Comparison

APOD vs AR Bubble

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

Head to head
About

APOD

Access NASA's daily astronomy images and explanations from professional astronomers. Explore stunning visuals of the universe, save your favorites, and share them with others.

Highlights
  • Daily NASA astronomy pictures
  • Brief explanations by astronomers
  • Access to the entire collection
  • Save photos to device
  • Share images with friends
  • Explore the universe
Features
Read full description

The starry sky, space, infinite universe! What fascinates and doesn't leave anyone indifferent. Astronomy Picture of the Day is a project, in which every day NASA publishes an amazing image of our fascinating universe along with a brief explanation written by professional astronomers. APOD Mobile provides comfortable and easy access to the collection, to something that fascinates and mysterious in one click. Save photos to your photo roll or share them with friends. Explore our beautiful universe with APOD. New inspiration every day! Please, check out the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: Privacy Policy: https://apod.ai/privacyPolicy Terms of Use: https://apod.ai/termsOfUse

About

AR Bubble

Experience the joy of blowing and popping virtual soap bubbles in your real environment using augmented reality. Interact by tapping or blowing into your device's microphone, and enjoy unique, shimmering bubbles that float and pop with satisfying effects.

Highlights
  • Blow virtual bubbles via tap or microphone
  • Pop bubbles with particle effects and haptic feedback
  • Create giant bubbles with long-press
  • Dynamic wind simulation for natural drift
  • Iridescent rainbow shimmer on bubbles
  • Live blow strength indicator
Read full description

Do you remember the time, when you last had fun with soap bubbles? Now you can do this just using your device — and it's better than ever. AR Bubble is an augmented reality app that lets you blow, float, and pop virtual bubbles over your real world. Watch them shimmer with iridescent rainbow colors as they drift through the air, carried by gentle virtual wind currents. **Tap** on the screen to start bubbling — or use it like a real soap bubble gadget by **blowing into the microphone**. A live blow meter shows your breath strength in real time. **Tap a bubble** to pop it with a satisfying particle burst explosion and haptic feedback. **Long-press** to create a giant bubble that floats longer and farther. Each bubble is unique — random sizes, shimmering color shifts, gentle wobbles, and subtle breathing animations make them feel alive. Wind shifts every few seconds, so your bubbles drift naturally through the room. This app was designed and made for children. Parents might like it as well… **What's New in v2.0:** • Iridescent rainbow shimmer on every bubble • Tap-to-pop with particle burst effects & haptic feedback • Long-press to blow giant bubbles • Live blow strength indicator • Dynamic wind simulation for natural drift • Enhanced bubble physics — wobble, pulse & fade animations • Modernized for the latest iOS devices • Removed all ads for a clean, distraction-free experience (For best results, give the app a few seconds to warm up by scanning your environment in different directions. AR Bubble requires a device with ARKit support.)

Screenshots

APOD4 screens
AR Bubble2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: APOD at 4.8 against AR Bubble's 4.0. APOD also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 43 months) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 4). AR Bubble's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 63%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). 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. APOD sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and AR Bubble sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

APOD holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: APOD has 1.2K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of APOD's written reviews are positive against 100% of AR Bubble's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

APOD ships an update every 11 days, AR Bubble every 43 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
APOD versus AR Bubble: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAPODAR Bubble
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews62.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.2K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 43 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.416.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB5 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperVibes LLCWaltsoft Inc

Customer experience

APOD

All ratings1,180 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive62.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative32.6%

AR Bubble

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

APOD

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photos not displaying correctly
  • App crashing or freezing
  • Sync/update issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Search function for past photos
  • Ability to save/download photos
  • Improved photo captions and descriptions
  • Option to change user profile/settings

AR Bubble

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

APOD

Subscriptions2
  • Subscribe Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Subscribe Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • APOD$5.99
  • Lifetime$49.99
1 purchases

AR Bubble

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is APOD free?
APOD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AR Bubble free?
AR Bubble is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, APOD or AR Bubble?
APOD is rated higher. APOD averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while AR Bubble averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do APOD or AR Bubble have ads?
Neither APOD nor AR Bubble shows ads.
Which is updated more often, APOD or AR Bubble?
APOD ships an update every 11 days, and AR Bubble every 43 months. Most recently, APOD was updated on November 6, 2026 and AR Bubble on November 2, 2026.

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