Focus vs Hyphen
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus
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The problem isn't planning. It's everything competing for your attention at once. Focus is not just another task app—it's a boundary between what matters now and everything else. WHY FOCUS WORKS One Thing at a Time Pick your focus task. Everything else fades away. Stop suffering from decision fatigue and constant context-switching. Protect Your Attention Built-in Pomodoro-style focus sessions (25, 50 min) with structured breaks. Start the timer, silence the noise, and get into flow. Stay Organized, Stay Calm Work. Personal. Ideas. Keep everything organized in smart lists, but only see what actually matters right now. SEAMLESS APPLE INTEGRATION • Live Activities & Dynamic Island: Your current focus stays visible without ever unlocking your phone. Less distraction, more flow. • Interactive Widgets: Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets show only today's priority—not your entire backlog. • Siri & App Intents: Log tasks naturally with your voice ("Log a distraction in Focus" or "Add a task to Focus"). PREMIUM FEATURES • Smart task lists with custom colors and icons • Focus Timer with detailed progress tracking • Due dates, intelligent reminders, and recurring tasks • Weekly insights, analytics, and completion streaks • 2-Way Apple Calendar Sync • Seamless iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad • Privacy-first: Your data stays securely on your device WHO IS FOCUS FOR? • People with ADHD who feel overwhelmed by traditional, cluttered task apps. • Deep workers who demand distraction-free focus time. • Minimalists who want less noise, not more features. • Creatives who think better with constraints. Focus is thoughtfully designed by an indie developer with an uncompromising attention to detail. One thing at a time. That's it. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.bytenpixels.com/privacy
Hyphen
This minimalist app allows for quick capture of daily thoughts, tasks, and moments. It organizes entries by day and provides a visual timeline of your year, highlighting days with more activity. Notes are automatically timestamped and can be entered via typing or voice.
- Quick entry via typing or voice
- Automatic timestamping
- Visual year-in-a-glance timeline
- Smart grouping of related notes
- Secure cross-device syncing
- Private and inaccessible by developer
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Hyphen is a quiet place for the details you would otherwise lose. Write a sentence, list, quotation, decision, observation, or full page. Every note belongs to its day, so you can move naturally through time and return by date, month, year, Chronicle, or search. WRITE WITHOUT FRICTION Capture a quick thought in place. Expand into the full editor when the thought becomes something larger. MARKDOWN MADE FOR IPHONE Use headings, emphasis, lists, checklists, quotations, links, and code without hunting through the iOS keyboard for punctuation. SEE YOUR DAYS TAKE SHAPE Move naturally between Day, Month, and Year, and view time as a quiet record of activity. Hyphen shows continuity without turning your writing into a streak game. FIND WHAT YOU WROTE Search your writing, browse Chronicle, and move directly back to the day where a thought belongs.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hyphen at none against Focus's 1. Hyphen also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Focus sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hyphen asks for nothing beyond the download.
Focus ships an update every 11 days, Hyphen every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and August 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus | Hyphen |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jiten Siddhpura | CHRISTOPH J WHITELAM |
In-app purchases
Focus
- Focus Premium$3.99
Hyphen
No in-app purchases









