# Antikythera Mechanism

> Interactive simulation of the ancient Antikythera Mechanism, an early astronomical computer. (iPhone/iPad app by Derwent Studios.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/antikythera-mechanism/id989574753 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Derwent Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/989574752)
- Category: Education, Reference
- Price: Free (on sale, was $1.99)
- Rating: 4.30/5 from 24 App Store ratings · 10 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 241 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-07-10
- Data updated: 2026-07-04
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/antikythera-mechanism/id989574753/reviews.md

## What is Antikythera Mechanism?

This is a full working simulation of the world's first computer: the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek device accidentally discovered a century ago on an extraordinary shipwreck.  

Bringing the mechanism back to life, this special app allows the user to investigate in great detail how the ancients viewed the cosmos.

The crank input can be controlled by the point slider at the bottom, enabling clockwise and anti-clockwise motion at varying speeds. Use the swipe rotate and pinch zoom features to navigate in and around the mechanism. Another point slide is also available at the side for panning vertically. The Calendar dial can be rotated using the + - controls on the bottom left of the screen. 
 
Two viewing modes are available for selection at the top; the external mode offers a detailed look at all the dials and the internal mode offers a close inspection of the gear arrangements which drive all eight outputs.

WARNING: Due to the high graphics requirements to run this app, please consider that this app only runs smoothly on the latest three generations of iPhone and only the latest two generations of iPad.

## Key features

- Full working simulation
- Detailed astronomical investigation
- Interactive crank control
- External and internal viewing modes
- Swipe rotate and pinch zoom
- Calendar dial controls

## Recent user reviews (10 of 10)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/antikythera-mechanism/id989574753/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Rather frustrating

*2024-11-26, version 5.0*

From the outset it looks fantastic but that soon turns to absolute frustration. The screenshots clearly show that you can pick a date but in reality it is not possible, no matter what I double tap, pinch, etc.
If you zoom in to see the movement in more detail you cannot then move the picture up or down in the screen to see what is written at the top and bottom of the front and back.
The rendering is also a misguided attempt to emulate sunlight catching the face of the brass. Unfortunately it leaves the bottom left corner in a shadow.
At £1:99 it’s not expensive and it’s the closest all but a few will get to the real thing. But it could be better and it should give us what’s shown in the screen shots.

### 1/5 — Don’t waste your money

*2021-02-20*

The controls and sliders don’t work. Tapping the +/- does nothing.  Tapping the arrows on the calendar does nothing. And I have an iPhone 11. Mist useless app ever.

**Developer response:** Hi,

Thank you for your review and sorry for your bad experience. Just to confirm: Tapping the +/- rotates the Egyptian Calendar dial in very small increments of just 1 degree so may be hard to notice; the bottom slider controls the speed of rotation and vertical slider pans the device upwards and downwards. 

If these controls are unresponsive can I kindly suggest you reboot your phone and try again? If not, then please request a refund from Apple. There are many reviews on this app and none of them state that these controls are not working. 

Thank you.

### 5/5 — Thank you

*2021-01-31*

In a Getty Museum video it was mentioned there are Antikythera mechanism apps for the iPhone. Thus I came looking for this app. The simulation helps me understand aspects of the mechanism I couldn’t learn from drawings, articles and videos. I finally understand how the moon phase display works.  I documented technology for Industry and the military for 20 years; I worked from engineering prints, aerospace assembly drawings, physical prototypes and 3-D computer models to understand and explain mechanisms/processes to our clients. This app is a treasure trove of information. The interior and exterior views are all I could have hoped for. I’ve put this app into a folder labeled Fun, along with an Enigma simulator, which shows you my idea of fun :)

**Developer response:** Thank you Sir

### 3/5 — Great Programme

*2019-05-27*

The programming is absolutely wonderful and I think the concept is perfect. However, I find the rendering makes reading the dials on both sides very difficult to read. Also, the controls seem a wee bit, make that, pretty sluggish. How about a higher contrast view and a lock on the side of the mechanism that is to be read.

**Developer response:** Hi Ontman, thank you for your feedback. We have noticed that on some iOS devices the markings on the mechanism appear greyish rather than black which may explain the reason you found it a bit difficult to read the inscriptions. In order to rectify this, all you do is pinch to zoom in which will enable the vertical panning slider on the left of the screen. As soon as you swipe up or down on this slider, the grey inscriptions change to the corrected black inscriptions and thus improving legibility. 

We will also release an update to rectify this and also improve the app taking into account your valued feedback above. 

Many thanks.

### 3/5 — Awesome but...

*2017-12-19*

This thing is really cool to look at, but there's a problem. You see it works on my iPhone SE just fine, but for some reason, it doesn't work at all on my iPad mini 2 running iOS 9.3.5. It just crashes upon opening! I know it's an old OS on old hardware, but this is not an app that needs a whole lot of power. I mean, you can't run the first computer on an iPad that's only a few years old? Come on! I can't even see what it says on iOS! So please fix this, and I'll give full stars, otherwise 2.

**Developer response:** Jurassicjordan, many thanks for your valued feedback. The problem is that only one build can be created to accommodate all iOS hardware and as we try to update the simulation, add detail and functions which closely represent the original mechanism, the very first devices such as the ipad and ipad 2 struggle to work. This is why we included a notice on the App description page that it may not work on iPad 2 devices and below. The next update will include the rotating planets and although it may require slightly more processing power to run, we will make the upmost to try and make it work on older ipad devices.

### 5/5 — Explodenate!

*2017-09-29*

Awesome app! Well done!

Some thoughts:

1) render the faces of the teeth in slightly different colors. If you zoom in then the white just makes it really hard to see.

2) the ability to "explode" the device - stretch all the parts (or the major components) out in the direction of the axis of rotation - would be helpful to see inside it.

3) there are multiple dials, it would be great if one could click on a single dial (or toggle an option or something) and make transparent all the other parts of the mechanism. So a user could see and understand just the gears that drive (say) the Olympic Games pointer and make all the other parts translucent. If a differential is in use then coloring each path differently would help. The "visible body" app does this well.

4) rotation about all axes would be helpful.

5) some way to see the operation of the pin and slot gear that handles the lunar inequality would be useful.

6) A big ask but a tutorial or guide to give the user an understanding about how each part works would complete this. The "4D" app for explaining the tesseract is excellent for this.

### 2/5 — No planets

*2017-03-08*

This version does not show any planets movements. That is quite disappointing for me.

**Developer response:** Hi Richterking

Sorry to hear this was disappointing but rest assured this is work in progress and will be incorporated via updates. The mechanism is still an impressive device even if it did not include these.

### 4/5 — Pretty cool

*2016-09-21*

A little bit of historical background information would be nice as well as description of the functionality and just how advanced this device was. 

Nicely executed.

**Developer response:** Hi BaltimoreDave, thank you for your feedback. Description, functionality, origin and historical background can now be found on our website: antikytheramechanism.com

### 3/5 — Honor due for achievement

*2016-06-08*

Kudos for implementing an iPhone version of this mechanism. Flawlessly done and well executed, permitting 3D and multiple perspectives of the external and internal gear's functioning and the presentation of the faces on the outside.

                A very much larger intended audience does not read or understand Greek or the Cyrillic alphabet. This is a real problem for widespread adoption of this app. 

         It deserves to have an appropriate translation into English, perhaps as an alternative choice available to the user. Keeping it in the original, although initially praiseworthy, is eventually a form of intellectual snobbism.

         Also an apologia or accessible explanation of the various dials and faces is very necessary. It should not have to be accessed by going to a web page or consulting an academic site. A touch button could make this available from the front screen.

                  Beautiful to look at , but no dialogue is possible with this  pretty app, and since it does not 'speak' to me, I must say she is dumb. Visual conversation with her would be so much more satisfying, otherwise she resembles the eye candy of the rich and famous, the inaccessible 0.01% .

Bill Murphy

**Developer response:** Hi Bill

Thank you for your great feedback which has been heeded upon. 

With a sequence of updates there have been some adjustments.  Most inscriptions on the mechanism are now in English, with the original text found on the website: antikytheramechanism.com. Information regarding the mechanism is quite vast and cannot fit within an app so it is all on the website. Hope this addresses the points in your review.

### 5/5 — Finally

*2015-08-03, version 1.1.1*

Been waiting for app like this for some time. Finally a way to explore this amazing device in great detail.

## Frequently asked questions about Antikythera Mechanism

### What is the Antikythera Mechanism app?

The Antikythera Mechanism app is a detailed simulation of an ancient Greek astronomical computer. It allows users to explore its intricate gears and understand how ancients viewed the cosmos.

### How do I control the simulation in Antikythera Mechanism?

You can control the mechanism's motion using a point slider for clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation at varying speeds. Swipe to rotate and pinch to zoom for navigation, and use +/- controls for the calendar dial.

### What viewing modes are available in Antikythera Mechanism?

The app offers two viewing modes: external mode provides a detailed look at all the dials, while internal mode allows for close inspection of the gear arrangements driving the outputs.

### What devices are compatible with Antikythera Mechanism?

Due to high graphics requirements, Antikythera Mechanism runs smoothly only on the latest three generations of iPhone and the latest two generations of iPad. It is also supported on iPod.

### Is Antikythera Mechanism free to download?

Yes, the Antikythera Mechanism app is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements within the application.

### How often is Antikythera Mechanism updated?

The app was last updated on March 27, 2020, to version 5.0. While updates may not be frequent, the current version offers a stable simulation.

### What is the age rating for Antikythera Mechanism?

Antikythera Mechanism has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users interested in learning about ancient technology.

### What do users like about Antikythera Mechanism?

Users appreciate the detailed and accurate simulation of this historical artifact, finding it an engaging way to learn about ancient astronomy and computing. The interactive controls and dual viewing modes are also frequently praised.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.0 — 2020-03-27

1) The app now incorporates within the mechanism the planet indicators of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn along with the Sun and Moon indicators. The conjectural used gearing is based on the paper: 'The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism' written by Tony Freeth and Alexander Jones, 2012.
2) Colour rendering has been addressed and the viewing of the inscriptions is improved. 
4) Top left button allows the user to select a date between 01/01/1900 and 01/01/2051 where the planetary alignments will be shown for that specific date. 
5) Please note that app may not work on iPhones older than 3 generations and iPads older than 2 generations.

### 4.0 — 2018-09-18

1) New beta function: Using the option on the top left, compute the approximate alignment of the sun, moon and five planets on your birthday and any date between 1/1/1990 and 1/1/2051. This feature is disconnected from the mechanism itself and uses the principles of Newton and Keppler to calculate the approximate alignments. 
2) Fix on the moon phase display which is now locked to the synodic month.

### 3.1 — 2017-07-07

1) Pin/slot mechanism fully synchronised with the anomalistic month
2) Correction made on moon age dial and eclipse description

### 3.0 — 2017-01-08

1)  Inscriptions on front dials and rear eclipse descriptions have been translated into English.
2) Significant improvement in performance, especially for the iPad version.

### 2.1 — 2016-03-24

Moon phase display now synchronised with solar and moon pointer.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-04.*