Understanding Math vs Word Universe
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Understanding Math
This educational app helps children learn to tell time with interactive games and activities. It features voice recording, adjustable difficulty, and progress tracking for parents and teachers. Designed to align with Common Core Math Standards, it offers a fun and engaging way to master time-telling skills.
- Voice recording for time recitation
- Interactive learning clock mechanics
- Setting analog and digital clocks
- Calculating periods of time
- Self-motivating timer function
- Progress tracking for parents/teachers
- Aligned with Common Core Math Standards
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"Understanding Maths - Telling Time" is perfect for kids just learning to mark time, and also sophisticated enough for older students. The features include being able to record a child’s voice in telling the time, and the gentle scaffolding of the needed skills to help a child learn how to set the hands of the clock and how to do maths when calculating periods of time. Play is intuitive and the reinforcers keep kids engaged as it allows kids to advance at their own pace. Teachers and parents will appreciate the ability to collect data, check progress, and adjust difficulty as a child gains mastery. ***** Children´s Technologie Review Editor´s Choice 2016 CTR review: "Why we like it: Clean, structured teaching methods come to your iPad's screen, with this excellent time-telling tutorial that is ideal for early elementary classrooms." On opening, there are 6 mini units or games that are aligned to the U.S. Common Core Mathematics Standards. The Learning Clock The Learning Clock starts at the beginning by familiarizing children with the clock mechanics. It introduces the hour and minute hands, and how the clock is “set” to tell time. By using the cogwheel button that is located on top, kids can record their own voice in reciting the time. Using a local accent or having kids making up one of their own is tons of fun. Hearing their own voice helps to make the lessons stick by pulling in multisensory systems from the body. Touching the minute hand (or the second hand) on the face of the clock will display the minutes up to 60, bringing in strong bold and consistent visual prompts. Setting the Analog Clock In unit/game 2, turn the hands of the analog clock so that they match the time shown on the digital clock. This is easily said but also difficult for some children to master. Thoughtful visual prompts of using consistently in color alignment of the hour and minute hands throughout the app, help provide structure for retaining information. The tasks automatically become more difficult. Setting the digital clock In unit/game 3, by turning the hands of the digital clock kids match the time shown on the analog clock. Although seemingly similar to game 2, it is a subtle shift of increasing the difficulty to becoming more independent in telling time. Periods of Time In game/unit 4, children must project a mindset of how time passes to set the time on the clock according to the instructions on top. It is a beginning of interplay of past and future that helps “set” creative play and thought in motion. Timer The timer is a learning and play piece that is self-motivating and driven. Open experimentation with time on times frames for beginning and ending a task is explored. Teachers and parents can also use this as a countdown device, or simply for the fun of…”Can we walk from one hall to the next in 2 minutes?” My Clock My clock is an open playground for exploration of time. By winning 3 stars in games 2, 3, and 4; kids earn different time pieces. When playing as a class, it’s fun to compare how far you’ve gotten in the game and what clocks you’ve won. Playing only reinforces the concepts and practical life skills of telling time. appp media takes a child’s privacy and online safety very seriously. • no links to websites outside the app without a gate • no ads • no data collection or tracking • no social media sharing • no in-app purchases For detailed information on our privacy policy, visit www.apppmedia.com ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE As a MOMs with Apps member, we follow the "Know what's inside" best practices for kids’ apps –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Word Universe
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Turn vocabulary practice into a space adventure. Word Universe brings together more than 30 short games for German and English vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and word recognition. Set your learning language, goal, starting band, and daily practice time, then follow a focused three-step learning plan. A clearer path through practice • Review words that are due • Practise an activity selected for your goal • Use words in sentence context • Search the full catalogue or filter by skill • Save favourite games and quickly return to recent ones Practice that responds to you • Spaced repetition prioritises difficult and new words • Activities cover spelling, definitions, word types, sentence completion, compounds, confusable words, and more • Progress summaries show completed practice and newly mastered items • Focus mode reduces decorative motion and keeps learning actions prominent For different kinds of learners • Suitable for students, independent adult learners, and people learning German as a foreign or second language (DaF/DaZ) • The four vocabulary levels are broad difficulty bands—not fixed school years, age groups, or CEFR levels • Switch between German and English learning content Private by design • No account, advertising, or tracking • Learning progress and learner preferences stay on your device • German content is downloaded when first selected The space theme keeps practice playful without assuming a particular age or classroom.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Word Universe at Free against Understanding Math's $3.99. Word Universe also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Understanding Math's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.0). On 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
Word Universe is free to download; Understanding Math costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Understanding Math ships an update every 4 months, Word Universe monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Understanding Math | Word Universe |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | appp media UG | Christian Strobele |
In-app purchases
Understanding Math
No in-app purchases
Word Universe
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Understanding Math free?
Is Word Universe free?
Do Understanding Math or Word Universe have ads?
Which is updated more often, Understanding Math or Word Universe?
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