Comparison

4th Wall vs Last Chinatown

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

Head to head
About

4th Wall

Experience public art in augmented reality. Discover curated AR exhibitions at significant locations or place 3D artworks in your own environment. Engage with art that activates historical sites and inspires dialogue.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality public art exhibitions
  • Site-specific AR artworks
  • Place 3D dimensional drawings
  • Record and share AR creations
  • Explore historically significant sites
  • Sound integration for artworks
Features
Read full description

4th Wall is a free, augmented reality (AR) public art platform exploring inclusive creative expression. “Coordinates” hosts an ongoing series of curated, collaborative, site specific, public AR art exhibitions. Users are invited to be physically present at specific locations to experience AR artworks in situ. When users select the Coordinates feature, based on their location, they will be directed toward artworks – translated into AR-- created by artists that activate the historically, politically or culturally significant sites they have chosen. “Coordinates” aims to inspire thoughtful dialogue and expand our understanding of public art. By pressing the AR Artworks button, users can view, explore and place Nancy Baker Cahill’s dimensional drawings in the environment of their choice. Drawings can be rotated, scaled, placed and recorded by user. What’s New - A more streamlined experience for the user, with the removal of the hologram, studio experience and Desert X exhibition buttons and an expansion of the curated and site-specific “Coordinates” AR public art exhibitions platform. - Artworks may include sound so make sure to check for the new orange sound button at the top of the menu when observing an artwork on site. - The “Refresh” button updates the nearest artwork depending on the user’s location. - The “About” button directs users to the home page for 4thwallapp.org. Users can re-enter the app by tapping the text, “4th Wall” at the upper left hand corner of their screens. 4th Wall App is available on iPhone 6s iOS11 or above. Founding artist and Creative Director: Nancy Baker Cahill App Developer: Drive Studios ©nancybakercahill2019

About

Last Chinatown

Experience a site-specific augmented reality memorial that explores the history and erasure of Santa Cruz's last Chinatown. This interactive journey uses historical photos, interviews, and virtual recreations to bring the past to life at significant locations.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality experience
  • Historical photos and interviews
  • Virtual recreations
  • Performative interpretation
  • Site-specific locations
Features
Read full description

“Watermarks of the Last Chinatown” is an interactive public memorial in the form of a site-specific augmented reality experience that speaks to the rich narrative landscape of Santa Cruz, California, through the lens of historical erasure with a focus on its last Chinatown. The work is a collaboration between Huy Truong, Susana Ruiz, and Karen Tei Yamashita. It includes interviews with community members, historical photographs, virtual recreations, and a performative interpretation of an original story by Yamashita. The work incorporates documentary, holographic film, and gameplay and is experienced on mobile devices at historically important sites in downtown Santa Cruz to render visible the lives, legacies, and labors of those who lived there.

Screenshots

4th Wall4 screens
Last Chinatown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Last Chinatown at 5.0 against 4th Wall's 4.5. Last Chinatown also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). 4th Wall's advantage is ratings volume (42 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Last Chinatown holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 4th Wall has 42 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
4th Wall versus Last Chinatown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter4th WallLast Chinatown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (42 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings42 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size298 MB1.7 GB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNancy Baker Cahill Studio, IncSusana Ruiz

Customer experience

4th Wall

All ratings42 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Last Chinatown

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

4th Wall

No in-app purchases

None

Last Chinatown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 4th Wall free?
4th Wall is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Last Chinatown free?
Last Chinatown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, 4th Wall or Last Chinatown?
Last Chinatown is rated higher. 4th Wall averages 4.5 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while Last Chinatown averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do 4th Wall or Last Chinatown have ads?
Neither 4th Wall nor Last Chinatown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 4th Wall or Last Chinatown?
4th Wall ships an update every 11 days, and Last Chinatown every 11 days. Most recently, 4th Wall was updated on October 7, 2026 and Last Chinatown on October 6, 2026.

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