BioChemAR vs FoldVision
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
BioChemAR
Read full descriptionHide full description
Use BiochemAR to explore the 3-dimensional structures of biological molecules in the real world! All you need to do is point your camera at the QR codes associated with the BiochemAR. In order to use the module: 1) Download and install BiochemAR onto either your mobile or tablet device. 2) Download and print the QR code and instructions. (https://apps.carleton.edu/people/rsung/assets/BiochemAR_KscA_channel_QR_code_instructions.pdf) If you would like to customize the size of the QR code, here is the QR code image file (PNG). (https://apps.carleton.edu/people/rsung/assets/KscA_channel_QR_code_image.png) 3) Start up the app and point your device camera at the QR code to quickly load up two different representations of the KscA channel!
FoldVision
Read full descriptionHide full description
FoldVision turns the world's protein structures into something you can hold, turn, and understand. Search more than 200,000 experimentally determined structures from the Protein Data Bank, load AlphaFold and ESMFold predictions, or build a DNA or RNA helix from a typed sequence. Everything renders in interactive 3D โ rotate it with a finger, zoom into an active site, and switch between ribbon, surface, ball-and-stick and space-filling views. EXPLAIN ANY PROTEIN Tap Explain and the app writes a plain-language account of what the protein does, grounded in curated UniProt data and generated privately on your device with Apple Intelligence. A guided tour walks you through the key regions, lighting up each one on the structure as it's described. Available in 11 languages. COMPARE TWO STRUCTURES Load two structures and see exactly what changed. Structural-change coloring shades every residue from blue (superposes) to red (diverges). Sequence-change coloring separates conserved residues from substitutions. Watch a smooth morph between two conformations, or set them side by side. EXPLORE THE DETAIL โข Annotations โ domains, active and binding sites, modifications, variants and mutagenesis, drawn from UniProt. Tap any one to spotlight it on the structure. โข Sequence view โ the full amino-acid sequence with secondary structure, hydrophobicity, charge and B-factor tracks. Tap a residue to find it in 3D. โข Color by secondary structure, chain, hydrophobicity, charge, domain or confidence (pLDDT), with color-blind-safe palettes throughout. โข Measure distances, pin points of interest, and see the ligands and ions bound in the structure. NUCLEIC ACIDS Fold an RNA sequence into its predicted secondary structure with ViennaRNA, or build an idealized DNA or RNA double helix from any sequence. SHARE YOUR WORK Export a still image, a spinning video, or a 3D USDZ model you can drop into a presentation or an AR scene. BUILT FOR EVERY DEVICE Designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro, with layouts tuned to each. Structure and annotation data come from the RCSB Protein Data Bank, UniProt, AlphaFold DB, ESM Atlas, InterPro and Reactome. Full credits are in the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: FoldVision at daily against BioChemAR's fortnightly. BioChemAR's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BioChemAR ships an update fortnightly, FoldVision daily. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BioChemAR | FoldVision |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Daily โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro โ better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 โ better | 26.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 232 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Carleton College | Scot Federman |
In-app purchases
BioChemAR
No in-app purchases
FoldVision
No in-app purchases








