Comparison

PreciseLight vs MainframeMonitor

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

Head to head
About

PreciseLight

Features
Read full description

Precisely control your iPhone flashlight from 0–100%. PreciseLight makes it easy to set the perfect brightness, then save it as a preset or favorite for one-tap access. A clean, single-screen design keeps everything fast and simple—ideal for night use, emergencies, and everyday lighting.

About

MainframeMonitor

Transform your iPhone into a vintage mainframe with a nostalgic CRT display. Monitor live system stats like battery, CPU, and memory, all within an authentic retro console experience. Includes hidden classic text-based games.

Highlights
  • Live system monitoring (battery, CPU, memory, storage)
  • Home screen widgets
  • Authentic CRT effects (glow, scanlines)
  • Retro boot sequence
  • Hidden classic text-based games
  • Customizable color themes (Green, Amber)
Features
Read full description

MAINFRAME MONITOR: Your Device as a Mainframe Console Mainframe Monitor shows your device's real live data in the style of a 1980s IBM operator console: CPU, memory, storage, battery, network, thermal state and motion. All values come from your device. You also get green phosphor text, scanlines, key clicks and real MVS commands. REAL DATA, CLASSIC LOOK • Live CPU load per core, memory, DASD, battery, network and thermal state • Front panel lamp strip that flickers with the load • Seismograph as a moving paper strip. Knock on the table! • Compass, audio output, brightness and refresh rate (ProMotion) • Motion sensors with pitch, roll, yaw and G-vector • Capacity planning: battery time remaining and storage forecast • Session statistics (SMF) with averages and peak values • Clock with UTC, Julian date and 64-bit TOD register FIVE HISTORIC DISPLAYS Press PF5 to switch between green and amber phosphor, the IBM 3279 color terminal, the neon-orange IBM 3290 gas plasma display and the Tektronix 4014 storage tube. Each display has its own effects, from degauss to beam redraw, and a matching app icon. MVS CONSOLE WITH REAL COMMANDS In the syslog you enter commands like a real operator: D T, D A,L, D M=CPU, D U,DASD, D NET, D IPLINFO, D ENV, D CAPACITY, D M=MIPS (CPU benchmark) and many more. With PF8, a virtual IBM 1403 line printer prints a status report on continuous paper that you can share as an image. PARALLEL SYSPLEX Couple iPhone, iPad and Mac on your local network via Bonjour to form a sysplex. The sysplex panel shows CPU, memory and battery of all devices. TRACE ROUTE WITH WORLD MAP PF9 traces the path your data takes to any website. You see every hop with IP, location and round-trip time, plus an ASCII world map of the route. The optional latency panel measures ping, jitter, packet loss and clock drift. IPL, INTRO AND SCREENSAVERS At startup the system boots with an authentic IPL sequence. The screensavers show real values too: control panel, tape drives, core memory, punch cards, printer or oscilloscope. GAMES IN THE COBLIB Hamurabi, Void Patrol, Snake and Bagels: classics in terminal style. WIDGETS AND LIVE ACTIVITY • Widgets for the Home Screen and Lock Screen in three sizes • Control Center button • Live Activity in 3270 style on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island FOR EVERY DISPLAY The layout adapts to iPhone, iPad, Mac and foldable devices like iPhone Duo, stacked or side by side. With a hardware keyboard, F1 to F12 work as PF keys. FULLY CONFIGURABLE Show, hide and reorder panels, or choose a preset: Default, Minimal, Performance, Network or Device. Under PF1, an operator guide in German and English explains every feature. PRIVACY No tracking, no ads, no analytics. The app works offline. Network features only start after you agree (message IEA910A), and you can withdraw consent at any time under PF7. The EXT lamp shows you when data goes to the internet. Note: Job names in the log are simulated. D M=MIPS is an estimate, not an official IBM rating.

Screenshots

PreciseLight4 screens
MainframeMonitor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: PreciseLight at 15.1 against MainframeMonitor's 18.6. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
PreciseLight versus MainframeMonitor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPreciseLightMainframeMonitor
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Fortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTAKAAKI KAWABATARalf Langhoff

In-app purchases

None

PreciseLight

No in-app purchases

None

MainframeMonitor

No in-app purchases

Questions

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

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