Comparison

Relay Shortcut Trigger vs PDFDock

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

Head to head
About

Relay Shortcut Trigger

Features
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Relay turns a spare iPhone or iPad into a hands-free Shortcuts trigger. Run any Shortcut on a repeating interval or at specific times of day, or fire it from another device on your Wi-Fi with a simple, token-protected local web request. No subscription. No account. No cloud. Everything runs on your device and your local network. WHY RELAY Some automations only work when a device actively opens an app or runs a Shortcut — showing a camera dashboard every few minutes, rotating a status display, kicking off a sync, opening a kiosk app on a timer. iOS only allows an app to launch Shortcuts while it is in the foreground, so Relay is built to be exactly that: a reliable foreground scheduler you leave running on a dedicated device. SCHEDULER • Unlimited rules, each with its own Shortcut, interval (from 1 minute) or list of exact times • Optional active window per rule (e.g. only 8:00–17:00), overnight windows supported • Wall-clock scheduling: if a fire time passes while the schedule was paused, Relay catches up the moment it becomes active again • Live countdown to the next trigger, per rule and overall LOCAL NETWORK TRIGGER • Built-in HTTP endpoint on your Wi-Fi: GET /run?shortcut=Name — from a laptop, home server, Raspberry Pi, or any browser • Token-protected (query token or Bearer header), with one-tap token generation • Bonjour advertising (_relay._tcp) so other devices find the phone even when its IP changes • /health and /next endpoints for monitoring and scripting, plus a built-in status web page • Foreground-only and LAN-only by design — nothing is ever exposed to the internet KIOSK ESSENTIALS • Keep-awake (never lets the screen sleep) while active • Stall detection: if another app kept focus and the loop stopped, Relay shows a one-tap resume banner and can notify you • Battery level and charging state on screen, with Guided Access guidance for true kiosk setups • Live event log of every trigger, request, and state change EXTRAS • Home-screen widget with the next trigger and last run • Live Activity countdown in the Dynamic Island while the schedule runs • Diagnostics page: foreground state, listener state, address, recent triggers • Step-by-step onboarding that builds your first automation loop with you Relay is 100% free — every feature, forever. It runs the Shortcuts you created, and it never collects any data.

About

PDFDock

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Bring your documents together in a simple PDF workspace. Merge and organize pages, scan paper documents, turn photos into PDFs, annotate, add saved handwritten signatures and preview your finished work before sharing. Keep exported files locally and find them again in My files or the Files app. Edit supported PDF text directly on the page. Import compatible static TrueType fonts, use undo and redo, and save an edited copy while keeping your original document. Most tools process documents on your device. URL to PDF connects to the website you choose. No conversion account is required. Conversion support varies by format. Office and ebook conversions focus on readable text and may omit original layout and images. PDF spreadsheet exports contain text rows rather than reconstructed tables. Text editing supports compatible individual text runs, not automatic paragraph reflow. Handwritten signatures are visual marks rather than certificate verified digital signatures.

Screenshots

Relay Shortcut Trigger4 screens
PDFDock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Relay Shortcut Trigger at 3 against PDFDock's 1. Relay Shortcut Trigger also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Relay Shortcut Trigger versus PDFDock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRelay Shortcut TriggerPDFDock
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB20 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAll Things AI, IncNagarjuna Reddy Bhimavarapu

In-app purchases

None

Relay Shortcut Trigger

No in-app purchases

None

PDFDock

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Relay Shortcut Trigger free?
Relay Shortcut Trigger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDFDock free?
PDFDock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Relay Shortcut Trigger or PDFDock have ads?
Neither Relay Shortcut Trigger nor PDFDock shows ads.

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