Comparison

WristBuddy vs Charge Glance

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

Head to head
About

WristBuddy

Features
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Know how your phone is doing — without picking it up. WristBuddy lives on your Apple Watch and shows what your iPhone is doing right now: battery, charging, Wi-Fi and cellular, motion, silent mode, Focus, lock state, air pressure, and thermal state — all glanceable from your wrist. SOUND FAMILIAR? • Phone charging in another room? Glance at your wrist and unplug it when it's ready. • About to walk into a meeting? Know it's really on silent without pulling it out under the table. • Charging it inside a bag, or tethering a hotspot? Keep an eye on its temperature and catch it running hot. • Left your phone away on purpose? Stay aware of anything urgent without breaking the moment. WHAT'S FREE • Battery range (Below 20% / 20-50% / 50-90% / Above 90%) • Watch dashboard with stale-snapshot indicator • "Hey Siri, ring my iPhone with WristBuddy" (beta) UNLOCK PRO (pay once, yours forever) • Exact battery percentage and charging state • Wi-Fi and Cellular connectivity (separate rows), with network generation (5G / LTE) • Motion detection — is the iPhone being touched right now? • Silent and Focus mode • Lock state — is the iPhone locked right now? • Distance from your iPhone (UWB; iPhone 11+ paired with Apple Watch S6+) • Air pressure — barometric pressure (hPa) from your iPhone's barometer • Thermal state — is your iPhone running hot while it charges or works? (Normal / Fair / Serious / Critical) • Find My Watch (beta) — buzz your Apple Watch from your iPhone • Apple Watch screen on iPhone — see your Watch's battery from your iPhone • Reorderable status rows — drag to reorder which features show on your Watch • Lock Screen Live Activity — both batteries and link state pinned to your iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Get iPhone Status shortcut for Shortcuts automations WHY WRISTBUDDY • Pay once. Never a subscription. Never ads. • No account. No sign-up. • No cloud. No analytics. No tracking. No third-party SDKs. • Everything stays on your iPhone and Apple Watch. • Privacy nutrition label: Data Not Collected — every category unchecked. PRIVACY BY DESIGN WristBuddy uses Apple's built-in WatchConnectivity framework, so your iPhone and Apple Watch talk directly to each other over Bluetooth or local Wi-Fi. No data ever leaves your devices. There is no WristBuddy server, because there isn't one. REQUIREMENTS • iPhone running iOS 16 or later (iOS 16.1+ for the Lock Screen Live Activity) • Apple Watch running watchOS 9 or later • UWB distance feature requires iPhone 11+ and Apple Watch Series 6+ • Dynamic Island layout requires iPhone 14 Pro or newer Open the iPhone app once, then forget about it — the iPhone responds in the background. Open the Watch app to see everything at a glance.

About

Charge Glance

Features
Read full description

See your iPhone and Apple Watch battery levels directly from your Mac. Charge Glance brings your devices together in a simple dashboard and a convenient menu bar view. Check their battery percentage, charging status and latest update without reaching for your phone. Features: • iPhone and Apple Watch battery status on Mac • Compact menu bar view • Clear charging and battery indicators • Manual refresh for the latest available measurements • Private synchronization through your personal iCloud account • English and French interface based on system language • No ads, analytics or tracking Battery information is stored in your private iCloud database and synchronized between your devices. Opening the companion app on iPhone or Apple Watch requests a fresh measurement. Because iOS and watchOS may suspend apps in the background, Charge Glance always displays the time of the latest available update.

Screenshots

WristBuddy4 screens
Charge Glance1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Charge Glance at none against WristBuddy's 1. Charge Glance also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). 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. WristBuddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Charge Glance asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WristBuddy ships an update every 4 days, Charge Glance daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
WristBuddy versus Charge Glance: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWristBuddyCharge Glance
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, Mac, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMario LonghiRenaud Baivier

In-app purchases

1 purchases

WristBuddy

One-time1
  • WristBuddy$2.99
None

Charge Glance

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WristBuddy free?
WristBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Charge Glance free?
Charge Glance is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do WristBuddy or Charge Glance have ads?
Neither WristBuddy nor Charge Glance shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WristBuddy or Charge Glance?
WristBuddy ships an update every 4 days, and Charge Glance daily. Most recently, WristBuddy was updated on October 31, 2026 and Charge Glance on October 29, 2026.

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