Comparison

phyphox vs UCM Hub

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Pre-defined experiments
  • Data export (CSV, TSV, Excel)
  • Web-based remote control
  • Custom experiment editor
  • Access to phone sensors
  • Advanced analysis functions
Features
Read 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.

About

UCM Hub

Discover real-time campus events on an interactive map. Quickly find activities, workshops, and meetings happening around you, eliminating the need to search multiple websites. Stay informed about campus life and increase involvement.

Highlights
  • Interactive event mapping
  • Instant event details
  • Date filtering
  • Quick navigation
  • Visualize campus life
Features
Read full description

Navigate UC Merced to discover and contribute to campus life through an interactive map that brings events, places, and wildlife sightings together in one visual experience. Spend less time searching through lists and websites and more time engaging with what is happening around you. Discover Campus Life: See events where they happen, browse by date, check times and room locations, and search naturally for activities and campus information relevant to you. Contribute to Campus: Capture wildlife sightings you encounter around UC Merced and add them to the map, helping build a shared record of campus wildlife and encouraging greater awareness of the environment around you. Whether you are looking for something to do, trying to reach a destination, or contributing something you noticed along the way, UCM Hub is designed to make campus easier to discover and participate in. Disclaimer: This application is an independent student-led project and is not officially affiliated with the University of California, Merced. Support: For questions or feedback, please visit our support page or email us. https://campusmap.ucmercedhub.com/support/ contact@ucmercedhub.com

Screenshots

phyphox4 screens
UCM Hub4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: UCM Hub at 5.0 against phyphox's 4.6. UCM Hub also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). phyphox's advantage is ratings volume (276 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

UCM Hub holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: phyphox has 276 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

phyphox ships an update every 3 months, UCM Hub monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
phyphox versus UCM Hub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterphyphoxUCM Hub
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (276 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings276 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRWTH Aachen Universityflavio herrera

Customer experience

phyphox

All ratings276 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews267 reviews
Positive78.7%
Neutral3.4%
Negative18.0%

UCM Hub

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

UCM Hub

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

phyphox

No in-app purchases

None

UCM Hub

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is phyphox free?
phyphox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is UCM Hub free?
UCM Hub is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, phyphox or UCM Hub?
UCM Hub is rated higher. phyphox averages 4.6 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while UCM Hub averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do phyphox or UCM Hub have ads?
Neither phyphox nor UCM Hub shows ads.
Which is updated more often, phyphox or UCM Hub?
phyphox ships an update every 3 months, and UCM Hub monthly. Most recently, phyphox was updated on October 14, 2026 and UCM Hub on September 22, 2026.

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