Comparison

RetroAchievements Tracker vs PointerDeck

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RetroAchievements Tracker

Features
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Discover and track classic games across multiple retro platforms in one simple app. Browse games by console, view detailed game information such as release date, developer, publisher, and genre, and explore cover art and screenshots for each title. Follow your progress with a complete achievement system. View locked and unlocked achievements, check point values, and see how many players have earned each achievement, making it easy to track completion and set new goals. Manage your player profile with rankings, total points, and recently played games. Use search and favorites to quickly find titles you care about and keep your retro gaming progress organized in a clean, mobile-friendly interface.

About

PointerDeck

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PointerDeck turns your iPhone or iPad into a focused wireless trackpad for your Mac. The free PointerDeck Receiver for Mac is required, and both devices must be on the same local network. SET UP ONCE Open Add Device on the Mac and create an 8–12 digit Connection PIN. PointerDeck rejects repeated or sequential patterns; use at least five different digits. Then select that Mac on your iPhone or iPad and enter the PIN. After pairing, PointerDeck remembers the trusted connection and reconnects when both apps are open and reachable. TRACKPAD CONTROLS • Move the pointer with one finger • Scroll with two fingers • Tap or use the dedicated Left Click button • Two-finger tap or use the dedicated Right Click button • Use Drag Lock for click-and-drag TUNE THE FEEL • Adjust pointer sensitivity and scrolling speed • Choose Natural or Reversed scrolling • Turn tap-to-click on or off • Switch to a left-handed button layout DIRECT BY DESIGN PointerDeck does not stream or display your Mac screen. The release has no account, advertisements, subscription, analytics SDK, or cloud service. Controller traffic travels directly between your devices and is encrypted on the local network. REQUIREMENTS • iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 17 or later • Apple silicon or Intel Mac running macOS 14 or later • Free PointerDeck Receiver from the Mac download page • Both devices on the same local network • Accessibility permission enabled for PointerDeck Receiver on the Mac Guest, corporate, public, or client-isolated networks may prevent devices from discovering each other.

Screenshots

RetroAchievements Tracker4 screens
PointerDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

RetroAchievements Tracker and PointerDeck are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
RetroAchievements Tracker versus PointerDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetroAchievements TrackerPointerDeck
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB2 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperItalo Cunha de MeloEliyahu Mechtcheriakov

In-app purchases

None

RetroAchievements Tracker

No in-app purchases

None

PointerDeck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RetroAchievements Tracker free?
RetroAchievements Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PointerDeck free?
PointerDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RetroAchievements Tracker or PointerDeck have ads?
Neither RetroAchievements Tracker nor PointerDeck shows ads.

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