iZen vs UpDown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iZen
Read full descriptionHide full description
A real reboot for your mind iZen is an offline three-layer recovery toolkit built for long-term mental fatigue. It is not a passive meditation audio player or a read-only article app. When stress hits, breathe within 90 seconds, mix a soundscape, or take a one-minute check-in. Lasting pressure drains more than willpower. Recovery means lowering what drains you and raising what restores you. Three layers, so you always know what to do now and why it helps. LAYER 1: QUICK RESET For moments when fatigue spikes, your heart races, or your mind goes blank. - Breath Workbench: 4-7-8, box breathing, physiological sigh, resonant patterns. Orb and box layouts. Ink wash and luminous themes. Spoken guidance, eyes-closed haptics that can dim the screen, cue tones, Zen mode, and Live Activity. - Guided player: SOS, grounding, acupressure, and mindfulness in timed steps. Pause, back, skip, +30 seconds, optional voice and soundscape. Lock Screen follows the step. - Soundscape Mixer: rain, ocean, stream, wind, fire, pink noise, brown noise, bowls. Made on device. Presets for focus, calm, sleep, and SOS. - Grounding 5-4-3-2-1, acupressure, emotional SOS, and NSDR-style rest. LAYER 2: DAILY REBUILD Five to fifteen minutes a day. - Mindfulness, focus, and sleep rhythm. - Movement for BDNF, steady blood sugar, hydration. - Mood journal with emotion, intensity, filters, sorting. After saving, on-device insight (Apple Intelligence or local rules) names a feeling, a need, and one next step. Crisis language opens grounding and help. LAYER 3: ROOT RELIEF Reduce sources that keep draining you. - Three must-dos per day to fight decision fatigue. - Meal, outfit, and schedule templates. - Boundaries and emotional labor. - Cognitive reframe: situation, thought, evidence, a balanced view. The same reading can follow, including a look back over the week. DAILY ZEN: 500 ANCHOR LINES One stable line per day on Home and widgets. Shuffle anytime. Five themes: calm, release, focus, sleep, compassion. Shareable Zen cards. SCIENCE LIBRARY: 17 ARTICLES Five categories: breath and nervous system, cognition and recovery, body rhythm, work and emotion, product principles. Takeaways, evidence levels, practice links, and a non-medical note. CHECK-IN AND HOME One-minute check-in for sleep, task load, or people drain. Recommendations stay local. The recovery score uses only real signals: recent sleep, an on-device mood, optional HRV and resting heart rate versus your baseline, and this week's mindful minutes. Six ten-second moods on Home, a widget, or Siri: Calm, Anxious, Tired, Angry, Low, Bright. Low battery, Needs a reset, Steady, or Replenished points to a layer. Until a signal arrives, the score stays blank on this device. FAVORITES AND ZEN LISTS Star practices and quotes. Custom Zen Lists for commutes, bedtime, or SOS kits. SEARCH AND BROWSE Local index for practices, quotes, and science. Search tab on iOS 18 plus. Three-layer guide cards. Deep links such as izen://browse/instant for Shortcuts. CRISIS HELP Helplines for 30 plus regions: locale preview, phone, SMS, and web. Open from Home or the SOS widget. Reference only, not medical advice. SYSTEM INTEGRATION Widgets: Daily Zen, Quick Breathe, streak, SOS, mood, and three must-dos. Lock Screen and Control Center (iOS 18+). Siri logs a mood, starts a practice, or reads today's line. Optional HealthKit: mindful minutes, State of Mind, sleep, HRV, resting heart rate. Body signals stay on device. Optional iCloud and reminders. Spotlight off. On iOS 26, the top edge softens to a quiet blur. EXPERIENCE AND PRIVACY English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Themes, accent colors, alternate icons. iPad and VoiceOver. Offline-first, no account, ads, or analytics. Data on device unless iCloud is on. Educational tools only, not medical care. iZen 1.2.0 adds a recovery score that waits, guided steps, eyes-closed breath, and a quiet reading of what you wrote. Stop for a moment. Your nervous system deserves care.
UpDown
This app automatically counts your squats using your iPhone and Apple Watch's motion sensors. It helps you build a daily squat habit with goal rings, streaks, and workout summaries. Customize your tempo and receive haptic feedback for set goals.
- Automatic rep tracking
- Daily squat goals and streaks
- Apple Watch integration
- Customizable squat tempo
- Workout history and summaries
- Haptic feedback for set goals
Read full descriptionHide full description
Stop counting. Start squatting. The smartest rep counter for your leg day. Focus 100% on your form and muscle engagement. UpDown uses the precision motion sensors in your iPhone and Apple Watch to count every rep for you — and now helps you turn squats into a daily habit. [NEW in 1.2] - Daily Goal Ring: Set a daily squat goal and watch the ring fill up with every rep. - Streaks: Squat every day and keep your streak alive. - Workout Summary: See your reps, time, goal progress and streak the moment you finish. - 3-2-1 Countdown: Get into position before counting begins, so setup movements aren't counted. - Hold to Stop: Stopping takes a press-and-hold, so a stray tap never ends your workout. - Test Counting: Try a few practice squats to check your sensitivity before you start. [Key Features] - Precision Counting: Automatic rep tracking via advanced motion sensors. - Apple Watch Support: Track your sets and feel haptic alerts right on your wrist. - Customizable Tempo: Choose Slow, Normal or Fast to match your squat speed, or fine-tune it yourself. - Haptic Notifications: Get a vibration alert every time you hit your set goal. - Workout History: A 30-day chart, monthly calendar, weekly and monthly stats with trends, and every session by day. - Daily Reminder: Get a reminder at the time you choose so you never skip a day. Master your squats with UpDown. Download now!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: UpDown at Free against iZen's $0.59. UpDown also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, 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
UpDown is free to download; iZen costs $0.59 up front. iZen sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. UpDown asks for nothing beyond the download.
iZen ships an update every 2 months, UpDown every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iZen | UpDown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.59 | Free — better |
| Rating | — | 3.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.3 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 天从 何 | Jang Chang Hee |
In-app purchases
iZen
- Reward developers$0.99
UpDown
No in-app purchases









