EPview vs Foldscope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
EPview
Stream high-resolution microscopic images and Full HD videos from your camera. Capture, annotate, and measure specimens, then share your findings. Ideal for creating a digital classroom experience for collaborative learning.
- Stream high-resolution images and Full HD videos
- Take snapshots and make annotations
- Perform measurements on specimens
- Share images and videos
- Connect up to six students simultaneously
- Control EP50 camera on mobile device
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Stream high-resolution images and Full HD videos of your microscopic specimen, take snapshots, make annotations and measurements, and share them using the EPview App. Simple and intuitive operation enables you to comfortably control the EP50 camera on your mobile device. Up to six students at a time can connect to a microscope equipped with a WLAN-enabled OLYMPUS EP50 digital camera. They can learn about and discuss microscopic specimens, snap images, make videos, store the data on their devices, and share the images with others. Images can be enriched with annotations, and specimen structures can be analyzed using the interactive count and measurement functions. Use EP50 digital microscope cameras and the EPview App to setup a digital classroom optimized for your needs and make teaching more powerful and effective using these digital tools. For more information visit https://www.olympus-lifescience.com/camera/color/ep50/ Intended use: EPview is for research use only. EPview is solely intended for research and education purposes and not for any form of in vitro diagnostics or clinical use. Olympus is a registered trademark and EPview is a trademark of EVIDENT CORPORATION.
Foldscope
This app allows users to capture, focus, and scale images taken through a specialized lens. It also provides a platform for sharing these images and text posts with a global community of users. Explore and discover microscopic worlds through shared content.
- Capture and focus microscopic images
- Scale images through the lens
- Share images and text posts
- Browse global user posts
- Explore the Microcosmos community
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Use the Foldscope app to scale and focus your images while using the Foldscope! - Capture, focus, and scale images through the Lens - Share your images and text posts on Microcosmos - Browse Microcosmos to explore posts from Foldscopers around the world
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Foldscope at 5.0 against EPview's 3.2. Foldscope also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). EPview's advantage is ratings volume (12 vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Foldscope holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: EPview has 12 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
EPview ships an update every 11 months, Foldscope every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | EPview | Foldscope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (12 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Evident Technology Center Europe GmbH | Foldscope Intruments, Inc |
Customer experience
EPview
Foldscope
In-app purchases
EPview
No in-app purchases
Foldscope
No in-app purchases
