Comparison

ioLight Microscope vs Galaxy Map

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

Head to head
About

ioLight Microscope

Capture stunning images and videos of microscopic subjects with a high-resolution portable digital microscope. This app connects to the device, displaying detailed views of cells and other specimens directly on your mobile screen.

Highlights
  • Displays microscopic images and videos
  • Captures high-resolution images
  • Connects to portable digital microscope
  • Shows animal and plant cells
  • Displays on tablet or mobile phone
Features
Read full description

Displays and captures beautiful images and videos from the ioLight high resolution portable microscope. Laboratory microscopes produce beautiful images, but cost over £3,000 and are difficult to use. Cheap microscopes do not have enough resolution for professional use or teaching. ioLight has developed a digital microscope, with a resolution of better than 1μm, which produces beautiful pictures of animal and plant cells and displays them directly onto your tablet or mobile phone. The ioLight microscope has worldwide patents pending. Please go to iolight.co.uk to buy your high resolution portable microscope. Follow us on social media, @iolightmicro

About

Galaxy Map

Explore the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies in an interactive 3D map. Discover nebulae, supernovae, and planets, with stunning visuals based on NASA data. Ideal for education and space enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D galaxy map
  • Explore nebulae and supernovae
  • Fly through planetary atmospheres
  • Land on planets
  • Based on NASA data
  • Available in 100+ languages
Features
Read full description

The galaxy map is an interactive map of the Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda and their satellite galaxies. Explore the Orion Arm's nebulae and supernovae from the comfort of your spaceship. Fly through the atmosphere of Mars and many other planets and you can even land on them. Discover the galaxy in a stunning three dimensional map based on NASA's artistic impression of the Milky Way galactic structure. Photos are taken by NASA spacecraft and ground based telescopes like Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray, Herschel Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. This interactive 3D map is excellent for teachers to use for instruction, and it is a great astronomy resource for students to explore the Milky Way galaxy and space as they learn more about the universe we live in. Available in over 100 languages! You can also From the outskirts of the galaxy, in the Norma-Outer spiral arm to the galactic center's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, discover a galaxy full of amazing facts. Notable structures included: the Pillars of Creation, Helix Nebula, the Engraved Hourglass Nebula, the Pleiades, the Orion Arm (where the solar system and the Earth are located) with its Orion belt. Check out neighboring dwarf galaxies such as Sagittarius and the Canis Major Overdensity, stellar streams as well as internal galactic components such as a variety of nebulae, star clusters or supernovae. Explore space and get a little closer to our wonderful universe with this awesome astronomy app! The Galaxy Map requires internet access to retrieve information from the wiki.

Screenshots

ioLight Microscope4 screens
Galaxy Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Galaxy Map at 80% against ioLight Microscope's 20%. Galaxy Map also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.5) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 11 months). ioLight Microscope's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). 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. Galaxy Map sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. ioLight Microscope asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Galaxy Map holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Galaxy Map has 600 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of ioLight Microscope's written reviews are positive against 80% of Galaxy Map's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ioLight Microscope ships an update every 11 months, Galaxy Map every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
ioLight Microscope versus Galaxy Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterioLight MicroscopeGalaxy Map
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (19 ratings)4.6 (600 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19600 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB613 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperioLight LimitedAndrei Nistorescu

Customer experience

ioLight Microscope

All ratings19 ratings
Positive36.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative63.2%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

Galaxy Map

All ratings600 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews100 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative13.0%

Bugs and requests

ioLight Microscope

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Galaxy Map

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Explore button shows nothing
  • Pinch-to-zoom doesn't work
  • App won't load on iPad
  • Text displays as boxes in language settings
Show 4 more
  • Mars moon orbital speed incorrect
  • App kicks users out during exploration
  • Loading issues and incomplete functionality
  • Inconsistent performance across platforms

Requested features

18 requests
  • Search button to find galaxies and objects
  • More diverse and realistic black hole designs
  • AR feature to identify stars/planets in real sky
  • More free content and objects
  • Exoplanet additions (TRAPPIST-1e, J1407B)
Show 13 more
  • Ability to click on stars within galaxies for details
  • Generated planets around stars
  • Sandbox/creation mode for user-generated content
  • Animation for Milky Way and Andromeda
  • More galaxy variety in the app
  • Coordinates filter for objects
  • Space-Engine style gameplay
  • Flying through galaxies feature
  • More female character customization options
  • VIP version option
  • Brown dwarfs addition
  • Photosphere viewing mode
  • More detailed star information

In-app purchases

None

ioLight Microscope

No in-app purchases

13 purchases

Galaxy Map

One-time13
  • Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$0.99
  • Buy ship - Alien fighter$0.99
  • Remove ads$1.99
Show 10 more
  • Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$1.99
  • Buy ship - Alien fighter$1.99
  • 3D Visualization Pack$1.99
  • Buy ship - Dragon Frigate$1.99
  • Essentials bundle - SALE$2.99
  • Remove ads$3.99
  • 3D Visualization Pack$3.99
  • Ultimate bundle - SALE$4.99
  • Essentials bundle$4.99
  • Ultimate bundle$8.99

Questions

Is ioLight Microscope free?
ioLight Microscope is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Galaxy Map free?
Galaxy Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ioLight Microscope or Galaxy Map?
Galaxy Map is rated higher. ioLight Microscope averages 2.5 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Galaxy Map averages 4.6 from 600 ratings.
Do ioLight Microscope or Galaxy Map have ads?
Galaxy Map shows ads; ioLight Microscope does not.
Which is updated more often, ioLight Microscope or Galaxy Map?
ioLight Microscope ships an update every 11 months, and Galaxy Map every 5 weeks. Most recently, ioLight Microscope was updated on September 7, 2026 and Galaxy Map on September 25, 2026.

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