Comparison

AlwaysOn vs Smart TV Guide

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

Head to head
About

AlwaysOn

Transform a plugged-in iPhone into a convenient desk display. View the time, date, calendar, and weather at a glance. Features a sleep mode for nighttime use and custom display hours.

Highlights
  • Large digital clock display
  • Current date and calendar
  • Upcoming calendar events
  • Local weather forecast
  • Customizable display hours
  • Low-brightness sleep mode
  • Burn-in protection
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone or iPad into a beautiful desk and nightstand clock. Free, with no ads and no subscriptions. AlwaysOn shows the time, your calendar, weather and more on a screen you leave docked or propped up, and on your Home Screen and Lock Screen too. START WITH A FINISHED DESIGN • Ready-made layouts, each with its own background • Swipe between layouts, and the background moves with your widgets • Change any of them, or make your own WIDGETS FOR YOUR HOME SCREEN • Clock, with seven faces including Eclipse: the time inside a glowing ring • Time Together, Daylight, Word Clock, Card Clock, Tube Clock, Countdown, Green Room, Moon Phase and Horizon • Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy • Tap ▶ to watch a whole day go by in seconds CLOCKS AND BACKGROUNDS • Digital clocks in eleven styles, including big iPhone-style digits • Clock backgrounds: Lens, Card (split-flap), Tube, Prism, Stone, Shadow and Green Room • Space backgrounds: Tonight's Sky shows the real stars over your city, plus Earthrise, Saturn and Jupiter • Animated and still backgrounds: Earth, Horizon, Moon Phase, Catnap, Soft Flow, Tide and more • Seasonal backgrounds for holidays and festivals MADE FOR NIGHT • Darker nights with a soft amber clock • Day Mode hours, Smart Dimming and burn-in protection • A sunrise alarm that wakes you with light YOUR LAYOUT • Arrange the clock with Calendar, Up Next, Weather, World Clock, Countdown, a Focus timer, Photos and Battery • Separate layouts for portrait and landscape, made for both iPhone and iPad PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no tracking, no data collected • Available in English, Spanish and Simplified Chinese AlwaysOn turns a screen you're not using into something calm and useful.

About

Smart TV Guide

Features
Read full description

Smart TV Guide helps you decide what to watch in seconds. Browse TV programs for France, Belgium and Switzerland in a clear, fast app designed for relaxed evenings in front of the TV. • See what is on now and what is coming up next. • Browse several days of schedules with a 24-hour timeline. • Quickly search for a channel and open its detailed page. • Add your favorite channels and keep them at the top of your guide. • Set a reminder before a show you do not want to miss. • Choose your country, theme and a compact layout that fits your habits. • Refresh the schedule whenever you want, with a Wi-Fi-only option to help limit mobile data usage. Your favorites, country and display preferences stay on your device. No account is required to use the guide. The free version may show native ads. Smart TV Guide is a TV program guide: it does not stream television channels or replace a TV subscription.

Screenshots

AlwaysOn4 screens
Smart TV Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AlwaysOn at none against Smart TV Guide's 1. AlwaysOn also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Smart TV Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AlwaysOn asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AlwaysOn ships an update every 4 days, Smart TV Guide every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AlwaysOn versus Smart TV Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlwaysOnSmart TV Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (26 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings26 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWeijin WangTheo Vankoekelberg

In-app purchases

None

AlwaysOn

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart TV Guide

One-time1
  • Smart TV Guide Plus$3.99

Questions

Is AlwaysOn free?
AlwaysOn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smart TV Guide free?
Smart TV Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AlwaysOn or Smart TV Guide have ads?
Smart TV Guide shows ads; AlwaysOn does not.
Which is updated more often, AlwaysOn or Smart TV Guide?
AlwaysOn ships an update every 4 days, and Smart TV Guide every 9 days. Most recently, AlwaysOn was updated on November 10, 2026 and Smart TV Guide on November 10, 2026.

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