phyphox vs MIT App Inventor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
phyphox
Unlock your phone's sensors for scientific exploration. Conduct pre-built experiments or create your own using accelerometers, magnetometers, and more. Analyze and export data in various formats for further study.
- Pre-defined experiments
- Data export (CSV, TSV, Excel)
- Web-based remote control
- Custom experiment editor
- Access to phone sensors
- Advanced analysis functions
Read full descriptionHide full description
Did you know that you are carrying a 3D magnetometer? That you can use your phone as a pendulum to measure earth's local gravitational acceleration? That you can turn your phone into a sonar? phyphox gives you access to the sensors of your phone either directly or through ready-to-play experiments which analyze your data and let you export raw data along with the results for further analysis. You can even define your own experiments on phyphox.org and share them with colleagues, students and friends. Selected Features: • A selection of pre-defined experiments. Just press play to start. • Export your data to a range of widely used formats • Remote-control your experiment through a web interface from any PC on the same network as your phone. No need to install anything on those PCs - all you need is a modern web browser. • Define your own experiments by selecting sensor inputs, defining analysis steps and creating views as an interface using our web-editor (http://phyphox.org/editor). The analysis consists of just adding two values or using advanced methods like Fourier transforms and crosscorrelation. We offer a whole toolbox of analysis functions. Sensors supported: • Accelerometer • Magnetometer • Gyroscope • Pressure • Microphone • Proximity • GPS • Camera • LiDAR/ToF *some sensors are not present on every phone. Export formats • CSV (Comma separated values) • TSV (Tab-separated values) • Excel (if you need other formats, please let us know) This app has been developed at the 2nd Institute of Physics A at the RWTH Aachen University.
MIT App Inventor
Learn programming and build mobile applications using a visual, block-based interface. This educational tool helps users understand computational thinking and design their own projects, with built-in tutorials and over 60 components for diverse app creation.
- Visual block-based programming
- Mobile app development
- Computational thinking education
- Built-in tutorials
- Over 60 app components
- Project testing and debugging
Read full descriptionHide full description
MIT App Inventor is an educational tool to learn computational thinking and computational action principles through building mobile apps. Used by over one million people worldwide every year, it is one of the premier platforms for computer science education. Use this companion app to test drive projects, debug blocks code, and show your friends and family your creations. Using a blocks based programming language, design and code your own projects, or use one of the many books and curricula to learn about coding. App Inventor also includes built-in tutorials for running student workshops. This version of App Inventor includes over 60 components, from user interface elements such as buttons and switches, to sensors, connectivity and multimedia components so your projects can interact with the world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: phyphox at 79% against MIT App Inventor's 20%. phyphox also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.6) and ratings volume (272 vs 7). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
phyphox holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: phyphox has 272 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of phyphox's written reviews are positive against 20% of MIT App Inventor's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | phyphox | MIT App Inventor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (272 ratings) — better | 2.6 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.9% of reviews — better | 19.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 272 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RWTH Aachen University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Customer experience
phyphox
MIT App Inventor
User reviews
phyphox
From 272 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Access to phone sensors
- 🔬 Useful for physics experiments
- 📊 Data logging and export
- 🆓 Free and no ads
- 🤔 Sparks curiosity
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes
- 📉 Inconsistent performance
- 🔒 App locks/minimizes recording
- ❓ Units not always clear
- ⚠️ Potential for device damage
MIT App Inventor
From 7 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 💡 Great for learning and creating apps
- 👍 Useful for school and coding classes
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔌 Connectivity issues, especially with iOS devices
- 👎 Confusing and outdated user interface
- ⚠️ Unreliable and glitchy performance
Bugs and requests
phyphox
Reported bugs
21 issues- App crashes on older devices
- Barometer not working on iOS 17.4
- Network error: Generic error
- Sound measurement curve disappears
- App crashes frequently
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Cannot be opened on iPhone 6
- Light sensor not implemented
- Recording stops when phone is locked or app is minimized
- Green lines on screen and faded to black after using barometer sensor
- WLAN not working after using the app
- Pressure no longer displayed on iOS 17.5
- Barometer not working on iOS 17.4
- Latest version cannot be opened on iPhone 6
- Sound chronometer reset button not working
- iPad destroyed after update
- App displays Russian language by default
- Experiments not working on iPhone 7
- Magnetometer not working after update on iPhone 5s
- GPS shows 0 satellites with 6m accuracy
- App claims iPhone 11 is comparable to a low-cost tablet
- App crashes every time
Requested features
33 requests- Add infrasound detector
- More units of measurement (G-force, PSI, feet)
- NFC/RFID support
- In-app bug report feature
- Allow other sensors via USB-C
Show 28 moreShow fewer
- Ability to plug in external sensors
- Slo-mo recording with timestamps
- Add attitude sensor (roll, pitch, yaw)
- Integration with Apple Shortcuts
- Ability to record audio/dB simultaneously with other sensors
- Adjustable sampling frequency for all sensors
- Dark mode option
- Experiment editor integrated into the app
- More documentation for the editor
- Ability to form averages
- Support for older iPhones (iPhone 6)
- Add GPS satellite count display
- Add speedometer functionality
- Add Lux measurement using light sensor/camera
- Ability to play recorded audio
- Limit input for sound analyzers (dB/Hz range)
- Wi-Fi and RF module access for EMF analysis
- iWatch integration
- Improve audio generator capability
- Allow background/screen locked recording
- Add light sensor functionality
- Change units of measurement
- Add more precise measurements for static cases
- Add FFT and spectral generation for accelerometer
- Support for older devices
- Improve UI/UX for new users
- Add support for more languages
- Add a donate option
MIT App Inventor
Reported bugs
3 issues- App frequently crashes or freezes
- Connectivity problems when trying to test apps
- Inconsistent behavior and unexpected errors
Requested features
3 requests- Improved compatibility with modern devices and operating systems
- More intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Better error handling and debugging tools
In-app purchases
phyphox
No in-app purchases
MIT App Inventor
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is phyphox free?
Is MIT App Inventor free?
Which has better reviews, phyphox or MIT App Inventor?
Do phyphox or MIT App Inventor have ads?
Which is updated more often, phyphox or MIT App Inventor?
Other comparisons
