Comparison

BioChemAR vs FoldVision

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

Head to head
About

BioChemAR

Features
Read 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!

About

FoldVision

Features
Read 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 โ€ข Annotations โ€” domains, active and binding sites, modifications, variants and mutagenesis, drawn from UniProt. Tap any one to spotlight it on the structure. โ€ข 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. โ€ข Color by secondary structure, chain, hydrophobicity, charge, domain or confidence (pLDDT), with color-blind-safe palettes throughout. โ€ข 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

BioChemAR4 screens
FoldVision4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BioChemAR ships an update fortnightly, FoldVision daily. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
BioChemAR versus FoldVision: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBioChemARFoldVision
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro โ€” better
Requires iOS18.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size232 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarleton CollegeScot Federman

In-app purchases

None

BioChemAR

No in-app purchases

None

FoldVision

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BioChemAR free?
BioChemAR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FoldVision free?
FoldVision is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BioChemAR or FoldVision have ads?
Neither BioChemAR nor FoldVision shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BioChemAR or FoldVision?
BioChemAR ships an update fortnightly, and FoldVision daily. Most recently, BioChemAR was updated on October 6, 2026 and FoldVision on October 19, 2026.

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