Comparison

phyphox vs Chicks Play School

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

Chicks Play School

Features
Read full description

Chicks Play School application allows parents to communicate with their child's teachers and school authorities through a digital diary that offers various communication features, including the ability to share messages, files, images, and videos. This app facilitates easy chatting between parents and teachers, whether it's for formal schools, tuition classes, or hobby classes for children. With Chicks Play School,schools can effortlessly connect with parents of an entire class or individual parents with just a single click. This app enables image sharing, attendance taking, and engagement creation, making it a convenient tool for schools to communicate with parents. Chicks Play School has features like- Easy communication between teachers and parents Daily updates on the child's activities Sharing of images and videos of the child Digital diary for parents to connect with teachers and school authorities Fee payment reminders and status updates Direct messaging with teachers for query resolution Sharing of study materials and assignments Digital record-keeping for fees and payments Seamless communication with teachers Real-time updates on attendance and leaves Key benefits to the Parents include: 1. Quick Chat with teachers and easy access to school 2. Attendance absence notification 3. Daily activity notifications 4. Share images, videos and files to any other app/email also. 6. Monthly Planner and Events 7. Manage all children in a single app Key benefits to the Schools include: 1. Brand building and High NPS 2. Reduced Costs and High Efficiency 3. Organised staff 4. Can be used for internal staff communication 5. Lesser phone calls from parents Parents & Students mutually benefit from Chicks Play School mobile app as it allows them to: 1. Stay connected anywhere, anytime 2. Get all info about institute in one place 3. See info for more than one child in same app 4. Ask queries to institute How it works? To stay connected with the school, your mobile number becomes your unique identifier. Therefore, it's crucial for the school to have your correct mobile number. To connect with the school, the parent downloads the app and registers using the Login ID provided by school on your mobile no. If you face any issues connecting, it may indicate that the school is not on our platform or that the school does not have your mobile number.

Screenshots

phyphox4 screens
Chicks Play School4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chicks Play School at every 2 months against phyphox's every 3 months. phyphox's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

phyphox ships an update every 3 months, Chicks Play School every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
phyphox versus Chicks Play School: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterphyphoxChicks Play School
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (282 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings282 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB117 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRWTH Aachen UniversityAlok .

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

Chicks Play School

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

phyphox

No in-app purchases

None

Chicks Play School

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is phyphox free?
phyphox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chicks Play School free?
Chicks Play School is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do phyphox or Chicks Play School have ads?
Neither phyphox nor Chicks Play School shows ads.
Which is updated more often, phyphox or Chicks Play School?
phyphox ships an update every 3 months, and Chicks Play School every 2 months. Most recently, phyphox was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chicks Play School on October 25, 2026.

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