Portside vs FocusOrbit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Portside
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This app helps you quickly write down small things and easily use them later. Do any of these sound familiar? • You often have a lot on your mind and it feels cluttered • You want to quickly jot things down as they come up • You don’t need long notes or titles every time • Notes keep piling up and become stressful • You manage work, home, and ideas across different apps — opening each one is a hassle • You sometimes want to add more later or process everything at once • You’d like to manage small tasks like shopping in the same place • Complex apps feel overwhelming — you prefer something simple Just write it here. Handle your to-dos right in the app. Send notes to other services when needed. Archive anything you no longer need. Like sticky notes, just start writing. Then decide what to do — move it, check it off, or keep it. ■ Key Features ■ Quick Capture Instantly write down thoughts as they come to mind Perfect for “brain dumps” to get everything out of your head ■ Unified Notes & To-Dos Convert notes into to-dos anytime Choose freely whether to keep something as a note or turn it into action ■ Simple List View A clean, minimal UI that’s easy to use See only what you need, with a clutter-free design You can also customize what appears on your home screen ■ Archive for Later Store ideas and notes you don’t need right away Keep them without deleting, and revisit them anytime ■ Share to Other Apps Easily send selected notes or to-dos to apps you already use, like Notion ■ Tag Organization Use tags to filter and find specific notes or to-dos AI can also automatically suggest and assign tags ■ Pin & Widget Support Pin important items to the top View them directly from your home screen widgets ■ Apple Watch Support Create notes, create to-dos, and check off completed items—all from your Apple Watch. ■ iCloud Backup & Sync Keep your data synced across multiple devices via iCloud Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.notion.so/Privacy-policy-335b19327cfa803896d8d193112281d9
FocusOrbit
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Focus Orbit is an iPhone focus timer that turns your concentration time into a spaceflight experience. It includes two modes: “Custom Flight,” which works as a standard focus timer, and “Planet Roadmap,” where you advance from Earth to the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto as you accumulate focus time. One of the app’s strongest features is its “Mission Pass” boarding sequence before each session begins. Instead of simply tapping a start button, the user slides their mission pass to the right and physically feeds it through the on-screen scanner to authorize the flight. This makes the moment you begin focusing feel intentional, immersive, and memorable. Before each session, users choose their task, duration, and destination, then scan their mission pass to start the flight. Once the journey begins, the app avoids unnecessary interaction and lets users stay focused inside a calm, space-themed environment. After the session ends, the destination reached and focus record are saved to the flight log, making it easy to reflect on steady progress over time. In Planet Roadmap mode, focus time carries over continuously instead of resetting each time, allowing users to keep moving deeper into the solar system. Planets that can be landed on include landing, authorization, and liftoff sequences, while non-landable planets are passed through with flyby sequences, giving users a stronger sense of progress and achievement as they continue studying or working. Focus Orbit is designed to create immersion and a sense of momentum without losing the core purpose of a focus timer. It transforms studying, reading, creative work, and deep tasks into a quiet, cinematic journey through space.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FocusOrbit at none against Portside's 1. FocusOrbit also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Portside's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and update cadence 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. Portside sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. FocusOrbit asks for nothing beyond the download.
Portside ships an update weekly, FocusOrbit fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Portside | FocusOrbit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 71 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jun Takahashi | kenshin miyamoto |
In-app purchases
Portside
- Premium(Monthly)7 Days trial$0.991 Month
FocusOrbit
No in-app purchases









