Comparison

File vs Demote

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

Head to head
About

File

Easily transfer and manage files between your Apple devices and PCs. This app offers a simple yet powerful interface for seamless file sharing over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, with built-in tools for previewing and organizing your data.

Highlights
  • Cross-device file transfer
  • File management
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support
  • Multi-type file preview
  • Zip/unzip functionality
  • In-app photo/video sharing
Features
Read full description

Want a reliable-but-not-complex file relay point? Want a simple-but-powerful file manager? File Drop can help you! File Drop can help you transmitting and managing files and folders among iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Macintosh and Windows PC. Just tap your fingers and the file dropped. ◆ Compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC ◆ Simple but powerful user interface ◆ Auto find and auto recognize ◆ Amazing speed with wifi network ◆ Manually add ip address if not in the same wifi ◆ Inner-app photo taking and video recording, instantly sharing ◆ Multi-type file preview ◆ File Drop for iOS now support BLUETOOTH ◆ zip/unzip support ◆ better pdf viewer Please navigate to http://www.xiongdianpku.com/products/file-drop to download File Drop for Mac, Windows and other platforms :-)

About

Demote

Transform your iPhone into a universal TV remote for various smart TV brands and streaming devices. It also functions as a game controller and integrates with smart home devices for enhanced control.

Highlights
  • Universal TV remote control
  • Game controller functionality
  • Smart home device integration
  • Customizable button layouts
  • Macro creation for complex actions
  • Media casting and mirroring
Features
Read full description

The TV remote that never charges for volume, and runs your house too. Demote turns your iPhone into a remote for every TV in the house: Roku, Samsung, LG, Apple TV, Google TV, Vizio, Sony and more. Turn it sideways and it's a controller. No ads, no account, no subscription. Open it and it finds the TVs on your Wi-Fi. Pick yours, enter the code if your TV shows one, and you're set. MADE FOR IPHONE DUO AND IPAD Open your iPhone Duo and the remote splits around the fold: buttons on one side, what's playing and a full-size wheel on the other, or the wheel on the left if you like. Half-open on a table, what's playing sits on top. iPad splits sideways. HOME ASSISTANT, ON YOUR REMOTE Demote talks to your TV itself, so there's no dashboard to build. • Fill a pane from a room: pick a Home Assistant area, and its scenes, lights, switches, fans, blinds and media fill the pane's empty buttons (panes come with the Lifetime Unlock). Locks, alarms and garage doors are never added. • Talk to Assist: set the mic to Assist, hold it and ask your Home Assistant, whatever TV you're on. Its answer is spoken and shown on screen. • A single-button widget runs a Home Assistant button without opening Demote. • Send a TV's volume to a soundbar, and add packs for Sonos, Govee, WLED, Kodi and more. Turn it on in Settings › Button Packs. A CONTROLLER FOR TV GAMES AND EMULATORS Turn your iPhone sideways for ten free layouts: • Toaster, Rainbow, Crescent, Twin and Redmond: classic pads • BIG MODE: big buttons for the basics • Swiper: your own buttons as a big deck you swipe through • Cupertino: an Apple TV-style touch surface, with what's playing above it when the TV reports it • Gaben 1 and Gaben 2: twin trackpads, or two sticks over two small trackpads On a TV it sends the remote's keys. Emulator mode, over Wi-Fi, adds analog sticks, triggers and motion aiming for PC emulators that support DSU, such as Dolphin and Cemu. One custom button per layout is free. MACROS THAT DO THE WHOLE JOB One button can wake the TV and wait for it, switch the input, dim the lights and open your app. Start from a template, try it, and tap to stop. THE WHOLE REMOTE IS FREE • D-pad, OK, back, home, playback, volume, mute and power • Your iPhone's volume buttons (turn on in Settings) • Typing, dictation, a trackpad and your apps one tap away • What's playing, with a live timeline, and a TV switcher • Send a photo or video to the TV, or mirror with AirPlay • Widgets, and Lock Screen and Control Center buttons (iOS 18) • A 30-minute sleep timer, and your first custom button • Home Assistant, Assist, button packs, and every controller layout and mode Nothing that's free today will ever become paid. WORKS WITH Google TV and Android TV (including TCL and Hisense), Roku TVs and players (including TCL, Hisense and onn.), Apple TV, Samsung from 2016 on (Tizen), LG webOS, Vizio SmartCast, Sony Bravia and most Panasonic Viera TVs. Your iPhone and TV need to share a Wi-Fi network. Power on needs a TV that can wake over the network. Roku players don't take volume or power keys, and app launching isn't available on Sony yet. Apple TV changes the volume only over HDMI-CEC and has no mute. Hisense VIDAA TVs aren't supported. ONE LIFETIME UNLOCK, NEVER A SUBSCRIPTION A one-time Lifetime Unlock adds: • 24 more custom buttons on three more panes, more in the controller, and moving and resizing its buttons • Your photo behind the remote, trackpad, keyboard and controller • More themes, like Peanut • Button and glow colors, remapping, App-specific remotes, All TVs off, single-button widgets and a sleep timer of any length Preview every theme, color and photo first. Family Sharing is on. SIRI, VOICEOVER AND BIG TEXT "Hey Siri, mute the TV with Demote" works; Siri opens Demote to send it. Every key works with VoiceOver, Switch Control and a keyboard, and Dynamic Type is honored. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Demote talks to your TV and Home Assistant directly over your network, with no Demote account.

Screenshots

File4 screens
Demote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Demote at 5.0 against File's 2.6. Demote also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 72%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). File's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, 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. File sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Demote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Demote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: File has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of File's written reviews are positive against 100% of Demote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

File ships an update every 2 weeks, Demote weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
File versus Demote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFileDemote
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer典 熊MADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC

Customer experience

File

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.2%

Demote

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

File

One-time1
  • Remove ADs$0.99
1 purchases

Demote

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock - All Features$9.99

Questions

Is File free?
File is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Demote free?
Demote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, File or Demote?
Demote is rated higher. File averages 2.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Demote averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do File or Demote have ads?
Neither File nor Demote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, File or Demote?
File ships an update every 2 weeks, and Demote weekly. Most recently, File was updated on October 23, 2026 and Demote on October 25, 2026.

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