Comparison

Chess Timer SYDEARS vs RetroDotTimer

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

Head to head
About

Chess Timer SYDEARS

Features
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Professional Chess & Board Game Timer A clean and powerful timer designed for chess, Go, and all competitive board games. • Dual clock mode • Custom time controls • Increment & delay support • High-contrast dark and light themes • Optimized for tournament and casual play • Simple tap-to-switch control • Smooth animations and responsive UI Perfect for blitz, rapid, classical, and casual matches. No ads. No distractions. Just focus on the game.

About

RetroDotTimer

Features
Read full description

A full-screen countdown that looks like the dot-matrix displays of vintage arcades and early computing. Set the time, put your iPhone or iPad face up on your desk, and let the pixel grid count down. ONE TIMER, FULL SCREEN • A large dot-matrix countdown, readable across the room • Tap the display to start, pause, or resume — or turn on the Start/Pause button if you prefer one • Optional landscape mode that fills the whole screen • Keep the screen awake while a timer runs, with an only-while-charging option LOCK SCREEN AND DYNAMIC ISLAND • The Live Activity shows a real dot-matrix face, not a plain text label • It counts down on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • It follows the color scheme you chose in the app, including changes made mid-run • At zero it morphs into a checkmark and chimes once WIDGETS, CONTROLS, AND SIRI • A Home Screen widget that mirrors the timer, display-only • Control Center buttons to start a Pomodoro or a preset without opening the app • Siri and Shortcuts: start a timer, a preset, a Pomodoro, or the stopwatch, and pause, resume, or reset TIMER MODES • Presets: 5, 10, 25, and 45 minutes • Custom duration, 1 to 180 minutes • Classic Pomodoro: 25 minutes of work, 5-minute breaks, a 15-minute long break, 4 rounds • Stopwatch with a live hundredths-of-a-second sub-display • Multi-phase custom timers for intervals, rounds, and routines DISPLAY STYLES • Dot Matrix — the original pixel grid, with adjustable dot weight and square or round dots • 7-Segment — slanted LED calculator digits • Flip Clock — split-flap digits with animated transitions (Pro) • Big & Small — blocky digits with size-varied segments (Pro) COLOR • Transparent, Dark, and Light schemes • Six premium schemes: Amber, Green Terminal, Blue Glow, VFD Cyan, Sunset, Neon Pink (Pro) • Any text and background color you like (Pro) • Multicolored digits with Rainbow, Pastel, Neon, and Sunset palettes (Pro) WHEN TIME IS UP • Freeze at 00 or morph into a checkmark • A notification when the countdown ends • Sound and haptic alerts between Pomodoro and custom-timer phases WHAT THIS IS NOT Retro Dot Timer runs one timer at a time. No task lists, no labels, no session history, no analytics, no cloud sync. It is a single, quiet countdown. PRIVACY No accounts, no tracking, no analytics, no data collection. Everything works offline. FREE AND PRO The app is a free download and stays useful forever without paying. Presets, custom durations, the Dot Matrix and 7-Segment displays, square dots, Pomodoro, the stopwatch, the widget, Control Center buttons, Siri shortcuts, and the Live Activity are all free. Pro is a single one-time purchase, never a subscription. On iPhone and iPad it adds the Custom Timer Editor, six premium color schemes, custom colors, multicolored digits, and the Flip Clock and Big & Small displays. Pro is a Universal Purchase — the same payment unlocks the Mac menu-bar app. Every Pro feature is unlocked free for 14 days, starting automatically at first launch. No signup, no payment details. When the trial ends nothing is charged, Pro features simply return to the free tier, and any custom timers you saved stay runnable. LANGUAGES English, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), German, French, Simplified Chinese. REQUIREMENTS iOS 18.0 or later. iPhone and iPad. SUPPORT contact@andeanbearstudios.com

Screenshots

Chess Timer SYDEARS3 screens
RetroDotTimer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess Timer SYDEARS at none against RetroDotTimer's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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. RetroDotTimer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Timer SYDEARS asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Chess Timer SYDEARS versus RetroDotTimer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Timer SYDEARSRetroDotTimer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerwei mengAndean Bear Studios GmbH

In-app purchases

None

Chess Timer SYDEARS

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

RetroDotTimer

One-time1
  • RetroDotTimer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Chess Timer SYDEARS free?
Chess Timer SYDEARS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RetroDotTimer free?
RetroDotTimer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Timer SYDEARS or RetroDotTimer have ads?
Neither Chess Timer SYDEARS nor RetroDotTimer shows ads.

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