News, Sports, Kids & Family, and more. β’ Persistent Mini Player Keep watching while you browse. The mini player lets you control playback from anywhere in the app. β’ Favorites Mark your favorite channels and videos for quick access. β’ Search Find content across all your playlists instantly with intelligent search. β’ Beautiful Interface Designed specifically for Apple platforms with a clean, intuitive interface that feels right at home. β’ Full-Screen Playback Immersive viewing experience with intuitive overlay controls. β’ Auto-Refresh Playlists automatically stay up-to-date with smart change detection. SUPPORTED FORMATS β’ M3U and M3U8 playlists β’ HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) β’ Standard video formats (MP4, MOV, etc.) IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER ShallowTV is a media player application only. We do NOT provide any streaming content, channels, playlists, or media links. β’ Users must provide their own M3U playlists β’ Users are solely responsible for the content they access β’ Only stream content you own or have permission to view β’ ShallowTV does not host, distribute, or control any content For support: shallowtv.com Contact: contact@shallowtv.com
ZimPlayer
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Zimplayer is your all-in-one media hub: play videos, music, and browse photos in one place. Organize everything with playlists and albumsβincluding nested albumsβso you stay in control. VIDEO β Play videos with a clean player and Picture-in-Picture (PiP). Add videos from gallery or files into playlists. MUSIC β Build audio playlists with repeat modes. Use the in-app mini player and tune sound with the equalizer, bass, and 7D spatial effects in Settings. PHOTOS & ORGANIZATION β Create image playlists and organize them in albums and sub-albums. Set custom album covers or use the first image/video in the album. View your library in list or grid. LIBRARY β One place for albums and playlists. Create albums and sub-albums, add playlists to them, and move playlists between albums as you like. IMPORT & EXPORT β Import playlists from JSON and export to share or back up. QUICK VIEW β Open a video or image from gallery or files without adding it to a playlist. No account required. Your data stays on your device. Your media, your way.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ShallowTV at Free against ZimPlayer's $2.99. ShallowTV also leads on ads (none vs shown) and device support (5 vs 3). ZimPlayer's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
ShallowTV is free to download; ZimPlayer costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShallowTV | ZimPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free β better | $2.99 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | β |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No β better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | β |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro β better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ying Cong | Globalburg Infotech Private Limited |
In-app purchases
ShallowTV
No in-app purchases
ZimPlayer
No in-app purchases









