Comparison

Conduck vs Aether

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

Head to head
About

Conduck

Features
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Conduck is the native Apple client for your self-hosted or BYO-key AI - in your pocket, in the car, and on your wrist. Connect your own AI server - OpenClaw, Hermes, or a compatible model server such as Pi or LM Aider - or bring an OpenRouter key for a hosted model and start in about a minute. Your keys, your AI. No Conduck account and no Conduck-operated intermediary server. Ask from anywhere • iPhone & iPad: start a chat and type, or hold to talk • Action Button, Shortcuts & Control Center: fire off a quick question without opening the app • Apple Watch: ask straight from your wrist • CarPlay: a hands-free voice conversation on the road • Mac: a full desktop app and menu-bar companion, with a global hotkey and Screenshot & Ask Work: collect now, brief your AI later • A private desk beside your chats. Save thoughts, voice notes, screenshots, links and files from the app, the share sheet, Shortcuts, the Mac menu bar, Apple Watch or CarPlay. A voice note is saved as words. • Adding to Work sends nothing to your AI. Arrange materials on Home, or file them into projects with their own background notes. • When you're ready, write the task, pick the materials and choose your AI. Review the exact message, then send. • With a self-hosted agent and file exchange set up, files your AI returns join the project. • With content sync on, the desk syncs through your private iCloud. Very large files stay on the device that captured them. Private by architecture, not by promise • Conduck operates no intermediary server. No Conduck account, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. • By default, your speech is turned into text by Apple on your own devices. Your voice never leaves them. • Prefer a cloud transcription service? Your audio goes straight from your device to that provider with your own key. We're never in the middle. • Your conversations stay on your device and sync through your own private iCloud. We can't read them. • Your keys and tokens live in the Keychain, and every connection over the internet is HTTPS. A server on your own network can be reached without it if you choose, and Conduck says so on screen when you do. See what you actually use • Settings shows a private record of request attempts and conversations over the last 7, 30 or 90 days, typed and spoken compared. • Broken down by connection, device and requested model, with the token counts your AI reports, and reliability split into first-try deliveries, retries, cancellations and failures. • Recorded on your devices and synced through your private iCloud. Never sent to us. Free plan and Conduck Pro • Free: three active projects and three configured gateways in total across OpenClaw, Hermes and custom connections. Unconfigured options don't count, and OpenRouter never uses a slot. • Pro: unlimited active projects and configured gateways on iPhone, iPad and Mac. • Archive a project to free a slot. Above the free limits, choose which projects and gateways stay active; your materials, conversations and saved connection settings are kept. Conduck Pro is an optional monthly subscription: USD 29.99 in the US or EUR 29.99 in euro-area storefronts. Other storefront prices are shown in the app. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. It renews automatically unless canceled; manage it in your App Store subscription settings. AI and speech provider usage is billed separately by your chosen providers. Pro includes no model or voice credits. Terms: https://conduck.com/terms/ Privacy: https://conduck.com/privacy/ Open source The application source is available under Apache 2.0 at github.com/GigaDuckAI/conduck. Official App Store builds keep the Conduck identity and CarPlay; personal source builds use the Conduck Community identity without CarPlay. What you'll need Conduck is the interface, not the AI. You bring the AI and any key it needs; guided setup helps you connect. Conduck creates no account and hosts no model for you.

About

Aether

Features
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Soar with local AI. Aether brings a modern, localized, general-purpose AI Agent experience directly to your iOS device. Powered by Pi Coding Agent kernel and equipped with a local, sandboxed Alpine Linux environment, Aether transforms your mobile device into a powerful AI workbench. Whether you are writing code, researching complex topics, executing scripts, or running multi-tool workflows, Aether delivers unmatched speed, privacy, and capability—wrapped in a silky-smooth, minimalist interface. Key Features: • Local Linux Sandbox & Tool Execution Run shell commands, JavaScript, and custom tools locally within a bundled, isolated Alpine Linux environment. Safely inspect, create, and manage files right inside your app workspace. • Multi-Provider LLM Integration Bring your own keys and connect seamlessly with leading AI models, including OpenAI (GPT-5.6 Sol), Anthropic (Claude Fable 5), Google Gemini, DeepSeek, and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints. • Model Context Protocol (MCP) Support Extend your AI agent's skills by connecting to remote HTTP MCP servers, unlocking specialized external tools and live integrations. • Minimalist & Premium User Interface Designed with meticulous detail inspired by top-tier tools. Enjoy smooth gesture navigation, rich fluid micro-animations, customizable dark/light themes, and clean code formatting. • Extensible Architecture Tailor agent behaviors, custom prompts, and UI extensions using Pi extensions and TypeScript script modules. • Privacy-First & Local Storage Your API keys, chat history, and workspace files remain securely on your device. Experience true AI autonomy on the go. Download Aether today and take your mobile AI workflow to the next level!

Screenshots

Conduck4 screens
Aether4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Conduck at Free against Aether's $2.99. Conduck also leads on device support (4 vs 2). Aether's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On ads and in-app purchases 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

Conduck is free to download; Aether costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Conduck versus Aether: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterConduckAether
PriceFree — better$2.99
Update frequencyEvery 6 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size71 MB74 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperGigaDuck OU堃 周

In-app purchases

None

Conduck

No in-app purchases

None

Aether

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Conduck free?
Conduck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Aether free?
Aether costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Conduck or Aether have ads?
Neither Conduck nor Aether shows ads.

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