Prop Screen vs Understudy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Prop Screen
This app transforms your iPhone into a customizable screen prop for film and TV production. Create realistic mock phone interfaces, including call screens, message threads, and notifications, to enhance your visual storytelling. It offers offline functionality and is designed for professional use on set.
- Customizable call screens
- Simulated messaging conversations
- Prop notifications
- Full-screen playback
- Green screen mode with tracking
- Home screen designer
- Offline functionality
Read full descriptionHide full description
PropScreen is the professional prop device simulator built for film and television production. Stop fighting with personal phones, paper green screens, or post-production fixes. Prop Screen turns an iPhone or iPad into a fully custom screen prop that adapts to your script. Every tool was designed by working filmmakers to solve real problems on set. WHAT'S INSIDE • Prop Call Screens — custom contact name, photo, ringtone, era-specific layouts, outgoing and unknown-number calls, lose-signal effects, volume-button trigger for hands-free cueing • Prop Video Calls — pre-recorded video for the remote caller, live front camera framing your actor • Prop Messaging — full blue- and green-bubble threads with photos and locations, played live or staged for actor delivery • Prop Notifications — bundled and custom app icons, banner or lock-screen layouts, stackable to tell a story • Prop Screen Playback — lockable fullscreen playback for any screen recording your production needs • Green Screen Mode — chroma screen with built-in tracking markers for VFX compositing • Prop Home Screen Designer — build any home screen layout, export as a transparent PNG • Project folders to keep a show organized Recent Update: • Director Mode — Pair a second device and run the performance phone remotely. Cue scripts beat by beat, watch typing mirrored live, trigger prop calls and notifications, and drive every prop app while your actor performs on a script-locked keyboard. Bluetooth clicker remotes supported. • Prop Security — A simulated camera wall with tap-in live views, event lists, and running timestamps. • Prop Maps — Repeatable navigation and driving directions with custom markers. Stop swapping screens between takes in a picture car. • Prop Social Messages — Chat props in five social platform styles. • Prop Live — A simulated livestream with an auto-generated, scene-reactive audience you can cue from Director Mode. • Prop Social Feeds — Scrollable photo, video, and story feeds built from your own posts. • Clean Mode — One switch loads an original app set with custom per-project names and icons. • 12 on-camera languages — Set each project's phone language independently, including Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, and Russian, each with its real keyboard. App interface now in 11 languages (beta). • Export for edit — Send prop message and social conversations to After Effects or DaVinci Resolve as transparent video, every bubble editable, typing animated. Import scripts from spreadsheets. • Backups you own — Automatic backup to your own iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Three named versions per device, one-file project export, nothing on our servers. • Built for iPad — A native iPad layout, not an upscaled iPhone build. • Adds fully support between iOS and newly releases Android. BUILT FOR PRODUCTION Everything stays local to your device. Prop Screen does not place calls, send messages, or transmit any content. It is a self-contained visual prop tool, designed exclusively for staged content creation in film, television, theater, and photography. PROPSCREEN PRO • Every prop screen in the app • Unlimited saved projects across every tool • Custom imports — contact photos, ringtones, app icons, posters, screen recordings • Director Mode and volume-button trigger control • Works fully offline once installed • No ads, no accounts, no data collection WHAT'S NEXT Prop Screen ships regular updates driven by crew feedback. Need something for your next production? Tap the info icon in the app to email us directly — every release so far has come from working filmmakers asking. Designed for use on professional film and television productions. Built by Game Night Films & Film Swag. By downloading PropScreen, you agree to Apple's standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Understudy
This app transforms a spare iPhone into a customizable prop phone for film and video production. Create realistic lock screens, scripted message conversations, and on-cue incoming calls. It's designed to keep the screen awake during long takes, ensuring seamless filming.
- Customizable lock screen
- Scripted message conversations
- Triggered incoming calls/texts
- Short-form video feed
- Screen stays awake
- Built-in editor
Read full descriptionHide full description
Understudy turns a spare iPhone into a camera-ready prop phone for film and video production. Stage every screen your scene needs: a lock screen with custom wallpaper and carrier name, message conversations you script yourself, incoming calls that ring on cue, and a scrolling short-video feed. BUILT FOR SET • Lock screen with custom wallpaper, carrier name, and live clock • Scripted message threads with custom contacts and photos • Trigger an incoming call or text right from the phone • Short-form video feed with your own footage, captions, and counts • Screen stays awake through long takes YOUR CONTENT, YOUR TIMING Set up contacts, conversations, and videos in the built-in editor (double-tap anywhere with two fingers), then hand the phone to your actor and roll camera. Understudy displays fictional content for production use only. It sends no real messages, places no real calls, and is not affiliated with Apple.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Understudy at 100% against Prop Screen's 43%. Understudy also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Prop Screen sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Understudy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Understudy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Prop Screen's written reviews are positive against 100% of Understudy's.
Prop Screen ships an update weekly, Understudy every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Prop Screen | Understudy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Game Night Films | Ginsberg AI LLC |
Customer experience
Prop Screen
Understudy
In-app purchases
Prop Screen
- Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$89.991 Year
- Lifetime$999.99
Understudy
- Full Access$29.99









