Photon Robot vs Sphero Edu Jr
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Photon Robot
This educational app allows children to program a robot companion, unlocking new abilities and senses as they complete tasks. Progress is visualized, serving as a motivational tool for learning programming concepts.
- Robot programming
- Unlockable abilities
- Skill progression
- Motivational learning
- Interactive companion
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The robot develops along his owner by gaining new abilities, senses and functionalities with each programming related task completed. Completing a quest to create a simple program may let the kid pick some sort of upgrade for Photon, like the ability to see or detect obstacles. This way, progress is visible right away and works as wonderful motivational tool. It's not just another toy, it's a true friend and companion.
Sphero Edu Jr
This app allows users to connect to a robot and customize its actions using visual programming blocks. Create mazes, play games, and compose music while learning fundamental coding logic.
- Block programming interface
- Customize lights, sounds, and movements
- Create mazes and games
- Learn basic programming logic
- Classic and new drive modes
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With Sphero Edu Jr you can connect to your indi and customize its behavior with simple yet powerful programming blocks. By coding the lights, sounds, and movements of indi, you can create unique mazes, play games, write simple songs, and ultimately learn the basic logic of programming. Features include: • All new block programming experience, designed for the uniqueness of indi. • Drive modes, including the classic Sphero driving experience and a new mode designed specifically for indi.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Photon Robot at every 2 months against Sphero Edu Jr's every 17 months. Sphero Edu Jr's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 3). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 — 3.7 for Photon Robot against 3.6 for Sphero Edu Jr. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sphero Edu Jr has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Photon Robot ships an update every 2 months, Sphero Edu Jr every 17 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Photon Robot | Sphero Edu Jr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better | 3.6 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 44.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 17 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 158 MB | 128 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Photon Entertainment sp. z o.o. | Sphero, Inc. |
Customer experience
Photon Robot
Sphero Edu Jr
In-app purchases
Photon Robot
No in-app purchases
Sphero Edu Jr
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Photon Robot free?
Is Sphero Edu Jr free?
Which has better reviews, Photon Robot or Sphero Edu Jr?
Do Photon Robot or Sphero Edu Jr have ads?
Which is updated more often, Photon Robot or Sphero Edu Jr?
Other comparisons
