Comparison

Focus Faraway vs DiaryThreads

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

Head to head
About

Focus Faraway

Transform focus time into a virtual road trip. Earn miles by staying offline and explore detailed virtual landscapes inspired by real journeys. Discover local stories and plan future adventures.

Highlights
  • Focus time converted to virtual travel distance
  • Six distinct travel modes (walking, driving, etc.)
  • Detailed virtual travel journal entries
  • Real-world locations and local details
  • Plan future real-world trips based on virtual discoveries
  • No pressure focus, rewards presence
Features
Read full description

Want to put your phone down, yet keep getting pulled back by endless feeds? Dream of distant mountains, coast roads, and open skies, but find yourself at a desk? Focus Faraway is a different kind of focus app: a quiet self-discipline road movie. It does not only record focus time. It turns every offline act of restraint into online miles across a virtual world. The app is inspired by the real 39,580 km road-trip documentary "1Mao1Young Around China". It avoids shallow check-ins and tourist filters. Instead, it uses grounded human observation, local food details, and real geography to help you find calm while your virtual self moves through wide, generous landscapes. Start a focus session, put the phone aside, and return to life. In the virtual world, "you" pack a bag and begin the next leg. Core features: 1. Focus becomes distance Choose a destination, such as the epic counterclockwise route around the edge of China. Every minute you stay focused offline becomes more kilometers on your virtual journey. 2. Six ways to travel Match the route to your state of mind: Walking or cycling for slow, deep work and creative writing. Hitchhiking or motorcycling for uncertain, intense bursts. Driving or RV travel for long, immersive work sessions and electric-camping road energy. 3. Real places, not empty check-ins When you stop focusing, you receive a travel journal from the road. It may lead you under the stars near Arxan, into a snowy Burqin snack shop, through a difficult moment in the Turpan desert, or to a family-run restaurant hidden in an old Wenshan street. 4. Virtual miles can seed real trips If a view, dish, market, or local story catches you, open its real coordinate in your map app and save it for a future journey. Why Focus Faraway? No-pressure focus: you do not need to stare at a number. The more present you are in real life, the farther your virtual footsteps go. Deep travel content: each story is shaped by practical observation, food memory, local texture, and care for nature. Discipline feels less lonely: every stop is like opening a time capsule from somewhere far away. Choose a travel mode and start focusing. Leave the screen to discipline. Let the soul return to the road. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

DiaryThreads

Transform your life into a series of shareable posts, just like social media. Capture thoughts, photos, videos, or voice notes in short entries organized into a private timeline. Gain insights into your journaling habits and revisit memories with customizable widgets.

Highlights
  • Post thoughts, photos, videos, voice notes
  • Private timeline organization
  • Insights into journaling habits
  • Home Screen widgets for memories and new posts
  • App Lock for enhanced privacy
  • No account required, local storage
Features
Read full description

DiaryThreads offers a new way to journal: capture life as easily as posting and let every entry become part of a timeline that is entirely your own. 【As Easy as Posting—Reply to and Quote Your Past Self】 -- Capture a thought, a photo, or a voice recording in the moment. A flexible editor helps you preserve life in richer detail. -- Find an earlier entry, reply to it or quote it, and see what has changed. -- When you have more to say, use an Article to publish a polished long-form card on your timeline. 【Understand Your Life】 -- Analytics brings together days recorded, total characters, posting frequency, and changes over the last 30 days. -- Your private trending list highlights the keywords and topics you have been returning to lately. -- State of Mind entries you choose to add also appear in Analytics, helping you look back on emotional changes. -- Topic Insights show when and how often each topic appears. 【Let Widgets Bring the Past Back】 -- The “Random Entry” widget brings an older entry to your Home Screen. Tap to shuffle or open its details. -- The “Write an Entry” widget puts writing on your Home Screen, so a new entry is always one tap away. Past and present stay close at hand. -- The “Photo Memory” widget brings treasured photos back into view. 【Light, Simple, and Entirely Yours】 -- DiaryThreads requires no account. Content is stored locally first; Premium can sync it across your Apple devices through your private iCloud. -- No ads, third-party analytics, or cross-app tracking. -- Premium imports and exports are processed locally on your device, keeping your content in your hands. 【Diary Threads Premium】 -- The free version keeps up to 30 current entries. -- Diary Threads Premium unlocks unlimited entries, share posters, keyword trends, private iCloud sync, local import and export, and all three Home Screen widgets. -- Premium is available as a monthly or annual subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Actual prices are shown in the App Store. Privacy Policy: https://foggy-bellflower-ae3.notion.site/Diary-Threads-Privacy-Policy-3aa1a28522d98112b480d81a7b2f74db?source=copy_link EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Focus Faraway4 screens
DiaryThreads4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: DiaryThreads at daily against Focus Faraway's every 5 days. DiaryThreads also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, 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

Both are free to download. Focus Faraway sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and DiaryThreads sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Faraway ships an update every 5 days, DiaryThreads daily. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Focus Faraway versus DiaryThreads: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus FarawayDiaryThreads
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLi Wei世杰 戴

Customer experience

Focus Faraway

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

DiaryThreads

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Focus Faraway

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Membership$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Membership$4.991 Year
2 purchases

DiaryThreads

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Premium$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$6.99

Questions

Is Focus Faraway free?
Focus Faraway is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DiaryThreads free?
DiaryThreads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Focus Faraway or DiaryThreads have ads?
Neither Focus Faraway nor DiaryThreads shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Faraway or DiaryThreads?
Focus Faraway ships an update every 5 days, and DiaryThreads daily. Most recently, Focus Faraway was updated on October 1, 2026 and DiaryThreads on October 6, 2026.

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