Comparison

Beam vs BigKeys Large Key Keyboard

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

Head to head
About

Beam

Control all your smart TVs from your phone with a comprehensive remote app. It offers a full remote experience, quick app launching, and text input, with premium features for enhanced customization and insights. Designed for privacy, it requires no account or cloud connection.

Highlights
  • Full remote control with touchpad and D-pad
  • Turn TVs on/off and launch apps
  • Type searches using phone keyboard
  • Connection Doctor for Wi-Fi issues
  • Customizable themes and Lock Screen controls
  • Smart sleep timers
  • Weekly TV insights
Features
Read full description

The last remote you'll ever download. Beam controls Roku, Google TV, Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Fire TV — every TV in your home from one beautiful app. No account. No cloud. Your taps go straight from your phone to your TV. CONTROL EVERYTHING • Full remote: touchpad with gestures, D-pad, volume, playback • Turn TVs on and off right from your phone or Lock Screen • Launch Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ and more with one tap • Type searches with your phone's keyboard instead of hunting letters with arrow keys FEELS LIKE HOME • A control center that greets you: your TV's status, every room, and who's watching • Connection Doctor fixes Wi-Fi hiccups in one tap • Fix a dead remote in the time it takes to find the real one GO PREMIUM • 15+ animated themes, from Starry Night to Synthwave • Every TV in your home, switchable in one tap • Dynamic Island & Lock Screen controls • Smart sleep timers from 5 minutes to 4 hours • Weekly TV insights — computed on your phone, seen only by you • Free trial available; monthly, yearly, or pay-once lifetime PRIVATE BY DESIGN Beam collects nothing. No sign-up, no tracking, no servers — your remote and your habits stay on your phone. GOOD TO KNOW Your phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network. Some TV apps (like YouTube and Prime Video) use their own on-screen keyboards and don't accept typed text from any remote app. Waking a TV from full power-off may require a one-time setting on the TV — Beam walks you through it. Privacy Policy: https://mragent07.github.io/Smart-remotelegal/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://mragent07.github.io/Smart-remotelegal/terms.html

About

BigKeys Large Key Keyboard

This keyboard app features significantly larger keys and letters, designed to improve visibility for users with low vision. It employs a "hold and slide" typing method to prevent accidental presses and ensure accurate character selection.

Highlights
  • Larger keys
  • Larger letters
  • Hold and slide typing
  • Improved visibility
  • Customizable layout
Features
Read full description

Big, easy-to-read keys for seniors and anyone with low vision. Type in Messages, Mail and every other app with fewer typos. PAY ONCE One purchase, and BigKeys is yours. No subscription, no advertising, and nothing held back behind a later purchase — every feature on this page is included. MUCH BIGGER KEYS Each row of the usual keyboard is split across two rows, so every key is roughly twice as wide. The letters grow with them. Four sizes, from Medium up to about three times the standard key. MORE OF YOUR SCREEN, SAME BIG KEYS Turn on the thin strip above the keys and the keyboard takes less of the screen, while every key stays exactly as big. BIG EMOJI Tap the smiley key next to 123 for the iPhone's own emoji, as big as the keys. The ones you sent last come first. SEE THE KEY BEFORE YOU COMMIT Nothing is typed when you touch a key. Hold your finger down and the letter appears above it, very large. If it is the wrong one, slide to the right one and let go. Only then is it typed. COLOURS THAT WORK FOR YOUR EYES Yellow on black, white on black, black on yellow, black on white, or matching your iPhone's light and dark mode. If bright screens are painful, the dark themes are not a novelty — they are the point. HEAR WHAT YOU TYPE BigKeys can speak each key as your finger passes over it, and each word as you finish it. It works alongside VoiceOver rather than talking over it. WORD SUGGESTIONS Suggestions appear in large type as you type, and BigKeys learns the words you use most. All of it happens on your iPhone. TEN LANGUAGES, ONE KEYBOARD English, Hebrew, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian and Arabic — including right-to-left. Add it once and switch between them from the keyboard. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR IPHONE BigKeys never asks for "Allow Full Access". You can check: Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > BigKeys. There is no such switch. Without it iOS will not let a keyboard reach the network at all, so nothing you type can go anywhere. BEFORE YOU BUY iOS never allows any third-party keyboard into a password field. Apple's own keyboard appears instead. This is true of every keyboard app on the App Store and cannot be changed. Setting BigKeys up takes about a minute. The app walks you through it one step at a time, in large print, and tells you when it is working.

Screenshots

Beam4 screens
BigKeys Large Key Keyboard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beam at Free against BigKeys Large Key Keyboard's $5.99. Beam also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). BigKeys Large Key Keyboard's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 days). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Beam is free to download; BigKeys Large Key Keyboard costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beam holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beam ships an update every 3 days, BigKeys Large Key Keyboard daily. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Beam versus BigKeys Large Key Keyboard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeamBigKeys Large Key Keyboard
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB7 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperJonhny AcostaTzahi Bergman

Customer experience

Beam

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BigKeys Large Key Keyboard

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Beam

No in-app purchases

None

BigKeys Large Key Keyboard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beam free?
Beam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BigKeys Large Key Keyboard free?
BigKeys Large Key Keyboard costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Beam or BigKeys Large Key Keyboard?
Beam is rated higher. Beam averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while BigKeys Large Key Keyboard averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Beam or BigKeys Large Key Keyboard have ads?
Neither Beam nor BigKeys Large Key Keyboard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beam or BigKeys Large Key Keyboard?
Beam ships an update every 3 days, and BigKeys Large Key Keyboard daily. Most recently, Beam was updated on October 7, 2026 and BigKeys Large Key Keyboard on October 31, 2026.

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