Comparison

Shoulder vs Ember

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

Head to head
About

Shoulder

Features
Read full description

How do you get something off your screen and into AI without taking screenshot after screenshot? The big AI apps make you upload screenshots, one at a time. Shoulder is different. Start a recording and do anything you need on your phone. Come back to the app, and Shoulder will pull out the important stuff. Here's some of the things you can do with Shoulder: Get a recipe from a social media video Turn a "Top 10 places to visit in Italy" story into a list you can actually plan around Open a password-protected PDF and have it ready whenever you need it Understand your labs, a bill, or an insurance denial — read once, explained in plain words Pull a list of birthdays out of an app that won't let you export one Works with any site, any app, any portal — because it only watches when you tell it to. No downloading files just to upload them again, and no waiting on a connector that doesn't exist. If Shoulder can see it, it can help you with it. You're in control. Shoulder only records when you start it — never in the background, never without you knowing. It never logs in, clicks, or acts for you. It watches and remembers. You always drive. Record something by accident? Don't worry — nothing leaves your phone until you send it. Delete a chat or a project at any time, and there's no record left behind. All your recordings are locked behind Face ID and your passcode, and you can delete those too. Shoulder is your trustworthy assistant that respects your privacy.

About

Ember

This app turns your tasks and habits into a "fire" that grows as you complete them. Track todos, habits, focus sessions, and even steps, with a unique 4 AM reset time. Enjoy a distraction-free experience with customizable notifications.

Highlights
  • Task and habit tracking
  • Virtual "fire" reward system
  • Focus timer with bonus rounds
  • Meditation and breathing timer
  • Step count integration
  • Customizable notifications
Features
Read full description

Ember is a habit tracker that pays you in fire. Write down what needs doing. A task is worth one to five logs; finish it and the bundle goes on the fire. That is the whole deal: the work is the fuel. THE WALL OF EMBERS A habit is an ember. Relight it every day and the streak grows. Miss one and the record says so, honestly, because a tracker that flatters you is not tracking anything. Meeting the goal is what pays: two of three glasses is nothing yet. WHAT THE FIRE KEEPS Todos and quests, with tags and five-log entries A focus timer with a bonus round and a fortnight of sittings behind it Meditation and breathing, timed, with a proper bell A shopping list that remembers what you buy Your step count, read from Health, turned into timber for the fire THE DAY ROLLS AT 4AM One in the morning belongs to the evening behind it. Habits reset at four, not at midnight, because that is when a day actually ends. NOTHING NOISY No ads. No streaks-are-about-to-die panic. No "we miss you". The only notifications are the ones you set: the bell when your meditation is up, the nudge when a focus sitting ends, and your own alarms. MEMBERSHIP Free lights three embers a day. Everything else is free for everyone: the quests, the routines, the timers, cloud sync. Membership lifts the one cap. Weekly and yearly plans are auto-renewing subscriptions charged to your Apple Account. They renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends, and you can manage or cancel in Settings. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.playembergame.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.playembergame.com/terms

Screenshots

Shoulder4 screens
Ember4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Shoulder at none against Ember's shown. Ember's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Shoulder versus Ember: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShoulderEmber
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 days—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB35 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBrad CoughlinPoxi AS

In-app purchases

None

Shoulder

No in-app purchases

None

Ember

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shoulder free?
Shoulder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ember free?
Ember is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shoulder or Ember have ads?
Ember shows ads; Shoulder does not.

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