Comparison

Clink vs Deflector ◇

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

Head to head
About

Clink

This keyboard app offers extensive customization for appearance, layout, and typing experience. Enjoy unique visual themes, adjustable layouts, advanced swipe typing, and offline autocorrect. It also includes helpful tools like cursor control and a clipboard history.

Highlights
  • Liquid Glass visual theme
  • Extensive theme editor
  • Multiple keyboard layouts
  • Split keyboard option
  • Advanced swipe typing
  • Offline autocorrect and predictions
  • Cursor control via spacebar
Features
Read full description

Clink is a custom keyboard for iPhone and iPad. Choose how it looks, arrange the keys, change the sounds and keep useful tools close to where you type. Start with a preset you like, or make a keyboard of your own. Choose a simple theme, metal keys, raised 3D keycaps or translucent Liquid Glass. Change colours, fonts, gradients, outlines and key shapes. Set separate themes for Light and Dark Mode. The live preview lets you type while you make changes. Add a photo background or put artwork on individual keys, with framing controls to get the placement right. Canvas mode lets you edit each key. Export your theme to share it, or import one someone else has made. Choose QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak or a layout for your language. Try Clink Flow for two thumbs. Add a number row, use a split keyboard or switch to one-handed mode. Adjust height, width and spacing, and add custom keys and rows for text or functions. Tap or swipe to type. Two-thumb word composition lets either hand continue the same word, combining taps and glides. Keep a simple swipe trail or choose one with colour, sparks or a comet tail. Autocomplete, autocorrect and swipe decoding work on your device, without an internet connection. Clink can learn your words and the corrections you reject; learning can be switched off or reset. Text replacements, smart punctuation and automatic capitals help with everyday typing. Use combined suggestions for multiple languages or keep them separate. Clink includes Japanese kana, Chinese Pinyin and Korean input, with language packs available to download. Features depend on the language and installed resources. Slide on the spacebar to move the cursor, or use trackpad mode for more control. Adjust sensitivity and activation timing to suit your hands. Predictive flick lets you accept suggestions directly from the keys. Clipboard history keeps saved clips in groups. The notepad holds text you want to use again, and the calculator handles quick sums and conversions. Find emoji with search, recent choices and skin tones. Arrange the panels around what you use. Use dictation when you would rather speak, handwriting to write with your finger, or translation to prepare text in another language. Supported translation works offline after its resources are downloaded. Dictation may use Apple's speech services. On compatible devices, writing tools use Apple's on-device models to proofread, rewrite, shorten, expand or summarise text. Change the tone or prepare a reply, then review it before use. Apple Intelligence support and downloaded models are required. Choose a system click or sound pack, set the volume and tune the haptics. Adjust how keys move and respond. Add lighting, stickers or a small pet that reacts as you type. Save setups as profiles and switch between them from the keyboard. Optional iCloud sync carries profiles and custom themes between devices. Text clipboard history and learned vocabulary sync are separate choices, both off by default. Build custom actions for repeated tasks or write a panel using the built-in Python subset. Add compatible theme, layout, font and sound packs to extend your setup. No Clink account, ads or cross-app tracking. Ordinary typing does not send your text to a server. Core typing works without Full Access; clipboard access, haptics, custom sounds and shared settings use that permission. Downloads, purchases, iCloud and some speech features need a connection. Requires iOS 17 or later. Liquid Glass, translation and Apple Intelligence features depend on your iOS version, device, language and available resources. Setup walks you through adding Clink in iOS Settings. Switch to it with the globe key wherever custom keyboards are supported. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Deflector ◇

Create custom buttons for your iPhone's Dynamic Island, Lock Screen, and Apple Watch to trigger any shortcut. On specific Japanese iPhones, utilize the Side Button for voice assistant shortcuts. Requires initial setup within the Shortcuts app.

Highlights
  • Dynamic Island shortcut buttons
  • Lock Screen shortcut buttons
  • Apple Watch shortcut buttons
  • Voice assistant shortcuts (Japan)
  • Shortcuts app integration
Features
Read full description

With Deflector, you can add buttons to the Dynamic Island, Lock Screen and Apple Watch to run any shortcut. On supported iPhones in Japan, you can use your preferred voice assistant using shortcuts with the Side Button. To use Deflector, you need to set up an automation in the Shortcuts app. The automation is available within the app.

Screenshots

Clink4 screens
Deflector ◇3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Deflector ◇ at none against Clink's 3. Deflector ◇ also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Clink's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 27.0). On price, ads 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. Clink sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Deflector ◇ asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clink ships an update every 3 days, Deflector ◇ every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Clink versus Deflector ◇: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClinkDeflector ◇
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (43 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews73.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings43 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size349 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWilliam WhitehouseCizzuk Shihu

Customer experience

Clink

All ratings42 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive73.1%
Neutral7.7%
Negative19.2%

Deflector ◇

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Clink

Subscriptions2
  • Clink Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Clink Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Clink Lifetime$14.99
None

Deflector ◇

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clink free?
Clink is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Deflector ◇ free?
Deflector ◇ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Clink or Deflector ◇ have ads?
Neither Clink nor Deflector ◇ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Clink or Deflector ◇?
Clink ships an update every 3 days, and Deflector ◇ every 3 weeks. Most recently, Clink was updated on October 25, 2026 and Deflector ◇ on October 25, 2026.

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