Stereonet Mobile vs ICS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stereonet Mobile
This app assists geologists in collecting, visualizing, and analyzing geological orientation data. It offers automatic data entry using device sensors and augmented reality, manual input options, and various plotting and calculation tools for geological features.
- Automatic data entry via device orientation
- Augmented reality for strike and dip measurement
- Manual data entry via stereonet or text fields
- Plotting of lines and planes with user-defined types
- Basic geological calculations (rotations, angles, slope stability)
- Plotting of mean vectors, rose diagrams, and contour lines
- View plots from any orientation
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Stereonet Mobile is designed to help you collect, visualize, and analyze geological orientation data. It is a companion to my Stereonet program for desktop computers. As such I have tried to incorporate the basic functionality of that program, taking into account the inherent limitations of mobile devices. Some of the basic tasks that one can perform with Stereonet Mobile include: • Provide automatic data entry as a geologist's compass by reading the iOS device orientation and converting it to strike and dip of planes and/or trend and plunge of lines. It is the only geology compass app that can use augmented reality to record the strike and dip of planes using the sighting method and the device camera. • Provide manual data entry via either tapping and dragging on the stereonet or by typing values into text fields • Plot lines and planes, which can be tagged using one of as many user defined data types (e.g., bedding, cleavage, slickensides, etc.) as you want • Carry out basic calculations such as: rotations about any axis, planes from poles or poles from planes, measure angles between lines and between planes, and basic slope stability calculations • Plot mean vectors, cylindrical best fits, rose diagrams, and contour lines. • View the plots from any orientation, not just looking straight down into the lower hemisphere • See the location of a datum on a map or satellite image (if you have an internet connection) • Show realtime changes to the stereonet projection to help students understand the geometry of the device better • Provide basic input and output of data using standard iOS conventions • Works on iPhones or iPads. The program will work on iPods or iPads lacking a cellular data connection but those devices have fewer sensors and thus cannot be used in automatic data collection mode.
ICS
Access authoritative geological time scale data and information on Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs). Explore charts, detailed GSSP information, and relevant statistics.
- Demonstration of ICS chart
- Detailed GSSP information
- GSSP statistics
- Authoritative data service
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ICS Timescale is the official APP of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It is designed to provide authoritative data service of ICS. The main functions include: 1) Demonstration of the ICS chart. 2) Detail information about each GSSP. 3) Statistics of the GSSPs.
Screenshots
Verdict
Stereonet Mobile and ICS both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 73% of Stereonet Mobile's written reviews are positive against 50% of ICS's. Stereonet Mobile also leads on ratings volume (13 vs 3). ICS's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Stereonet Mobile against 4.3 for ICS. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Stereonet Mobile's written reviews are positive against 50% of ICS's.
Stereonet Mobile ships an update monthly, ICS every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Stereonet Mobile | ICS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (13 ratings) — better | 4.3 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Richard Allmendinger | 隽轩 樊 |
Customer experience
Stereonet Mobile
ICS
In-app purchases
Stereonet Mobile
No in-app purchases
ICS
No in-app purchases







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