Comparison

OnDevice vs Astra Shell

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

Head to head
About

OnDevice

This app provides a local AI workbench for your iPhone, running open-source language and vision models entirely on-device. Features include live camera captioning, hands-free voice conversation, and code assistance with various models. It prioritizes privacy with no servers, API keys, or telemetry.

Highlights
  • On-device LLM and VLM execution
  • Live camera captioning
  • Hands-free voice conversation
  • Code assistant with multiple models
  • Document scanner and live OCR
  • Model benchmarking and A/B comparison
  • Mac pairing for inference server
Features
Read full description

OnDevice is a local-first AI studio for iPhone. Run compatible language, vision, speech, and image models on your device. Browse models and choose what to download. Model size, memory use, and speed depend on your hardware. CHAT AND CREATE Ask questions, write, work with code, save snippets, and export conversations. Use camera or photo input with a compatible vision model, or use built-in OCR without downloading a vision model. Voice conversations use local Apple speech by default, with optional downloadable neural voices. Compatible image models support local image generation, which can be restricted with a parental PIN. YOU CHOOSE THE CONNECTIONS Local inference uses installed models. Network features are optional: model discovery and downloads, web search, paired Mac tools, a local API, and iCloud sync. Web providers may receive the queries or content you choose to send and may require their own API account. No app account is required for local use; there is no analytics SDK. REQUIREMENTS Requires iOS 18 or later. Downloadable models need storage and sufficient available memory. The app may pause or refuse heavy workloads when the device is too hot or memory is low. Model compatibility and performance vary by device.

About

Astra Shell

Features
Read full description

Astra Shell is a native terminal client designed for persistent remote work. Traditional remote terminals are tied to the current device and network. When a client restarts, the network disconnects, or you switch devices, you often need to reconnect and find your place again. Astra Shell keeps shells running on a remote host you control, so your Mac, iPhone, and iPad can return to the same terminal and continue from the existing context. Key features: • Persistent remote shells Remote shells and their tasks continue running after the client disconnects. Reconnect to return to an existing terminal. • Continue across devices Open the same shell from Mac, iPhone, or iPad to keep viewing and entering commands. • Native terminal experience Supports common terminal modes, colors, wide characters, alternate screens, mouse input, paged history, and copy and paste. • Remote files Browse remote directories, upload and download files, preview text, view transfer progress, and inspect Git status. • Astra and SSH hosts Connect to a self-hosted Astra service over QUIC/TLS, or use standalone SSH/SFTP mode with a standard server. • Private-key security SSH private keys are stored in Keychain. Host configurations and credentials can synchronize through iCloud Keychain when enabled. Astra mode requires the open-source astrad service on a host you own or manage, with an authorized public key configured. Standard SSH hosts do not require astrad. Installation instructions are available on the support website. Astra Shell contains no advertising or behavioral analytics. It does not send terminal commands, remote files, or SSH private keys to the developer.

Screenshots

OnDevice4 screens
Astra Shell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: OnDevice at every 3 days against Astra Shell's every 4 weeks. 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OnDevice ships an update every 3 days, Astra Shell every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
OnDevice versus Astra Shell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnDeviceAstra Shell
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size194 MB19 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMESUT CAN YAGCI玥 熊

In-app purchases

None

OnDevice

No in-app purchases

None

Astra Shell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OnDevice free?
OnDevice is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Astra Shell free?
Astra Shell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do OnDevice or Astra Shell have ads?
Neither OnDevice nor Astra Shell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OnDevice or Astra Shell?
OnDevice ships an update every 3 days, and Astra Shell every 4 weeks. Most recently, OnDevice was updated on October 16, 2026 and Astra Shell on October 12, 2026.

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