Comparison

Listen vs SmartGo One

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

Head to head
About

Listen

This game trains your hearing by presenting sound cues that you must respond to correctly to navigate obstacles and absorb energy. It uses adaptive algorithms to adjust difficulty to your individual performance level, based on principles of perceptual learning and auditory neuroscience.

Highlights
  • Auditory training game
  • Perceptual learning principles
  • Reward-based framework
  • Adaptive difficulty algorithms
  • Sound cue response
  • Brain fitness
Features
Read full description

Listen is an auditory training game produced by the University of California Riverside (UCR) Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-being; A research unit focused on brain fitness methods and applications. Listen integrates principles of perceptual learning and auditory neuroscience in a reward-based game framework that reinforces program adherence and maintains training efficacy. In the game experience, players find themselves in control of a wisp that must navigate through perilous obstacles by responding appropriately to specific sound cues in order to absorb energy from objects in the environment. The sound cues are based upon language primitives and sound features that selectively drive neurons in the auditory cortex of the brain. While at first the sounds are easy to discriminate, the game’s adaptive algorithms measure each players’ ability to discern the sounds and trains players at their individual threshold of performance. Give it a listen and train your hearing.

About

SmartGo One

Learn, play, and improve at the ancient game of Go. This app offers adjustable board sizes, a strong AI opponent, and tools to study professional games and solve Go problems. It's designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters.

Highlights
  • Adjustable board sizes (9x9 to 19x19)
  • Strong KataGo game engine
  • Study professional game records
  • Solve Go problems and tutorials
  • Pattern matching for move suggestions
  • Territory estimator
  • Game recording and annotation
Features
Read full description

SmartGo One is the only Go app you’ll need, whether you’re just getting started or already a seasoned player. Learn, play, study, and improve with SmartGo One. Experience the ancient game of Go on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac in a whole new way. Also known as igo (囲碁), wéiqí (围棋), or baduk (바둑), Go begins with an empty board that gradually fills as players surround territory and capture stones. Start with a 9x9 board and move up to 13x13 and 19x19 as your skills grow. SmartGo One adapts to your strength, automatically adjusting handicaps so games remain competitive and enjoyable. And when you’re ready for a serious challenge, the powerful KataGo-based engine delivers strong, rewarding play. But SmartGo One is far more than a way to play Go. Read interactive Go books while replaying the moves they describe to deepen your understanding. Explore a collection of more than 138,000 professional game records spanning both modern and historical masters. Improve your reading and decision-making skills with a growing library of Go problems and tutorials. Want to know how a master would handle a position on your board? SmartGo’s pattern matching technology compares your game with historical pro games and shows how strong players approached similar situations. No matter your level, SmartGo One helps you continue improving. Features include: • 9x9, 11x11, 13x13, and 19x19 board sizes • Powerful KataGo-based engine • Fast and responsive gameplay • Manual or automatic handicap adjustment • Record, annotate, and edit your games • Territory estimator • Hints and move analysis • Undo and replay controls • Tutorial with over 100 problems • Extensive user manual We value your privacy and only collect the minimum information necessary to make our apps work well for you. Learn more at https://smartgo.com/privacy.html. This app is licensed under Apple’s standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Listen4 screens
SmartGo One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SmartGo One at 4.8 against Listen's 3.1. SmartGo One also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 44%) and ratings volume (1.9K vs 12). Listen's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 46) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. SmartGo One sells 46 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Listen asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 1.9K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Listen's written reviews are positive against 77% of SmartGo One's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Listen ships an update every 6 weeks, SmartGo One every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Listen versus SmartGo One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterListenSmartGo One
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (12 ratings)4.8 (1.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.4% of reviews76.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings121.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size129 MB140 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNortheastern UniversitySmart Go, Inc.

Customer experience

Listen

All ratings12 ratings
Positive58.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative41.7%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative55.6%

SmartGo One

All ratings1,914 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews166 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral8.4%
Negative15.1%

Bugs and requests

Listen

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SmartGo One

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
  • Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
  • Inconsistent behavior when passing moves

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add read-only mode
  • Improve move suggestion explanations
  • Introduce difficulty settings for AI
  • Integrate online play functionality
  • Provide more randomness in AI moves

In-app purchases

None

Listen

No in-app purchases

46 purchases

SmartGo One

Subscriptions2
  • SmartGo One Pro – Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Games and Features14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time44
  • Just Enough Japanese 1Free
  • Key Concepts in Life and Death$2.99
  • Go Problems Master Collection$3.99
Show 41 more
  • Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium$3.99
  • Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy$3.99
  • Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard$3.99
  • Counting Liberties$4.99
  • The Monkey Jump$4.99
  • Double Digit Kyu Games$5.99
  • Go: A Complete Introduction$5.99
  • How Not to Play Go$5.99
  • Encyclopedia of Go Principles$5.99
  • Want to Play Go? Level 1$5.99
  • Black to Play 30-25 Kyu$5.99
  • The Workshop Lectures 1$5.99
  • Rethinking Opening Strategy$6.99
  • Learn to Play Go 1$7.99
  • Learn to Play Go 2$7.99
  • Learn to Play Go 3$7.99
  • Correct Joseki$7.99
  • “The Theory of Go”$7.99
  • Learn to Play Go 4$7.99
  • Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go$8.99
  • Graded Go Problems 1$9.99
  • Graded Go Problems 2$9.99
  • Want to Play Go? Level 2$9.99
  • Basic Techniques of Go$9.99
  • Graded Go Problems 3$9.99
  • Get Strong at Life and Death$9.99
  • Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson$11.99
  • Fuseki Revolution$11.99
  • Fundamental Principles of Go$11.99
  • The Basics of Life and Death$11.99
  • Joseki Revolution$11.99
  • Life and Death$11.99
  • A Survey of the Basic Tesujis$11.99
  • Tesuji$11.99
  • AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4$14.99
  • Trouble Master, volume 2$14.99
  • Trouble Master, volume 1$14.99
  • AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2$14.99
  • Invincible$24.99
  • Essential Go Proverbs$24.99
  • Pro – Lifetime Unlock$99.00

Questions

Is Listen free?
Listen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartGo One free?
SmartGo One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Listen or SmartGo One?
SmartGo One is rated higher. Listen averages 3.1 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while SmartGo One averages 4.8 from 1.9K ratings.
Do Listen or SmartGo One have ads?
Neither Listen nor SmartGo One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Listen or SmartGo One?
Listen ships an update every 6 weeks, and SmartGo One every 2 weeks. Most recently, Listen was updated on June 4, 2026 and SmartGo One on September 25, 2026.

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